Shanghai recently unveiled a new action plan to promote the five major areas of its finance sector. Focusing on serving major strategies and key areas, and addressing weak links, the plan puts forward 30 initiatives to enhance the city's competitiveness and strengthen its role as an international financial center.

The five major areas – science and technology finance, green finance, inclusive finance, pension finance, and digital finance – were mentioned for the first time in this year's Government Work Report.

The action plan was issued by the Shanghai branch of People's Bank of China, together with the Shanghai Municipal Committee's Financial Office, the Shanghai Municipal Financial Regulatory Bureau, the Shanghai Regulatory Bureau of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and other departments.

Under the plan, Shanghai aims to establish a comprehensive financial service and support system within the next three years, with a fundamental focus on serving the real economy.

This includes directing more financial resources to support technological innovation, advanced manufacturing, green development, low-carbon transition, private enterprises, small and micro enterprises, rural vitalization, elderly care services, the silver economy, the digital economy, and other sectors. The initiative will accelerate the development of new quality productive forces and contribute to building a financially strong country.

The action plan outlines seven key initiatives:

1. Providing financial support for technological self-reliance, with a focus on early-stage and growing technology enterprises.

2. Enriching green finance and transition finance products and services.

3. Supporting the sustainable development of medium, small, and micro enterprises.

4. Developing high-quality elderly care finance.

5. Promoting innovation in digital financial products and services.

6. Establishing a sound organizational structure for financial institutions and guiding banks and non-bank institutions to collaborate effectively.

7. Strengthening organizational leadership and coordination, ensuring effective policy promotion and guidance.

Previously, the Shanghai branch of the People's Bank of China, in collaboration with relevant departments, guided financial institutions to implement the coordinated advancement mechanism for Shanghai's five major areas. As a result, the outstanding balances of loans to technology enterprises, green loans, and inclusive small and micro enterprise loans in Shanghai all exceeded one trillion yuan ($140.08 billion) and continued to show double-digit growth.

Source: Jiefang Daily