(Yicai Global) April 13 -- The site where Shanghai hosted the World Expo in 2010 will be transformed into a Chinese-yuan cross-border settlement and pricing center for the international trade of nonferrous metals by 2030, the deputy director-general of the Expo Area Management Bureau said.

The Expo Site, which covers 25 square kilometers of prime real estate along the Huangpu River, will become a global nonferrous metal trading exchange with a trading value of over CNY2 trillion (USD290.9 billion) in 17 years' time, Shi Yinhua said yesterday.

The Expo area, which falls under the China Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone Administration, has already formed clusters of four industries, namely international commodities trade, green industries related to the country’s carbon peaking and neutrality goals, industrial finance and biomedicine, Shi said.

"The zone is home to 191 commodities trading firms above a designated size," Shi said. "They achieved combined sales of CNY600 billion (USD87.3 billion) last year, making up almost 20 percent of the commodities sales in Pudong New Area, where the zone is located, that year," he added.

The site has attracted 48 leaders in sectors such as drugs, medical equipment, automobiles and professional services, almost 70 percent of which are foreign-funded.

Twenty-nine multi-nationals, including German drugmaker Bayer, the US’ Medtronic, which is the world’s largest medical device maker, and Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical, have set up their regional headquarters in the zone. There are also nine Fortune 500 firms and 15 overseas banks, including the New Development Bank. More foreign financial bodies will move in by the end of the year, Shi said.

Editors: Shi Yi, Kim Taylor