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foreign companies, tech Profile| Send Message| (129)    One of
the most persistent myths about the slow growth of electronic
retail in China has been that the scarcity of credit cards have
held the business back. There are still less than 70 million
credit cards in circulation, one for every 20 or so adults in
the country, and, more to the point, one credit card for every
3.5 internet users.   No credit card, goes the thinking, no
electronic retail. The ubiquitous Shaun Rein, CEO of Shanghai-
based China Market Research Group, echoes this sentiment in an
otherwise excellent editorial in Forbes magazine:  Our findings
suggest it is a lack of credit cards and other payment options,
rather than a cultural aversion to buying online, that has
curtailed the growth of e-commerce in China.  About half-right,
I would say. The cultural aversion issue is a canard, and we
will take that up in another post.  Yet elsewhere in his
article, Shaun notes that 70% of