Shanghai FTZ opening up encourages foreign companies

Officials at the Shanghai Free Trade Zone announce new measures to expand the zone's financial opening up on June 21. [Photo/cn.jlt.com]

Foreign-funded companies are looking to take advantage of the new measures that the Shanghai Free Trade Zone (FTZ) unveiled on June 21 to expand its financial opening up.

The measures include opening up in the banking, securities, and insurance sectors, encouraging banks, insurance and securities firms to attract foreign investments, and giving equal treatment to domestic and overseas investors.

Zhang Hong, director of the fiscal and financial service bureau at the Shanghai FTZ, said that the measures are expected to optimize the zone's business environment and improve its comprehensive services concerning foreign investment.

The JLT Insurance Brokers Co, a subsidiary of a British insurance giant JLT Group, is a beneficiary of the new measures, having just moved its headquarters from Guangzhou to Shanghai FTZ and receiving approval to expand its businesses.

Philip Rong, general manager of JLT Insurance Broker Co, said, "This opening up brings us good opportunities. We used to be able to serve some large companies only, but now we can also serve small- and medium-sized companies and high net worth individuals."

The US-based JPMorgan Chase & Co and France-based Societe Generale plan to collaborate to launch a joint securities firm at the FTZ this year.

He Xin, director of the global financial market department at Societe Generale China, explained that the company chose to locate at the FTZ because Shanghai has a sound financial market infrastructure, preferential policies in cross-border yuan trade settlement, and a large number of highly-skilled foreign workers.

At present, the FTZ has gathered a wide range of foreign-funded financial institutions in the fields of banking, securities, funds, insurance, credit ratings and third-party payment, amongst others.

The investors are from economically developed countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Switzerland, and Singapore, and developing countries such as Turkey and Jordan.

Philip Rong, general manager of JLT Insurance Broker Co, says that the new measures of financial opening up at the Shanghai FTZ bring them good opportunities. [Photo/cn.jlt.com]