(Yicai) Oct. 12 -- Shanghai will hasten the setup of more functional platforms for international communication to further link the city with the world, starting with the areas of cross-border investment and cross-border data transfers, Vice Mayor Xie Dong said today.

The city’s goal is to become a global asset management hub to better allocate resources and to serve the bricks-and-mortar economy, Dong added during the 2023 Shanghai Global Asset Management Forum that kicked off. 

By many metrics Shanghai is China’s main financial center. Assets managed by institutions in the eastern megacity make up nearly a third of the total in the country, with managed insurance assets and mutual funds both accounting for almost half of the national total. And Shanghai-based private equity funds exceed CNY5.2 trillion (USD713.1 billion), more than anywhere else in the country.

Nearly 200 institutional asset managers are registered in Shanghai, including six wholly foreign-owned public funds and five joint-venture banking and wealth management firms. Eighty percent of foreign private investment fund managers registered with the Asset Management Association of China are based in the city. And 89 asset managers have joined the city's pilot for qualified foreign limited partners and 62 are taking part in the qualified domestic limited partner program.

Shanghai will support more domestic and foreign long-term investments to flow into local science and technology innovators, Xie said, adding that the city will stick to developing green finance, diversified environmental products, and service systems, including green funds, credit, bonds, as well as insurance products. 

The 2023 Shanghai Global Asset Management Forum, which is co-hosted by Yicai Media Group and Bank of China, will continue until tomorrow. The forum hosts themed sessions to discuss the high-quality development of the asset management sector, interconnectivity, high level opening-up, green transformation, and the digitization of industries. 

Editor: Emmi Laine