Party official touts the advanced construction of modern socialist metropolis

The China Wealth Forum kicked off on July 30 in the coastal city of Qingdao, Shandong province, giving impetus to the region's economic transformation and building a new development pattern with financial initiatives.

Titled "Wealth Management Innovation Path Under the New Development Pattern", the event attracted experts, scholars and well-known entrepreneurs from the field of wealth management to exchange ideas, discuss cooperation and seek common development.

Lu Zhiyuan, deputy Party secretary of Shandong and Party secretary of Qingdao, said that the city has a strong industrial foundation, a well-connected location, a strong innovation base and a superior business development environment. It has significant advantages in developing the financial industry.

"We are accelerating the construction of a modern socialist international metropolis in the new era. We are willing to join hands with all parties to better play the role of finance in supporting high-quality economic development and deepen cooperation in serving the development of the real economy and promoting the integrated development of the industrial chain, innovation chain, capital chain, and ecological chain," Lu said.

He added that Qingdao will continue to create a market-oriented, legalized, and international business environment to serve domestic and foreign financial institutions. That environment will create favorable conditions for financial talents.

In February 2014, the State Council, together with 11 national ministries and commissions including the People's Bank of China, approved the establishment of the Qingdao Wealth Management and Financial Comprehensive Reform Pilot Zone.

In the first half of this year, Qingdao's loan scale has exceeded 200 billion yuan ($29.7 billion).

The city plays a vital role in boosting the revitalization and development of the real economy.

At the end of June, the balance of domestic and foreign currency loans in Qingdao was the first in the province to exceed 2.5 trillion yuan.

The city's local and foreign currency loan balance reached 2.6 trillion yuan, an increase of 192.9 billion yuan from the beginning of the year.

The loan ratio reached 105.4 percent, 23 percentage points higher than the national level and manufacturing loans achieved positive growth for 29 consecutive months. The growth rate of inclusive small and micro loans was 15 percentage points higher than that of various loans.

A key to the construction of the global (Qingdao) venture capital center and the core area of the Qingdao Wealth Management and Financial Comprehensive Reform Pilot Zone, Jinjialing Financial District in Laoshan of Qingdao continues to release its potential and vitality, reshape the development of the financial industry, and make wealth management a "new business card".

While the traditional financial industry has grown bigger and stronger, Jinjialing Financial District has gradually established a diversified wealth management system led by professional asset management institutions based on diversified market entities, product innovation, asset allocation and high-end talents.

In 2021, the added value of the financial industry in the district increased by 12 percent, ranking first in Qingdao in terms of growth rate.

More than 1,200 financial institutions and quasi-financial enterprises reside in the district, covering 22 types of financial formats, which account for 63 percent of the city's total.

There are 605 companies with a managed fund scale of 90.6 billion yuan.

To build an international wealth management center, the district aims to gather industry-leading and influential industry entities. It not only attracts mature industry players to achieve aggregation, but cultivates new types of asset management institutions.

A big number of large-scale financial institutions continue to consolidate the core positioning of the district in Qingdao's financial industry.

One example is Bank of Qingdao, which was approved by the China Securities Regulatory Commission for securities investment fund custody qualifications and filled the gap in the fund custody qualifications of local corporate banks in Shandong. Also, Qingdao Rural Commercial Bank's total assets increased by 132.44 percent from the beginning of the year.

In recent years, the main components of the wealth management market, including regulatory policies, customer needs, and wealth management institutions, have undergone significant changes.

The application of financial technology has become a new factor that changes the state of the wealth management market.

The district also actively undertakes the mission of wealth management reform and innovation, opening a new chapter in wealth management transformation.

This year, the district's target projects cover five categories: corporate financial institutions, regional jurisdictional financial institutions, high-quality venture capital funds, digital financial projects and high-end intermediaries such as accounting firms and law firms.

At the same time, the district is committed to building a core wealth management area, a venture capital demonstration area and a digital financial innovation area.

It is constantly seeking innovation and changes in promoting the comprehensive reform of wealth management and finance.

The city of Qingdao lights up at night, creating a colorful spectacle on the coast. CHINA DAILY

Representatives attend the China Wealth Forum in the coastal city of Qingdao, Shandong province. CHINA DAILY