Shanghai is the cradle of China's modern finance industry. [Photo/CFP]

Shanghai, the cradle of China's modern finance industry, has been striving to become an international financial centre since 1992. By 2020, it had established a financial system that matched China's economic strength and the international status of the renminbi. Shanghai's financial sector has played a significant role in supporting the country's economic and social development, as well as its financial reform and opening-up, enhancing its level of internationalisation. The 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) sets a clear goal for Shanghai: "By 2025, Shanghai will significantly improve its standard of being an international financial centre, further highlight its role in serving the high-quality development of the national economy, consolidate its position as a centre for RMB financial asset allocation and risk management, significantly enhance its global resource allocation function, and lay a solid foundation for the construction of a globally influential international financial centre by 2035."

Shanghai's financial market has witnessed remarkable growth and innovation in recent years. In the first three quarters of 2023, the total trading volume of Shanghai's financial market was 2,546.08 trillion yuan ($358.75 trillion), up 15 percent year-on-year. The Shanghai Futures Exchange has become one of the world's three major copper pricing centres, and Shanghai has become the third-largest crude oil futures market after New York and London. The Shanghai Gold Exchange has launched the world's first RMB-denominated Shanghai Gold Benchmark Price and has maintained the world's largest trading volume of gold spot contracts for many years.

Shanghai continues to promote the high-quality development of the international financial centre, with key projects such as the International Financial Asset Trading Platform and the State-level precious metal trading vault progressing steadily.

Shanghai is also preparing for the establishment of the National Green Finance Reform and Innovation Pilot Zone and the National Financial Technology Development Research Centre. The Shanghai Stock Exchange's Science and Technology Innovation Board, or the STAR Market, and the registration-based IPO system have shown positive effects, with Shanghai companies leading the country in terms of the amount of funds raised and total market capitalisation on the STAR Market.

 

Sources: Information Office of Shanghai Municipality, Shanghai Municipal Statistics Bureau