Nation boosting financial opening-up

The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) is actively boosting the implementation of financial market opening-up measures, a senior official from the regulator said at a forum on Saturday.

Chen Wenhui, vice chairman of the CBIRC, said at the Tsinghua PBCSF Global Finance Forum that the commission will relax curbs for foreign investors to set up financial institutions, as well as allowing foreign banks to expand their business and optimizing regulation for foreign financial institutions.

The CBIRC is now accelerating the formulation of related laws and accepting entry applications, he noted.

“Recently, some foreign financial institutions have stated their intention to set up new institutions or increase their stakes in joint ventures,” he noted, adding that the commission would give guidance in accordance with the opening-up measures set by Beijing.

It’s necessary for China to further open up its financial market, as it will not only improve the efficiency of financial resource allocation but also help establish fair, open and transparent market rules, according to Chen.

In China, foreign financial institutions’ market share is still at a relatively low level.

By the end of 2017, foreign banks’ assets accounted for only 1.32 percent of the Chinese banking sector, compared with more than 10 percent in the US, UK, and some BRICS countries including Russia and India. Meanwhile, foreign insurance companies’ total assets and premium income account for 6.71 percent and 5.85 percent of the Chinese market, respectively.

Meanwhile, Chen stressed the need to control risks. Supervision regulations and related mechanisms will be improved, and a modern financial supervision framework will gradually be established, he said.