About 36 percent of China's credit cards -- or 20 million -- were issued by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and the China Construction Bank.  The China Construction Bank (CCB) said by mid-December it had issued more than 10 million credit cards.  The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) said it had also issued more than 10 million credit cards and aggregate consumption volume exceeded 100 billion yuan by Dec. 25. The remaining 64 percent, about 30 million, are shared among a dozen commercial banks.

China has seen exponential growth in credit cards in the last two years. There were only 10 million cards in circulation at the end of 2004. But profits in this emerging business in China remain weak. Industry reports reveal that the profits generated by bank cards account for less than three percent of the profits of domestic banks and the profits generated by credit cards are negligible.

Globally, credit cards on average contribute up to 30 percent of bank profits. Citibank, for instance, gleans 80 percent of its profits from retail business, about 60 percent of which is credit card business. Competition in China will be torrid now that the China Banking Regulatory Commission has allowed foreign banks to open subsidiaries on the Chinese mainland that issue credit cards.

Industrial observers said that China would unveil a new bankcard management method which might lift the overdraft ceiling and allow overdraft coupon to fluctuate according to the length of time that money is borrowed. Yang Honghui, deputy manager of the CITIC Bank Credit Card Center, said this would give the business a shot in the arm.

ICBC and CCB, which figure among China's "Big Four" banks, enjoy a branch network advantage over overseas rivals, and are racing against time to expand their retail business including ATMs, proprietary financial planners and bank cards. With more than 18,000 branches, 2.5 million corporate customers and 150 million individual clients, the ICBC accounts for 15.4 percent of all loans taken out in China. The country's largest lender saw its market value surge to 214.1 billion U.S. dollars on Monday, taking it to third rank in the world after Citibank and the Bank of America.