Rumors on the Internet revealed that the Chinese B2B e-commerce group Alibaba has set up a commercial bank subsidiary, which has gained the approvals of the People's Bank of China and China Banking Regulatory Commission.

Alipay.com, the Chinese third-party Internet payment platform and a subsidiary of the B2B e-commerce group Alibaba, has launched a joint security and risk control program with major Chinese banks.

Offshore software development company VanceInfo Technologies Inc. will deploy an outsourced development center for China Merchants Bank.

China Merchants Bank has opened a branch at 535 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y. — the first branch opened by a Chinese banking institution since the adoption of Foreign Bank Supervision Enhancement Act of 1991.

China Merchants Bank and Chinese travel website Mangocity.com have formally launched a joint credit card.

Chinese third-party electronic payment services provider 99Bill has launched one-stop cross-bank services for credit card bill payment targeting 75 millions credit card holders in China.