Fintech has emerged as a key focus of a raft of new financial sector opening measures unveiled by the Beijing municipal government.
Huo Xuewen (霍学文), head of Beijing’s local financial regulatory authority, said to Science and Technology Daily that the municipal government plans to create a “fintech innovation platform” to drive the broader application of fintech within the financial sector.
The platform will support cooperation and integration between foreign-invested financial institutions and tech enterprises in the Beijing area, as well as encourage foreign-invested financial institutions to take part in the Chinese government’s “regulatory sand box” policy.
The platform is part of a raft of measures unveiled by the Beijing municipal government to drive further opening of the local financial sector.
Huo said that Beijing is now “actively driving trials to facilitate foreign exchange management for renminbi international investment and loan funds,” as well as policies to support foreign-invested financial institutions.
Other measures include:
- The launch of the “Capital Financial Innovation Awards” (首都金融创新奖) by Beijing to encourage foreign-invested financial institutions to actively invest in financial innovation in the Chinese capital. The initiative will provide prize money of 5 million yuan to each of ten award-winning projects in its inaugural year.
- The establishment of a “foreign-invested financial institution talent introduction green corridor,” with Beijing hoping to attract fintech personnel from 100 high-end, international financial institutions to pursue careers in the Chinese capital. The plan will include the creation of an “international talent community” and the establishment of more international hospitals and schools.
- Support for foreign-invested financial institutions to engage in intra-sector cooperation in Beijing, and the provision of treatment equal to that for their Chinese-invested counterparts.
