Capital city in prime position to advance fintech collaboration

Beijing is taking a lead role in building a national financial technology center based on its advantages in the sector, a senior official said at the 2020 Financial Street Forum on Friday.

Yin Yong, vice- mayor of Beijing, said the integration of finance and technology is of great significance. The financial industry has been open to new technologies, especially since the internet brought huge opportunities to the sector, he added.

“Beijing is the center of China’s financial administration and there is abundant financial resources in the capital,” he said.

According to Yin, Beijing takes up 45 percent of China’s financial assets while the demand for financial technology is mainly located in Beijing.

At the same time, Beijing is a national science and technology center. The city has invested about 6 percent of its GDP into science and technology research annually for the past five years, which is three times the national average.

“There are more than 27,000 high- tech companies in the city, which have provided the best resources for the capital to develop financial technology,” he said.

In November 2018, Beijing published the country’s first financial technology development plan with detailed support policies.

The authority has built a financial technology zone in its core area. In this new zone, there are 13 listed companies and more than 60 unlisted companies doing business.

“We will continue to provide better service and policies in terms of working environment and talents to strengthen the research and development of the financial technology sector,” Yin said.

Huang Hong is vice- chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission. He said at the forum that the commission has carried out measures in the financial technology field to support Beijing’s role as the nation’s science and technology center.

“The commission has given innovative policies and service to Beijing in the financial area and cooperated with the Beijing government to build a national- level banking and insurance industrial park in order to further opening- up and cultivate the industry,” Huang said.

He said a large number of companies have grown rapidly with support from the commission.

The loan balance of Beijing’s science and technology companies was around 673 billion yuan ($ 100.41 billion) by August. The number of professionals in the financial technology sector in the city is 7,128, according to Huang.

The commission has given innovative policies and service to Beijing ... to build a national- level banking and insurance industrial park in order to further opening- up ...”

Huang Hong, vice- chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission