1st Bund Summit looks at building global economy
THE inaugural Bund Summit was held yesterday, focusing on issues including financial opening-up, fintech and wealth management.
The event invites global senior policymakers, executives of financial institutions and academic leaders to the Bund to share their insights on economic and financial issues and give intellectual support for building an open world economy.
“The global economy and finance are now in a new environment and facing new challenges. Against the backdrop of economic downturn, rising protectionism and turbulence in the financial ecosystem, it is even more necessary to communicate, seek consensus and jointly tackle the common challenges,” said Tu Guangshao, executive chairman of Bund Summit Organizing Committee.
“Globalization is inexorable and global financial cooperation needs to move forward,” Tu said, noting that China’s reform and opening-up policy provides an opportunity for global partners and to boost its development in the financial sector.
A recent study by Citigroup showed global investors see China as a very huge market with great development potential, according to Stuart Staley, head of APAC Markets and Securities Services at Citigroup.
The market is very large now but in terms of the growth potential, investors still give feedback as “high growth potential,” as the shareholding ratio is relatively low at the moment, Staley said.
Richard Cantor, chief credit officer of Moody’s Corporation as well as chief credit officer of Moody’s Investor Service Inc, pointed out that foreign ownership of Chinese bonds is at a relatively low level but has maintained rapid growth.
Foreign participation in China’s bond market has continued to grow and financial liberalization has been developing after Chinese President Xi Jinping and Central Bank’s governor Yi Gang announced a series of supportive policies in 2018. This has led to higher foreign involvement in the financial market, Cantor said.
The regulations and the participation of financial institutions, combined with the financial infrastructure and the stock connect schemes linking the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong Special Administration Region, have all proved China will continue to carry out financial opening-up, he said.
The summit was held by the China Finance 40 Forum and the Huangpu District government in order to advance the opening of the financial sector, speed up developing Shanghai into an international financial center and promote integration and cooperation between China and the world.