Shanghai making headway in financial power, says bank exec

Shanghai's pursuit of building itself into a global financial center will gather pace as the city further opens such sectors as insurance, wealth management and investment banking, said Zhu Xian, vice-president of New Development Bank.

"The city has made great headway in this aspect and has continuously climbed in the ranking of global financial hubs," Zhu said on Monday.

New Development Bank, the multilateral development bank established by the BRICS states, is the first international financial institution with headquarters in Shanghai and has benefited from the city's first-class business environment since establishment in 2015.

"The bank has issued renminbi-denominated bonds in Shanghai's interbank bond market, thanks to the city's advantage of being home to a large amount of financial institutions," he said.

In the mid- to long-term, Shanghai still needs to achieve the full convertibility of the renminbi to make itself a major global financial center.

"If the issue of currency convertibility is solved, the position of Shanghai as a real global financial center will be unshakable," Zhu said.