China's financial industry is opening up to the outside world
The announcement shows that the establishment of the Sino-foreign joint venture bank still needs to be reviewed by the Bank of China Insurance Supervision and Administration Commission. Although the establishment of foreign-controlled banks is still on the verge of death, this news has already released a positive signal that China's financial industry is opening up and then speeding up.
Breaking through the 50% shareholding limit of foreign capital
In April 2018, Yi Gang, the president of the People's Bank of China, announced at the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Meeting that 11 measures were included in the financial sector, including the removal of restrictions on the proportion of foreign ownership of banks and financial asset management companies.
Since then, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce issued the "Special Management Measures for Foreign Investment Access (Negative List) (2018 Edition)" further clarified the relaxation of the upper limit of the foreign shareholding ratio of securities companies, fund management companies, futures companies, and personal insurance companies. Up to 51%, no limit will be set after three years.
The news that the Bank of Beijing and the Dutch Anzhi Bank will set up a joint venture bank is a strong proof of the determination, intensity and depth of China's financial industry. The Bank of Beijing said in the announcement that the joint venture bank will strive to become a benchmark for responding positively and practicing the major measures related to China's financial opening.
Dong Xiwei, deputy dean of Chongyang Finance College of Renmin University of China, said in an interview with an international business newspaper that if the establishment of a Sino-foreign joint venture bank is approved by the regulatory authorities, its significance is very significant, indicating that the opening up of the Chinese financial industry has accelerated and deepened.
According to Liu Cheng, head of the Department of Financial Engineering at the School of Economics and Management, University of Science and Technology Beijing, the proposed establishment of a joint venture bank by the Bank of Beijing is a weather vane. In the future, similar foreign banks will enter the Chinese market in large quantities. This change will help upgrade the Bank of China. The overall competitiveness and vitality of the industry will further enhance the overall service level and risk management capabilities of the Chinese financial industry.
Breaking the upper limit of foreign shareholding is not only reflected in the banking industry. In November 2018, Allianz Insurance Group of Germany was approved to establish Allianz (China) Insurance Holdings Co., Ltd. and Allianz China Insurance Holdings Co., Ltd. became the first foreign insurance holding company in China.
At the regular press conference held by the China Securities Regulatory Commission on March 29 this year, the Securities and Futures Commission spokesperson Chang Depeng announced the addition of two foreign-controlled brokers. The China Securities Regulatory Commission officially approved the establishment of JPMorgan Securities (China) Co., Ltd. and Nomura Oriental International. Securities Limited.
In addition, UBS Securities, which has obtained foreign investment control rights at the end of 2018, has now increased the number of foreign-controlled securities firms in China's securities industry to three. The industry analysts believe that with the development of actual business, these foreign-controlled brokers will inject new vitality into the domestic securities industry.
The financial industry is open without stopping
During the two sessions of the National People's Congress this year, Yi Gang stressed at the press conference that the timetable for the opening up of the financial industry is determined according to China's reform and opening up needs. The opening of China's financial market is beneficial to China and beneficial to the world. China will unswervingly follow the timetable.
Since 2018, China's financial industry has achieved remarkable results in opening up to the outside world, and measures have been frequently introduced and implemented successively. This year, what measures and deployment will China's financial industry expand to open up?
Wang Zhaoxing, vice chairman of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, said that the China Insurance Regulatory Commission has begun to study new opening measures, including foreign-funded banking and insurance industry's access to the Chinese market, such as equity opening, investment opening, business opening, institutional openness, and regional opening. Providing a broader space for foreign capital to enter the Chinese financial market is also conducive to the participation of foreign capital in the reform and development of China's financial industry.
Guo Shuqing, secretary of the Party Committee of the People's Bank of China and chairman of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, also said that more foreign financial institutions are welcome to invest in the Chinese market. He said that at present, foreign banks, insurance companies, foreign-invested securities companies and other institutions will play a very positive role in entering the Chinese market and will not bring more risks.
Dong Xizhen believes that in the future, it is necessary to introduce some high-quality foreign-funded financial institutions to improve the competitiveness and level of competition in China's banking, insurance, and vouchers, and promote the high-quality development of the entire Chinese financial industry.