Ｆｉｚｚ　Ｒｅｔｕｒｎｓ　ｔｏ　ａｎ　Ｏｌｄ　Ｂｉｚ.docVIP

Ｆｉｚｚ　Ｒｅｔｕｒｎｓ　ｔｏ　ａｎ　Ｏｌｄ　Ｂｉｚ 　　PAWNSHOPS, the oldest financial institutions in China, have been undergoing a dramatic revival since the lifting of a 30-year ban in 1987. Over the 2007/08 new year period, Beijing pawnbrokers reported a 30 percent rise in transactions, with an increasing share involving medium-sized and small businesses needing fast loans. “Twenty years after its comeback in China, pawnbroking is regaining some of the buzz it had in the old days,” declares Hao Fengqin, secretary general of the Beijing Pawn Trade Association. 　　 　　Substantial Market 　　Demand 　　 　　The increase in businesses utilizing pawnbroking services can partly be attributed to prevailing domestic economic conditions. The Chinese economy began to face the risk of overheating and suffering serious inflation after persistent 11 percent growth throughout the first three quarters of 2007. The risks prompted the government to take precautions, and on December 5 a shift in monetary policy from “prudent to tight” was announced for 2008. Three days later the People’s Bank of China announced a one-percent increase in the Renminbi deposit reserve ratio, cutting into the money supply for loans. 　　The effects were immediately felt by China’s smaller companies, who are inevitably always at the bottom of banks’ corporate borrowers lists. This has provided a perfect opportunity for pawnshops to expand their turf. A 2007 study on local pawnshops by the Beijing Pawn Trade Association revealed that 90 percent of customers are individuals and 10 percent are medium-sized and small businesses. However, these days 75 percent of pawn loans are used for productive purposes. In other words, pawnshops are no longer simply places for the broke. Most patrons are well off, and come seeking cash for a variety of reasons. 　　Project manager Li Zengxian, for example, was stumped by a hitch in capital turnover. He took the buying contract and ownership certificate of his villa to the Bao Rui Tong Pawnshop, and