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The Tibet Autonomous Region has formed a modern financial system,
in which, the People's Bank of China is the leader, the Agricultural
Bank of China and the Construction Bank of China are the mainstays,
and other financial institutions play their own specialized role.
In the whole region, there are about 700 financial institutions
at various levels, plus four insurance companies.
 On
July 2, 1987, the Tibet Branch of the People's Insurance Co. of
China (PICC) was inaugurated. It provides 46 types of insurance
services. As the autonomous region features high mountains, dangerous
roads, and backward transport facilities, transport means and liability
insurance are the most salient feature of the insurance business
in the region. In addition, there are the enterprise property, goods
transportation, livestock breeding and mountaineering insurance,
and safety insurance for middle and primary school students.
From the Fourth Tibet Work Conference in 1994 to the end of 2001,
financial institutions in Tibet issued loans to the tune of 33.526
billion Yuan, representing an annual average increase of 15.56 percent,
which is 3.14 percentage points higher than the GDP growth. This
included loans amounting to 2.949 billion Yuan issued to the farming
and pastoral areas and loans valued at 1.094 billion Yuan issued
to aid the poverty-stricken people. By the end of 2000, loans issued
to finance construction of infrastructure were valued at 3.109 billion
Yuan, averaging an annual growth of 54.57 percent. Loans issued
to finance development of tourism, pharmacy, mining, catering and
other special industries reached 5.518 billion Yuan in value; and
loans issued to finance the private economic sector were valued
at 1.232 billion Yuan.
In 1993, with the support of the two stock exchanges in Shenzhen
and Shanghai, the Stock Exchange Center of the Tibet Autonomous
Region was set up in Lhasa. It has operational links with the two
exchanges as Tibet's first financial market adopting modern means
in management and operation.
In 1995, Tibet' s first stock, Tibetan Pearl, was floated. It was
followed by the issue of Tibetan Golden Pearl, Lhasa Beer, Tibet
Holy Land and others.
 The
Business Hall of the Lhasa Stock Exchange Center is installed with
a large screen, computerized equipment for transactions and other
modern equipment, which are valued at more than US$200,000. Its
business turnover went up from 160 million Yuan in 1994 to 1.73
billion Yuan in 1998. Stock dealers include entrepreneurs, the self-employed,
workers, farmers, herders, teachers and retirees. Their number has
risen from 70 in 1993 to over 15,000 at present (half of them are
Tibetan) ---a number about the same with those trading in Shanghai
or Shenzhen.
The Lhasa Stock Exchange Center plans to open branches in Xigaze
and Shannan.
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