(Yicai) March 19 -- BNP Paribas’ wholly owned securities company, AXA Global Reinsurance's and Hannover Re’s new reinsurance operations centers, as well as the Shanghai International Reinsurance Registration and Trading Center held a joint official opening ceremony in Shanghai today, marking another major milestone in the city’s transformation into a global financial hub.

BNP Paribas Securities China will leverage BNP Paribas’ rich experience and resources in the international markets to promote cross-border securities and provide a wide range of financial services to both local and offshore clients, Chairman Guo Zhiyi said at the opening ceremony.

BNP Paribas Securities China was given the greenlight by the China Securities Regulatory Commission to start operations in April last year, becoming the fourth wholly foreign-owned securities company in China. Its parent company, BNP Paribas, is France’s largest commercial bank, with operations spanning across 85 countries and regions, and total assets exceeding USD2.8 trillion.

The Shanghai International Reinsurance Registration and Trading Center was established in October last year and is wholly owned by the Shanghai Insurance Exchange. Its aim is to provide information registration and data integration services for insurance companies engaged in the reinsurance business.

France’s AXA and Germany’s Hannover Re set up their reinsurance operations centers in the Lingang Free Trade Zone of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Area.

Hannover Re chose to open an operations center in Lingang due to the strong clustering effect of the Shanghai International Reinsurance Registration and Trading Center, said Wang Yan, director of property and casualty insurance at the company’s China branch. The Hanover-based firm hopes to leverage the center's information technology platform to improve operational efficiency, reduce costs, and identify new business opportunities.

Shanghai was home to 1,782 licensed financial institutions as of the end of last year, with more than 30 percent of them being foreign financial institutions.

Editor: Kim Taylor