Chengdu opens first financial makerspace

CHENGDU - China's first makerspace dedicated to financial start-ups opened in the southwestern city of Chengdu on Tuesday.

The finance incubator, Financial Dreamworks Chengdu, will target players in financial technology and services such as hedge funds, digital currency and peer-to-peer lending, according to Miao Wei, general manager of the center's sponsor, Chengdu Financial City Investment & Development.

Part of a strategic partnership between the company and the Chengdu branch of the People's Bank of China, the makerspace is another step toward the capital of Sichuan Province becoming the financial center of central and western China. Chengdu has the highest number of financial institutions in the region.

The center is located in Chengdu Financial City, home to over 350 financial institutions and more than 50 non-financial companies.

China started to promote makerspaces with guidelines and policy in early 2015 as way of supporting mass entrepreneurship.

Several other western cities are eyeing the financial sector as a route to increased growth: Guiyang and Chongqing are also planning financial centers.