China is reviving a plan to set up a super regulator to streamline the government's oversight of the financial sector and reduce infighting that has hampered the existing watchdogs, local media reported on Sunday.
The new regulatory agency would sit on top of the commissions currently in charge of the country's banking, insurance and securities industries, the Economic Observer reported, citing unidentified sources.
It added that the plan could be announced later this year.
In 2007, when China last convened its five-yearly national financial work conference, the government considered establishing the super regulator but never went beyond the planning stage.
The next financial work conference is not until 2012, but the Economic Observer reported that it could be moved up to the second half of this year to discuss the establishment of the super regulator as well as other strategic issues.
The new agency, possibly to be led by a vice premier, will coordinate financial supervision and monetary policymaking alongside the central bank, the Beijing-based newspaper reported.
With China's financial sector increasingly integrated, it is also important to have an agency that could smooth the way for better coordination between the banking, securities and insurance regulators.
