Shanghai financial sector buzzing

Financial innovation, market development and the globalization of the yuan have boosted the index tracking Shanghai's financial industry by 5.3 percent in the first half of this year, a joint industry report said yesterday.

The Shanghai Financial Prosperity Index rose to 3,242 points by the end of June, up 164 points from last year, boosted by innovation activities, market development and the yuan's internationalization, the Shanghai Financial Association and Roland Berger Strategy Consultants said in the joint report yesterday.

The sub-index measuring the general development of the city's financial industry gained 4 percent to 4,517 points as the foreign exchange, money, fund and gold markets ranked the top four by market growth.

Another sub-index that tracks the development of the yuan's internationalization jumped 84 percent from last year to 36,024 points.

"Financial innovation such as cross-border yuan settlement under the current account and for foreign direct investment, and yuan-denominated two-way cash pooling tools launched in the Shanghai pilot free trade zone gave a fresh impetus to the internationalization of the yuan," Jerry Zhang, chief executive officer of Standard Chartered Bank China, said yesterday.

"Meanwhile, the Chinese currency has also gained more acceptance in overseas markets," Zhang said.