Central bank governor could be on the way out

The governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), Zhou Xiaochuan, is likely to be replaced following the Communist Party Congress, which begins on Monday, the Financial Times reported. During Zhou's tenure, three of the "big four" state-owned banks have been reformed and listed and the renminbi has been de-pegged from the US dollar. But Zhou's activism is said to have attracted criticism within the administration and, should he be removed, his chances of promotion to higher office would be diminished. The opaque nature of Chinese politics makes it difficult to establish exactly what will happen or the particular deeds for which Zhou is supposedly being held to account. It has been suggested these may include the stalled PBOC-backed plan to allow individual investors to buy Hong Kong-listed shares and the political fall-out that has followed the recent departure of Finance Minister Jin Renqing.