On January 30, 2012, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Shanghai Municipal Government jointly issued the Plan for Establishing Shanghai as an International Financial Center during the 12th Five Year Plan Period. The plan aims to make Shanghai a center for innovation, trading, pricing and clearing of RMB-denominated financial products by 2015. To facilitate these goals, the plan seeks to enhance development of fundamental and derivative financial products, encourage foreign financial institutions to establish regional and global headquarters in Shanghai, and improve the infrastructure of the financial system, especially relating to RMB settlement. According to the plan, Shanghai will accelerate the launch of an international board in Shanghai to support the issuance of RMB-denominated stocks by qualified overseas enterprises. Shanghai will gradually scale back limitations on the issuance of RMB-denominated bonds by overseas institutions and encourage foreign investment in RMB-denominated bonds. In addition, the plan provides for pilot projects in the financial market and further exploration of the possibility of foreign investment in futures or financial derivatives.
The full Chinese text of the plan is available here.
A related Q&A in Chinese is available here.
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