Shenzhen ups efforts for financial players

New policies to further enhance major city's role in Greater Bay Area, global market

The launch of a series of new measures to support the financial sector in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, will further strengthen its financial advantages and promote regional development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, officials and experts said.

The new measures were unveiled on Thursday in three government documents, which focus on the development of financial enterprises, financial technology and venture capital.

According to the new policies, newly registered financial enterprises that have headquarters in Shenzhen will be granted up to 50 million yuan ($7.9 million) in a one-off incentive.

Major financial institutions set up in Shenzhen, including clearing centers, data centers and scientific research centers, will receive a reward of up to 20 million yuan.

The southern metropolis will also provide support for fintech enterprises to go public and help expand avenues for them to raise funds in various ways, such as bond issuances and asset securitization.

For newly established equity investment firms and venture capital firms or those who newly move their business to Shenzhen, an incentive of as much as 20 million yuan will be offered if their investments meet certain requirements.

The aim of launching these policies is to further optimize Shenzhen's financial policy system, build a world-class ecosystem and promote high-quality development of the city's financial industry, said He Jie, head of Shenzhen's financial regulatory bureau.

In this way, the industry could better serve the real economy and the city's cohesiveness and competitiveness as a financial center could be further enhanced, he said.

Finance has been one of the pillar industries in Shenzhen's economic growth. Value-added in the financial industry amounted to 473.9 billion yuan last year, accounting for 15.4 percent of the city's gross domestic product, according to official statistics.

Approximately 166.2 billion yuan in taxes were generated by the industry in 2021, which made up 24 percent of the city's total tax revenue, the biggest contributor among all industries.

According to the latest Global Financial Centers Index, jointly published by Shenzhen-based think tank China Development Institute and London-based think tank Z/Yen last month, Shenzhen ranked 10th in the global ranking of financial centers, advancing six places from half a year earlier.

"The latest policies on financial industry development will help further enhance Shenzhen's status as a global financial center," said Yu Lingqu, vice-director of the Center for Financial Studies at the China Development Institute.

Fintech and venture capital are the two financial segments in which Shenzhen excels, compared with other major financial centers in the country such as Beijing and Shanghai, Yu said. By focusing on the two areas, Shenzhen could further sharpen its edge and give better play to its advantages, he said.

Yu added that the new measures will also create a synergistic effect with Hong Kong and promote regional development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

"As Shenzhen is able to provide ample scenarios for fintech applications, more scientific achievements made in Hong Kong can be transformed in the neighboring city. Meanwhile, more international talent in Hong Kong could be introduced to Shenzhen. These will promote cross-border flow of financial elements, enabling Shenzhen to play a bigger role in the development of the Greater Bay Area."

Feng Zixing, vice-president of Shenzhen Central Sub-branch of the People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, said the branch will continue to promote collaboration on innovative regulation of fintech in the Greater Bay Area and provide cross-border innovative testing services to inject fresh momentum to high-quality development of the financial industry in the region.