The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and the Sichuan-province capital of Chengdu have worked together to produce a plan for transforming the city into a regional fintech hub.
Chengdu’s financial regulator and the Chengdu office of PBOC officially launched the “Chengdu Municipal Fintech Development Plan” (成都市金融科技发展规划(2020-2022年)) at a press conference held on 20 May.
The Plan is China’s first regional fintech development blueprint to be produced by a local government in collaboration with the Chinese central bank.
The Plan calls for “striving to transform Chengdu into a regional fintech centre with international influence” by 2022, and the creation of a fintech innovation demonstration system that is a “regional leader.”
Key areas of focus will be “raising the ability of finance to service the real economy, increasing the efficiency of financial regulation, and further accelerating the establishment of Chengdu as a financial centre in the west of the country.”
Liang Qizhou (梁其洲), head of Chengdu’s financial regulator, said that Chengdu will also strengthen exchange and cooperation with nearby Chongqing in the area of fintech, against the broader backdrop of efforts to create the Chengdu-Chongqing Twin City Economic Zone.
“[We] will strive to combine the strengths of Chengdu and Chongqing via coordinated development, and create high grounds for the development of fintech in Chengdu and Chongqing,” said Liang.
Chengdu is currently accelerating efforts to establish itself as a financial centre for western China, with an especial focus on fintech and expediting financial inclusion.
Key goals set by the Plan include:
- Establishing a fintech industry zone centred on the Jiaozi Park commercial area of Chengdu;
- Creating 5- 10 fintech companies that are industry leaders within China, and pushing for 3 – 5 fintech-related enterprises to to public.
- Nurturing “multi-tier” fintech talent;
- Create 3 – 5 fintech research institutions that are both domestically and internationally influential.
In August 2019 PBOC released its “Fintech Development Plan (2019 – 2021)” (金融科技（FinTech）发展规划（2019-2021年）) outlining “guidance ideology, basic principles, development targets, key missions and guarantee mechanisms” for fintech work in the whole of China over the upcoming three years.
Related stories
Chinese Central Bank Releases Fintech Development Plan for 2019 – 2021
Chengdu Launches Blockchain Cross-border Trade Platform to Connect China and Europe
Chengdu Plans to Host World’s Largest Fintech Hackerspace by 2019
Chengdu Development Zone Grants Fintech Subsidies to 240 Companies
