Glimpses of economy over next 5 years

Neil Ge, CEO of DBS Bank (China) Ltd

A1 Innovation is critical to the economic transition that China is going through as we are counting on it to become a powerful engine fueling future economic growth.

It is also key to the quality, sustainable growth we aim to achieve, which will solve the problems of overcapacity, heavy environment costs, etc, over time.

Banks are increasingly under pressure to innovate, especially in the face of rising competition from Internet players and alternative funding solution providers. DBS embraces digital and has a plan of building up our digital capabilities in China that allows us to scale up businesses without building up a very extensive physical network.

A2 We are happy to see that green growth is going to get more attention and emphasis so that the importance of clean air, conservation of nature and quality of life are increasingly recognized by all.

DBS has always been an environmentally conscious bank in that we are continuously adopting latest measures to save energy and reduce waste in our operations.

With green growth as a highlight, we will also grow our expertise in this sector to provide financial solutions that suit the needs of the people concerned. And while doing our due diligence, we will also look at companies' environment records.

A3 Achieving at least 6.5 percent growth in the next five years is not unrealistic although it is not an easy task.

We have seen a wide range of initiatives already under way from interest rate liberalization, renminbi internationalization to relaxing the one-child policy, allowing local governments to issue bonds, setting up free trade zones, furthering SOE reforms, and so on. What's more, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Belt and Road Initiative were also launched on the international front.

With all these measures, and more to come, we do see the determination to forge ahead with reforms to support economic growth.

A4 The fact that a lower growth rate is now widely accepted by the government and businesses alike is already a good start for more sustainable growth ahead. This will serve as a good guidance to local governments and businesses to change their growth engines, reduce capacity, and exit from environment-unfriendly projects.

We are looking forward to more details in the 13th Five-Year Plan with proper incentives in place to support the green industries, and punishments for environment damages. This can kick-start a virtuous circle and foster the development of an ecosystem that will support new technologies and business models, which in turn, will bring about sustainable growth.

A5 Since establishing our presence in China over 20 years ago, DBS has pioneered efforts to support China's financial reforms. We were the first Singaporean bank to incorporate locally in China in 2007, the first foreign bank to operate in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone last year and (among) the first batch of banks selected to be a member bank of China's first international payments system－Cross-border International Payment System－in October this year.

We are a major player in the offshore renminbi market, making our contribution to support renminbi to become a truly global currency. We will embrace further initiatives for its internationalization.