Final decision

The fate of former tycoon Wu now lies with the Supreme People's Court, which is reviewing her case. Hu argues that if her execution is approved, the monopoly by State-owned banks can be further consolidated and would deal a heavy blow to the country's burgeoning private sector.

"Instead, the government should admit the legal status of private lending, support those with good records and establish a set of criteria to bring underground banks to the surface," he said. "This way, it will be easier to monitor and regulate."

There is also no clear legal boundaries between illegal fundraising and reasonable private lending, a fact that has fueled opposition to Wu's death sentence, he said.

Wu grew up in Dongyang, a city in Zhejiang, and started her working life in a relative's a hair salon in 1997.

Within a decade, she was running a conglomerate of hotels, car dealerships and real estate, and was regarded as the country's sixth-richest woman.

At the time, she represented a success story of the robust entrepreneurial spirit that could typically be found in the coastal province in East China.

"Many questions are still left unanswered in Wu's case," Hu said. "For example, she only collected money from 11 lenders, two of whom were her business group's senior executives. They were fully aware of the financial situation.

"How can it be defined as fraud?"

The reporters can be contacted at lij@chinadaily.com.cn, hena@chinadaily.com.cn orxujunqian@chinadaily.com.cn