Shanghai implements more innovations in financial industry

Shanghai implemented robust financial service innovations while constructing the International Finance Center in 2019, better serving the financial industry and the real economy while preventing financial risks, local authorities said.

To encourage such innovations, the local government has given out special awards since 2010, according to the Shanghai Financial Services Office.

For 2019, a total of 69 financial innovation awards were dispersed, including one special prize, six first prizes, 15 second prizes, 22 third prizes and 25 nomination prizes. Another nine awards were given to industry players that have promoted financial innovation.

The award-winning projects have helped enhance the city’s capacity for global resource allocation. The pilot registration-based system project on Shanghai's STAR Market, initiated by the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shanghai branch of the China Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation, is a breakthrough in market-oriented reform on stock issuance and pricing, a shot in the arm to innovating China's capital market.

Innovations also facilitated the city's financial openness. The Innovation and Improvement of Infrastructure in the Interbank Bond Market project by the China National Interbank Funding Center helped bring about the direct quotation of domestic quotation providers to overseas financial institutions for the first time. This project expanded the market price discovery of overseas institutions and the global influence of market makers in the inter-bank bond market.

Additionally, the Shanghai Insurance Exchange helped build an industry ecosystem through the application of blockchain technology, better serving the development of the real economy.