Chongqing - The 5th China-Singapore (Chongqing) Connectivity Initiative Financial Summit (5th CCI-FS), to be held simultaneously in Chongqing and Singapore from April 20 to 21, is not only a new beginning for financial cooperation between the two countries but also a new venue for showcasing its successes.
The Chengdu-Chongqing pilot program on foreign debt facilitation will greatly promote enterprises to handle cross-border financing. (Photo/Chongqing Daily)
Data showed that China-Singapore financial cooperation has expanded for more than seven years since implementing the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity (CCI). China and Singapore have jointly introduced 74 financial open innovation policies, implemented 52 projects and 35 innovative cases, and established 21 mutual institutions. The high-level opening up of the financial sector in Chongqing has been given new vitality by China-Singapore economic cooperation, which has also driven the continuous strengthening of connectivity between western China and ASEAN countries.
Further Chongqing's financial opening-up
The development of a number of financial opening and innovation policies has considerably enhanced the degree of openness of Chongqing's financial industry.
China and Singapore have steadily built up a relatively full-fledged cooperation mechanism in financial cooperation over the past seven years. Meanwhile, Chongqing is actively promoting the economic reform of the pilot free trade zone and comprehensive trials on opening up the service sector by utilizing the opportunities of China-Singapore financial cooperation.
According to data released, by the end of December 2022, Chongqing had encouraged the adoption of 142 financial opening measures, acting as a model for financial innovation and opening in the central and western regions. Chongqing has granted nearly 500 billion yuan in loans to infrastructure projects for the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC) as well as businesses engaged in commerce and logistics, and the amount of loans granted is leading in the West.
Chongqing has spared no effort to open cross-border financing channels by encouraging financial service innovation and other initiatives. By the end of 2022, the cumulative amount of cross-border financing has exceeded 18.5 billion U.S. dollars, a tenfold increase from before the two countries' partnership.
Strengthen connectivity between Western China and ASEAN
The interactions and collaboration in financial business between Chongqing and Singapore and other ASEAN nations have increasingly grown, driven by the China-Singapore economic cooperation. The cross-border use of the Chinese currency renminbi is also increasing considerably at the same time. Statistics showed that between Chongqing and Singapore, total cross-border renminbi revenues and payments had topped 58.2 billion yuan during the last seven years. Singapore has become the third-largest overseas region for the cross-border use of the renminbi in Chongqing.
Not just Chongqing has profited from this. Data from the Chongqing Local Financial Supervision and Administration Bureau showed that over the past seven years, China-Singapore financial cooperation has expanded and driven ten western provinces and autonomous regions, including Guangxi, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, and Shaanxi, to secure more than 6.4 billion U.S. dollars in financing in Singapore.
China-Singapore financial cooperation has promoted the interconnection between Chongqing, western China, and the ASEAN countries and further enhanced the power, impact, and reach of Chongqing's financial industry.
