Shanghai Further Opens Its Financial Industry

A call for extra efforts to reform and open up across various markets was made at the 2018 Boao Forum for Asia in April, and in response, China has rolled out a set of measures to further expand the financial sector.Shanghai will continue to be the pioneer in China’s reforms with the launch of six new guidelines in the following areas.

• Shanghai will support foreign banks to set up both branches and sub-branches in the city, and encourage domestic commercial banks to establish asset-management companies in Shanghai with foreign investors, with no cap for shares held by their partners.
• Shanghai will allow foreign securities, fund and futures firms to engage in brokerage and consultancy in the city.
• Shanghai will expand the business scope for insurers while allowing foreign-controlled life insurance companies. Foreign businesses will be allowed to own up to 51 percent of shares in life insurance joint ventures, and the cap will be phased out over three years.
• Shanghai will also help foreign innovative firms to launch depository receipts, and expand the function of foreign exchange accounts.
• Shanghai will further develop the function and usage of Free Trade Account by expanding its investment and financing functions while spreading its practice to the free trade zone in the Yangtze River Delta Area.
• Shanghai will also open the market for clearance of bank cards by allowing the entrance of non-banking payment companies, and loosen restrictions on foreign financial companies undertaking credit assessment.

Shanghai will strive to optimize the business environment for the financial industry and let China’s newly announced policies in reform and opening-up benefit foreign companies as soon as possible.