City's financial industry grows at a faster pace

Shanghai's financial industry performed strongly in 2021, with the construction of an international financial center stepping up a notch, a new report has found.

The Shanghai Financial Prosperity Index, co-compiled by the Shanghai Financial Association and the China Economic Information Service under Xinhua News Agency, grew by 12.9 percent over the previous year, to hit 5,560.27 points, a faster pace compared with the 5.6 percent growth in 2020.

The index offers a comprehensive benchmark to reflect the overall prosperity of the city's financial industry. The system consists of six first-tier indices which reflect the industry's development: its financial market, financial institutions, financial talent, financial internationalization, financial innovation and financial ecological environment.

The financial market sub-index for the latest period recorded an increase of 7.3 percent year on year, while the other five first-tier indices all posted double-digit growth.

The total transaction volume of Shanghai's financial market exceeded 2,500 trillion yuan (US$352 trillion) in 2021, and direct financing reached 18.3 trillion yuan, which has served the real economy well.

The sub-index for financial ecology surged by 24.6 percent, followed by that for financial innovation and financial talent which rose 14.2 percent and 13.7 percent, respectively, "showing a stronger "soft-power" of the city's international financial center," the report said.

All the world's top10 asset management institutions have a presence in the city.

The financial institutions in the city also saw robust development, with its sub-index up 13.1 percent, as Shanghai had 1,707 licensed financial institutions by that time. The total number of financial institutions exceeded 10,000, making the city one with the highest concentration of domestic and foreign financial institutions.

It is also noted that foreign financial institutions accounted for 30 percent of the total number of the city's financial institutions.

Nearly half of the foreign banks, insurance institutions and fund management companies in China were attracted to settle in Shanghai, while all the world's top10 asset management institutions have a presence in the city.

Since its establishment in 2010, 16 editions of the report have been released, with a wide influence in the industry.