To re-emerge as an international financial capital has been a dream cherished by Shanghai for more than a decade.

Pedestrians pass signs advertising overseas banks in the Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zong in Shanghai's Pudong New Area. So far, 80 foreign-funded financial institutions are operating in the city. In addition, 156 others have representative offices. Forty of the world's top 50 banks have established a presence in the coastal metropolis. [newsphoto.com.cn]

Concrete steps are being undertaken by both local governments, regulatory bodies and financial institutions.

The result is that the city has turned into the country's inarguable financial hub. But the ambitious city has never wavered from its objective of becoming an international financial centre.

The Shanghai municipal government enhanced its efforts to accelerate the process last year, announcing a firm commitment to realize its dream in the next 10 to 20 years.

Chen Liangyu, the city's mayor-turned-Party secretary, has pledged on various occasions to consolidate Shanghai's status as a national financial hub and therefore pave its way to becoming an international financial centre. It is of the highest priority.

He maintains that "a proper development of the business and financial sector will be crucial not only for enhancing China's competitiveness, but to meet the challenges brought about by the nation's entry into the World Trade Organization."

The goal is also regarded as an inseparable part for Shanghai's ambitious drive to restore its glamour as an international metropolis.

To be more realistic and practical, the city has outlined some major targets for achieving specific goals in 2005.

The financial sector is expected to account for 20 per cent of Shanghai's gross domestic product by 2005 over last year's 10.8 per cent.

More specifically, it is expected to play a core role in Shanghai's economic development and function by serving other city industries.

To accelerate the transformation and better serve the financial sector, Shanghai has set up a financial service office.

Ji Xiaohui, head of the new organization, said one of the office's major tasks is to attract more financial institutions to the city.

He includes banks' regional headquarters and operation centres, securities houses, assets management companies, as well as insurance companies.

Virtually all of China's major banks and financial institutions - 3,300 to be exact - have established a presence in Shanghai, and more are coming and will come. Last year witnessed tens of domestic securities houses and fund management companies moving their registered locations or business headquarters into the city's booming Pudong area. Among 14 securities houses and six fund management companies based in Shanghai, nine established or relocated there last year.

Already home to China UnionPay, the national payment system, and credit card centres of China Merchants Bank, Guangdong Development Bank and China Construction Bank, Shanghai plans to set up a bankcard industry base in Pudong, aiming to attract more domestic and foreign banks to establish or relocate their bank card centres there.

"To improve the market function and make Shanghai a capital operation and distribution centre is also high on our agenda," Ji said.

The city now hosts the national interbank loans market, the bond market, the foreign exchange market, gold and diamond exchanges, as well as one of two of China's stock exchanges.

"The markets here are growing at a remarkable pace and there is a huge scope for further growth and specialization," Ji said.

"We encourage them to develop new financial derivatives and launch new products to make the markets more active and functional," he added.

He also noted that in order to create a better environment, Shanghai hopes to attract additional large accounting firms, law firms, and credit agencies to the area.

Innovation and liberalization are another two key words in Shanghai's effort to market itself. Standing at the forefront of China's finance reform, Shanghai will continue to play a pioneer role to explore further development, Ji said.

"We will strive to make Shanghai a pilot city for new financial policies," he added.

However, government officials and economic experts note that Shanghai still has a long way to go before standing abreast with the likes of New York and London.

Hu Pingxi, head of the People's Bank of China's Shanghai branch, pointed out three most conspicuous weaknesses that could be problems if the city is to catch up.

The first is the unsophisticated inter-medium agencies that hinders the ability to function.

A real financial centre is supported by a full range of professional services - lawyers, accountants, actuaries and myriad consultants, all of which Shanghai badly needs.

"The absence of a mature and complete financial legal framework and public awareness on credit attributes a lot to the illegal activities in the financial sector," Hu said.

Another hurdle is the still-incomplete market system. Though Shanghai is now home to most of China's national capital markets, in terms of the openness, influence and function, "they haven't played a full role yet," he said.

His third concern is the competitiveness of the domestic financial institutions.

"Judging from their operation, innovation and risk management, they are not seasoned enough to play in a highly competitive market," he said.

Another primary concern is a weak human talent base to help staff execute the businesses and their strategies.

As China's financial hub, Shanghai has only 63,100 financial specialists, while London, New York and Tokyo each have more than 300,000.

Experts also warn that some remaining problems will be among the most difficult to solve, including full convertibility of the Chinese currency, the renminbi, a prerequisite for any city with ambitions of becoming an international financial centre, according to Nicholas Lardy, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Brookings Institution, a centrist think-tank.

"After all, the changes under way in Shanghai are unrivalled in the world in their scale and potential," Lardy said.

"Though becoming a financial centre with international clout will take time, it will not take too long," he added.

Standing at the forefront of China's financial industry and serving as the lifeline of the entire Yangtze River Delta, China's wealthiest region, Shanghai is undoubtedly a premiere site for financial institutions to do business and attracts more foreign participation than other city in China.

As of last year, 77 foreign-funded financial institutions had begun to operate in Shanghai, with six more planning to re-locate there soon. In addition, 156 others have put representative offices there. More than 80 per cent of the world's top 50 banks have established their presence in the metropolis.

So far, 30 foreign banks are licensed to carry out transactions in Chinese funds, and 23 have been allowed to do business with Chinese residents and enterprises in foreign currency.

By the end of last year, foreign banks' operating capital amounted to US$1.538 billion.

In the first year of China's debut as a member of the World Trade Organization, the flurry of partnerships has never been more active in the financial sector. And Shanghai is always in the spotlight and the headlines.

Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp (HSBC) and Citigroup are now shareholders of two local banks - Bank of Shanghai and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, with an 8 and 5 per cent stake respectively.

In Shanghai, the first insurance market open for foreign competition, foreign investors have wielded their strength with a market share of 14.3 per cent.

"All these figures stand as testimony to Shanghai's growing attractiveness to foreign financial institutions," said Ji of the Shanghai Finance Service Office.

After a decade of development, the city's Pudong area has emerged into a booming financial district with a stunning skyline now shaped by multihued, glass-and-steel sky-scrapers.

But the most important is what they hold within.

According to the Pudong government, currently 121 financial institutions, including 56 foreign firms, are operating in Pudong, employing some 23,000 white-collar staff members. Most of them are located in the Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone, which was set up with the intention of luring foreign banks and service-industry providers to the area to help the city become a world-class financial force.

The Shanghai government has always been encouraging and facilitating foreign financial institutions to invest there.

"Foreign banks will do a great deal to help Shanghai become one of the world's premier international financial centres," said Huang Xiaoguang, head of Citibank's Shanghai branch.

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