Relaxed rules attract financial players

Beijing’s financial authorities have performed the “service provider” mechanism well recently and attracted innovative financial resources.

The city has held more than 100 seminars and investment conferences targeting foreignfunded organizations over the past two years.

At each of the events, Huo Xuewen, director of the Beijing Local Financial Supervision and Administration, offered his contact information to financial services, Beijing Daily reported.

Huo said the city established the “service provider” mechanism to attract more foreignfunded financial institutions, offering one-on-one policy consultation, government review and approval and other support services.

The Beijing Financial Court, launched in March in the capital’s Xicheng district, will help the country strengthen financial supervision, serve financial reforms, and prevent financial risks, said An Fengde, vicepresident of the Beijing High People’s Court.

Wu Yajun, vice-president of financial markets data and infrastructure provider Refinitiv, contacted such a “service provider” shortly after a foreign-funded organizations’ meeting last year. The company’s headquarters in China was set up in Beijing’s subcity center of Tongzhou district recently. Wu said he appreciated that the city’s financial supervision and management authorities and other departments had worked overtime to help establish the headquarters.

Workers at his company were impressed by the government’s efforts to improve the business environment, Wu said.

More than 50 foreigninvested financial organizations have conducted trade in Beijing since the start of 2018. They were in fields such as insurance, securities, financial science and technology, asset management, and payment and settlement.

Habib Bank, the largest multinational bank in Pakistan, opened its branch in Beijing on March 5.

Beijing is developing a nationally comprehensive demonstration area for the service industry’s opening-up and a pilot free trade zone, which involves 102 financial policies.

The policies comprise seven aspects, such as relaxing restrictions on market access, highlighting financial support for the real economy and improving the world-class business environment. Of them, 43 have been implemented so far.

In January, three innovative financial organizations were approved to be founded in

Beijing as the city promoted the development of the two areas.

China Life Insurance established the country’s first alternative investment insurance asset management company, China Life Investment Management. The company will focus on alternative investment, creditor investment planning and equity investment planning.

The People’s Bank of China approved the first licensed payment company wholly owned by foreign capital — GoPay — to operate in Beijing on Jan 8. PayPal, a leading third-party payment company, has taken full control of GoPay via its branch.

The moves embody the enhanced opening-up of China’s payment and settlement market, local officials said. They added that it can help promote the domestic market to better adapt to international rules, improve services and control financial risks.

The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission approved preparations to found an insurance asset management company in Beijing on Jan 25.

The company is solely funded by Allianz China Insurance Holding, a branch of Europe’s largest insurer Allianz SE.