CCTV News: Last year, the Central Financial Work Conference proposed that “efforts should be made to promote high-level financial opening up” and “attract more foreign financial institutions and long-term capital to develop and develop businesses in China.” Since the beginning of this year, foreign investment institutions such as public equity, private equity, and securities firms have successively been approved and increased investment in China, accelerating their deployment in China’s capital market. Foreign capital has used “real money” to express its long-term optimism about the Chinese market. The increasingly open Chinese financial market is attracting More foreign capital comes in.
Since the beginning of this year, many foreign-funded institutions have applied to establish new securities firms and expand business in China, and foreign public funds have also been approved and increased capital in China. China's increasingly open financial market is attracting more foreign investment. On March 5, Neuberger Berman Fund increased its capital to RMB 420 million. On March 18, foreign private equity giant Hanling Capital settled in Shanghai. Six foreign public funds, including BlackRock Fund and Fidelity Fund, successively increased their registered capital. International private equity giants are also accelerating their deployment in the Chinese market. Since this year, three international asset management giants, including Hanling Capital, Bowen Capital and KKR, have successively landed in Shanghai.
On March 22, Standard Chartered Securities officially launched its business in Beijing, adding another wholly foreign-owned securities firm to the number. Currently, the number of foreign-owned securities firms in China has increased to 10. In addition, Citigroup Securities, Mizuho Securities, and BNP Paribas Securities are also "queuing up" to wait for admission.
Behind the acceleration of foreign-funded institutions' "land grab" in the Chinese market is the continued efforts of policy "combinations". In August 2023, the State Council issued opinions supporting the direct use of raised overseas RMB to carry out related domestic investments. The Central Financial Work Conference proposed to enhance the competitiveness and influence of Shanghai as an international financial center and consolidate and enhance Hong Kong’s status as an international financial center. On March 19 this year, the State Council issued a specific action plan, once again emphasizing the encouragement of foreign investment to establish private equity funds and carry out various investment activities in accordance with the law.
In recent years, China has launched more than 50 opening-up measures in the financial sector. A series of opening-up measures have helped accelerate the formation of a new pattern of comprehensive opening-up with a larger scope, wider fields and deeper levels. At present, more than 200 foreign banks have established institutions in China, and 1,128 overseas institutions have entered the Chinese bond market. Since the lifting of foreign shareholding ratio restrictions in 2020, the China Securities Regulatory Commission has approved 24 foreign-controlled or wholly-owned securities and futures fund companies. . At present, China has completely eliminated restrictions on foreign shareholding ratios in the fields of banking, securities, fund management, futures, and personal insurance, granted national treatment to foreign-funded institutions in the fields of corporate credit reporting, rating, and payment, and significantly expanded the business scope of foreign-funded institutions. In the future, China will further expand the access of foreign financial institutions in the banking and insurance field and support foreign institutions to better invest and establish businesses in China.