Financial zone helps to balance city's economic structure

The Guangdong Financial High-tech Zone, located in Nanhai district of Foshan, has played a significant role in supporting the optimization of the city's industrial structure over the past 10 years.

Since it was established 10 years ago, the zone has set the goals of being a financial center to serve local industrial upgrading and a financial back office base. Companies are welcome to establish back officer service facilities such as call centers and research and development centers in the zone.

At the end of November, there were 364 investment projects in the zone, including the People's Insurance Company (Group) of China's PICC Southern Information Center, Fujitsu Data Center and Kuehne+Nagel Asia Pacific Delivery Center.

Foshan is known for its traditional manufacturing industries and the zone is designed to provide innovative financial services to support the upgrading of these industries.

"The decision to develop the zone into a financial back office base and an industrial financial center to serve the upgrading and transformation of traditional industrial has proved to be wise," said Qiao Jifei, deputy head of Nanhai district. "The zone has allowed Foshan to expand its service industry and develop a more balanced industrial structure."

Statistics provided by the local authorities show that income from the financial industry accounted for 5.35 percent of Nanhai district's GDP in 2016, up from 3.41 percent in 2015.

The zone has become an important financial back office base serving the Asia-Pacific region. Its core region has attracted nearly 30 outsourcing services providers, which employ more than 30,000 people. Some call centers in the zone can provide services in seven languages to global clients.

The zone also reported breakthroughs in promoting the integration of finance, technology and industry. In 2014, Nanhai district was recognized as the Comprehensive Pilot Zone for Finance, Technology and Industry Integration, the first of its kind in Guangdong. It also launched the Foshan Civil Financial Street and the Guangdong Equity Exchange to help promote the upgrading and transformation of traditional industries.

The Foshan Civil Financial Street has attracted more than 60 companies, pooling over 100 billion yuan ($15.12 billion) in private capital.

The Guangdong Equity Exchange, established in 2013, has 3,359 registered and listed companies. Of them, over 50 percent are technology-driven small and medium-sized companies.

The zone administrators have long been committed to promoting innovation to maintain long-term development.

Foshan has also made efforts to grasp opportunities emerging from China's Internet Plus strategy. It has been included in one of Guangdong's Internet Plus pilot projects this year and has planned to cultivate more internet financing institutions and mobile internet application industries.

(China Daily 12/06/2017 page24)