Companies in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces in east China no longer have to ask for official approval when opening bank accounts starting Feb. 25, as China continues reforms to improve its business environment.

Pilot reform to the effect was tried in two cities in Jiangsu and Zhejiang last year, and the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said Tuesday it will now expand the reform to the whole of the two provinces.

The reform is expected to cut the average time for opening a corporate account from about four days to just one to two days.

The PBOC will encourage commercial banks to innovate their accounts services for private, small and micro-sized enterprises.