The China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone has recently released the Opinions on Expanding Opening-up of the Financial Service Sector and Further Creating New Advantages for Development and Openness (the "Opinions").
The Opinions outline 25 initiatives in six aspects, including "implementing new policies to attract and gather together foreign-invested financial institutions". Further, the Opinions clearly state that measures will be taken to support overseas central banks and international financial organizations to set up representative offices or branch offices in the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ), support foreign-invested institutions with concrete business to establish financing lease companies within the Shanghai FTZ, and put in place the administrative policy on pre-entry national treatment and negative list in all aspects. In addition, the Opinions propose to inspire foreign banks to establish both branches and subsidiaries, support efforts of commercial banks in initiating to found financial asset investment companies and wealth management companies that are free from limits on foreign shareholding, support existing joint-venture securities companies, fund management companies and futures companies to raise the weight of foreign shareholding, endorse the endeavor of overseas innovative enterprises to offer Chinese Depository Receipts (CDR) in Shanghai, and strive to initiate the "Shanghai-London Stock Connect" within this year.