Major event expected to boost city’s financial sector

Sichuan’s banking; insurance and financial authorities share one building in Chengdu to enhance administration. Photos provided to China daily

G20 meeting brainstorms global economic trends and hot issues in Chengdu

The G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting held in Chengdu from July 23-24 is expected to boost the development of the city’s financial sector and help it achieve its goal of becoming a financial center in western China.

The G20 event drew finance ministers and central bank governors from the G20 members and guest countries, as well as the principals of international financial organizations such as the World Bank, IMF and OECD. Delegates discussed the world’s current economic trends and issues and shared their views and insights about future economic growth prospects.

As one of the most important global events, the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting is generally held in either the capitals or economic centers of G20 members. This was the first time the meeting had been held in western China.

Yan Xing, deputy director of the Chengdu Academy of Social Sciences, said Chengdu was chosen as host city for the G20 meeting thanks to its well-developed financial industry, as well as its growing economic strength and international reputation.

As the birthplace of jiaozi, the world’s earliest form of paper currency, which appeared in the city in the Northern Song Dynasty (9601127), Chengdu has a prominent place in China’s financial history.

Since being designated by the State Council as the financial center of the southwestern region in the 1990s, Chengdu has been upgrading its financial sector. It is planning to build itself into a financial center in China’s western region by 2020 and regain its glory in history.

A street-level view of the Luomashi Provincial-level of Financial Service Area in Chengdu. The city banks on its future on the financial sector.

An glance of the Chengdu Financial City. The area, covering five square kilometers, is under construction. It is expected to become West China’s financial hub.

Yan said the city’s development is backed by the central government’s strategy to develop key projects including the Belt and Road Initiative, national comprehensive reform pilot zones, and Tianfu New Area.

By the end of May, Chengdu was home to more than 400 financial institutions, including 16 foreign banks and 17 foreign insurance companies, according to the Chengdu Financial Office.

A number of foreign financial institutions, including Citibank, HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland and JP Morgan Chase, have opened branches in the city.

The number of foreign financial institutions in Chengdu ranks ahead of other cities in central and western China.

Last year, the added value of the city’s financial sector was 125.4 billion yuan ($20.5 billion), a 15.5 percent increase on the previous year.

The financial sector accounts for 11.6 percent of Chengdu’s GDP.

The city has accelerated its pace of opening-up in the financial sector.

During the 2016 Chengdu Global Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fair in June, Chengdu established its first government investment fund — the Chengdu Qianhai Industrial Investment Fund — with an investment of 40 billion yuan for the first phase.

“The establishment of the fund accelerated the globalization of the city’s financial industry. It has opened a channel for global investment from cities such as London, New York and Frankfurt to Chengdu,” said a spokesman from the Chengdu Financial Office.

The Chengdu Financial City, established in 200 and covering a total area of five square kilometers in the south of the city, is the major industrial area in which Chengdu can develop its financial industry.  

It had attracted 302 financial companies by the end of last year.

The city is also building the Tianfu International Fund Town, which to date has attracted a total of 10 foreign and domestic venture capital institutions.

It will have the capacity to accommodate 1,200 such firms when completed.

“Chengdu has accelerated its pace of internationalization since the 2013 Chengdu Fortune Global Forum and has attracted increasing global attention,” Yan said.

The city was the first in central and western China to host the Fortune Global Forum.

More than 600 business leaders from top companies around the world gathered to share their opinions on new trends in the world’s largest developing economy.

“The G20 meeting provides the city with new opportunities to be further known by the world. The city will gain greater international influence and become more attractive to global capital,” Yan added.