Experts praise city's wealth zone

Forum confirms Qingdao's rise as center for finance management

The 2016 China Wealth Forum was held successfully in Qingdao, a port city in East China's Shandong province, on June 4.

Themed "Trends in wealth management from a global perspective", the event was hosted by the Qingdao government to introduce to the world the city's strength as China's first Wealth Management and Comprehensive Financial Reform Pilot Zone, and to seek suggestions from experts from 10 countries on how to steer future development in the sector.

The State Council, China's cabinet, approved Qingdao's application to build it into such a zone in February 2014. The city has made great progress in that direction since then.

Qingdao became the first reform pilot city approved by the central authority to allow domestic enterprises to directly borrow renminbi from banks in South Korea. It was also the first city on the Chinese mainland to have a loan in South Korean won under the Sino-ROK currency exchange program. Qingdao also had the first foreign wealth management firm, the first consumption financial venture and the first debt management firm on the Chinese mainland.

In the past two years, Qingdao has developed 28 new financial agencies and entered the global financial center list issued by Z/Yen, a financial company headquartered in London, for the first time, ranked 79th.

Qingdao has a strong manufacturing industry in household appliances and high-speed trains, as well as unique advantages in developing an ocean-related economy and related technology. Its good climate and pleasant natural environment are also important attractions to the high networth customers of wealth management firms.

"Residents in Shandong are famous for their hardworking spirit and frugality in expenditure on daily life," said Guo Shuqing, governor of Shandong. "The province's resident saving ratio was 35.8 percent last year.

"The purpose of developing wealth management is to transform people's savings into effective investment, and to optimize the industrial structure. The people are the main beneficiaries of these undertakings.

Guo said the Shandong provincial government aims to build Qingdao into a regional wealth management center in Asia similar to Hong Kong and Singapore.

"The real economy of a city is an important foundation to the development of the financial industry," said Li Qun, Party chief of Qingdao.

Li compared the relationship between the real economy and the financial industry in a city as that between a water pool and an irrigation system. He said the Qingdao government will take a series of reform measures and create a good policy environment for the city's wealth management industry to achieve healthy growth.

Former French premier Dominique de Villepin thinks Qingdao's financial reform will stimulate financial innovation and reform in Shandong and even across China.

He said during the forum that Qingdao's geographical closeness to Japan and South Korea, its historical connection with Germany and its great potential in many economic sectors expand the space for foundation investment.

"The financial service that stresses sharing is a key factor. I believe in the importance of innovation and cooperation," he said.

Charles Bowman, a senior official in the City of London Corporation, said at the forum that Qingdao should first of all have a powerful supervisory mechanism and a strong legal system to create a fair market and social environment.

Then, he said, the authorities should promote the plural and innovative development of the financial sector. He urged Qingdao to pay attention to attracting financial talents from around the world, and cultivating local talents.

liyang@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 06/29/2016 page12)