The head of one of China’s big state-owned banks has highlighted the increasingly important role of data in the financial sector as the Chinese economy transitions towards increased digitisation.
Liu Jun (刘珺), president and deputy party-secretary of Bank of Communications (BOCOM), said that banks will “need to study how to use data assets and price data assets, and engage in effective risk management of data assets.”
“Data is the oil of the new economy, and the role of data is increasing on a daily basis,” said Liu on 9 July at the 2021 World AI Conference (2021世界人工智能大会) (WAIC) held in Shanghai.
Liu highlighted the increasingly important role of technology in the financial sector as the Chinese economy “shifts from the industrial economic era to the digital economic era.”
“Traditional factors of production such as capital, human resources and land are currently on the decline, and technology is becoming the most important driver of productivity,” said Liu.
“Tech will transform finance, and the goal of fintech is to better service the real economy and effectively reduce investment costs for the real economy.”
Liu pointed in particular to the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the financial sector.
“The financial sector is currently at a cross-roads, and the next step will be determined by how to better embrace AI,” said Liu.
“AI will replace human labour and human intelligence, and in the AI era Bank of Communications will embrace AI with the attitude of a youth, and create a new form of digital finance for this era.”
