Digital technology to boost wealth market

Digital technologies will boost the development and transformation of wealth management, venture capital investment and digital payment and currency sectors, speakers told a forum at a FinTech conference on Thursday, part of the ongoing Pujiang Innovation Forum.

China’s wealth management market value hit 114 trillion yuan (US$16.7 billion) at the end of first quarter. Digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain can boost volume, improve services and cut costs in the market sector, said Lian Ping, chief economist and dean of Zhixin Investment Research Institute.

AI can play more and more important roles in investment consultancy and automatic services, Lian told the forum.

Blockchain, a key technology used in bitcoin and China’s official digital currency, will cut time, labor and transaction costs in current trades and banking services, said Xiao Feng, vice chairman of China Wanxiang Shareholding Co. 

Huawei Technologies has already set up its blockchain research center in Shanghai, city officials told the forum. 

Shanghai has taken a leading position in venture capital and private equity investment, which fuels innovation and entrepreneurship and boosts the digital economy.

In 2019, Shanghai’s IT investment volume reached 13.2 billion yuan, accounting for 11 percent of the national level, according to the Annual Report on the Eco-system of Science and Technology Finance in China, which was released at the forum on Thursday.