Statistics are dizzying, but Shanghai still has a long way to go
While Pudong is burgeoning, lack of access for global players hits growth
Citibank chairman William Rhodes visited Shanghai last month to announce a deal for the worldwide use of mainland credit cards and open the bank's flagship base on two floors of a skyscraper of which it has bought 10 floors.
The skyscraper overlooks the Huangpu River on the east side - Pudong - and Mr Rhodes made the announcement at the Pudong Shangri-La, which last week opened a 36-floor extension, involving an investment of US$138 million.
The two events show the importance of Pudong in Shanghai's quest to become the financial capital of China. But the city still has a long way to go to catch up with international centres such as Hong Kong, Tokyo, London and New York - especially in transparency, regulation, ease of doing business and provision of specialised personnel.
Its Lujiazui district boasts the city's stock market, the larger of the two in China, a gold exchange, an interbank market, a futures exchange and tower blocks that house the offices of the major financial institutions of the mainland and the world.
Japan's Mori is building the 95-storey Shanghai World Financial Centre next to the existing 88-storey Jinmao Tower.