China mulls ‘end to foreign ownership limits’ on financial firms, signals bold effort to remove barriers in reform plan
- PBOC governor Yi Gang said he supports Shanghai-based pilot scheme that will scrap foreign ownership limits in firms providing securities and fund management services
- Top financial regulators outline measures to broaden market access, remove barriers
Top financial regulators highlighted capital market reform plans, including a key concession long-sought after by US trade negotiators that would remove the limit on foreign ownership of domestic financial institutions, as they gathered in Shanghai to discuss how to address internal and external challenges.
Yi Gang, governor of the People’s Bank of China, said the central bank would support a pilot programme based in Shanghai to remove the foreign ownership limit in firms providing securities and fund management services.
The effort was part of measures to help build the city into an international financial centre, he said.
Yi was speaking at the Lujiazui Forum in Shanghai on Thursday. The annual forum, which started in the city in 2008, attracts leading Chinese figures in economics and finance from both government and the private sector.
During a keynote presentation in the morning, Vice-Premier Liu He, who is also chief negotiator in trade talks with the US, mentioned “external pressures” facing China, but said the challenge could be turned into an opportunity to boost innovation and development.
Foreign investors and service providers have been seeking wider access to China’s financial markets for years. Washington has been urging Beijing to open its services industry, ranging from payment settlement to bond ratings agencies, in recent trade talks.