Christie's gives thumbs up to Shanghai FTZ

Most foreign investors might be getting impatient with the slow progress at Shanghai's much-toted Shanghai free-trade zone (FTZ), but the mainland's 29 square kilometre "mini Hong Kong" has got a thumping approval from Christie's.

"Christie's is a beneficiary of the free-trade zone development," Christie's China president Cai Jinqing said, citing the simplified customs processes and logistics services at the zone. "We are paying close attention to its further development as it is boosting our operation here."

Cai said it now takes just a few days for the London-based auction house to bring over art pieces for display in Shanghai, compared with weeks that it used to spend on customs procedures and warehousing arrangements before the FTZ was launched.

When it was launched last September, the government had promised financial liberalisation for the zone, including a market-based interest rate mechanism and yuan convertibility under the capital account. But the reforms are yet to take place, mainly because of concerns about hot money.

Many company executives and economists have now given up on the zone as the government seems reluctant to fully ease its grip on FTZ policy.

But customs authorities in Shanghai have been reiterating they would relinquish their supervisory role for the FTZ, and shipping industry officials testify to gradual progress.