China sets up industry group for Internet finance

A Chinese national flag flies at the headquarters of the People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, in Beijing, China, in this January 19, 2016 file picture. Shareholders of heavily indebted China Huarong Energy Ltd will vote March 24, 2016 on a ground-breaking debt-for-equity swap plan that has stoked concern about the implications for Chinese banks taking on risky equity stakes. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/Files

SHANGHAI: China’s central bank said Friday that firms involved in Internet finance had set up an industry association, as authorities try to get a handle on the rapidly growing but weakly regulated sector. 

The group will seek to “self-regulate” the industry at a time of growing risk from Internet financing, according to a transcript of a speech by a People’s Bank of China (PBoC) official at the opening ceremony.