Cultivating human assets key to financial industry

Beijing’s Xicheng district, where the capital’s Financial Street is, will attract and cultivate around 2,000 professionals over the next three years, as part of the government’s plan to promote the financial sector, local officials said on Thursday.

Cheng Changhong, head of Xicheng’s organization department, said at the 2020 Financial Street Forum that the local government will deliver on supportive policies in the plan to serve professionals and realize the district’s function as the nation’s financial management center.

The competition for fintech professionals has already become a key component for financial institutions to succeed.”

Huo Xuewen, director of the Beijing Local Financial Supervision and Administration

“Facing the rapid development of the finance industry and financial technology, as well as the opportunities brought by improvements in the capital’s core areas including Xicheng, our district will take attracting and fostering professionals as a crucial element of ensuring the high- quality growth,” he said.

“Finance is a professional- and intelligence- intensive industry with the core competitiveness of personnel,” he added.

According to Cheng, Xicheng has provided around 500 apartments for financial professionals in the district as well as certifications for 1,500 others.

The district has also offered 200 million yuan ($ 30 million) in bonuses for outstanding professionals in the finance industry.

Official data show that there is a pool of approximately 1 million high- caliber professionals in Xicheng. About 538,400 of them are professionals in the fields of finance, technology and culture.

At present, Xicheng is home to 1,900 financial institutions and 175 company headquarters with a total asset scale of 113.6 trillion yuan.

Huo Xuewen, director of the Beijing Local Financial Supervision and Administration, spoke at the forum on Thursday. He said the capital has been working to provide a better environment and services to attract financial professionals.

“It mainly covers six sectors: housing services, tax favors, social honors, living convenience, transportation and children’s schooling,” he explained.

The financial technology industry is facing opportunities and challenges brought by the rapid development of 5G, he said.

“Digital finance has become a major driver of Beijing’s economic growth, which is a great opportunity,” he said. “The combination of finance and technology will bring a huge difference to our lives at a much faster pace.”

However, he said, the technology has brought challenges to the financial sector in the form of a huge shortage of professionals in this field.

“The competition for fintech professionals has already become a key component for financial institutions to succeed.”

Thus, the government should strengthen the cultivation of professionals in both companies and colleges, as well as the cooperation between financial training institutions, he said.

The administration has been working on drafting financial standards and certifications, which will help to cultivate qualified professionals for the industry.