BEIJING: Investing in China is vital for the future of global financial institutions as opportunities arising from the opening of the world’s second-largest economy remain extensive and promising, international executives and experts said.
Asset and wealth management, insurance and pensions, and green and digital finance are the sectors particularly appealing to foreign financial institutions, whose investment in China may gain traction this year amid the country’s economic recovery and signs of recovering Sino-US economic relations, they said.
Their comments came after Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, stressed the need to expand opening-up to improve the efficiency and capacity of financial resource allocation.
He made the remarks at the opening ceremony of a study session attended by provincial and ministerial-level officials on Jan 16, themed on promoting high-quality financial development.
“As a global company, investing in and being committed to China is really critical for our future,” said Paul Murray, CEO of life and health reinsurance at Swiss Re, a global leader in reinsurance.
In contrast with Europe and the United States, Murray said China is witnessing rapid growth in insurance demand amid the country’s robust economic growth and expanding middle-income population. Sharing similar sentiments, He Xin, Societe Generale’s chief country officer for China and CEO of Societe Generale (China) Ltd, said the French international banking group is considering further plans to capitalize on the growth of China’s green finance, as well as its wealth and asset management sectors.
“We see vast development potential in China’s wealth management market,” He said, as the allocation of Chinese household wealth would gradually shift from the real estate market to financial products.
The executives’ optimism reflects the attraction of China’s financial sector to global financial institutions. Since China removed ownership caps in the fund management and securities industries in 2020, three securities companies with foreign complete stakes and nine wholly foreign-owned fund management companies have been approved to operate in China.
The National Financial Regulatory Administration said on Saturday that the country will further support foreign institutions with expertise in fields including wealth management, elderly care, healthcare and nonperforming asset disposal to come to China for business development. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
