Shanghai's finance sector continues to upgrade as trading and lending surge

热点资讯 2025年10月24日 07:35 21 admin

by YANG Zhijin

Shanghai's financial industry continued to upgrade in the first nine months of 2025, growing faster than the overall economy and reinforcing its role in China's drive to deepen capital-market reforms and expand global financial ties.

The sector's value-added output rose 9.8% from a year earlier to 696.5 billion yuan (about US$98 billion), accounting for 17.1% of local GDP, the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday. Overall GDP grew 5.5% to 4.1 trillion yuan.

"Rising trading and lending reflect a solid expansion from a high base, keeping Shanghai at the center of China's financial markets," said ZHANG Lin of Far East Credit Rating Institute.

Turnover across Shanghai's major financial markets climbed 12.7% in the first three quarters, reflecting improved liquidity and investor confidence. Trading on the Shanghai Stock Exchange jumped 38.4%, the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 11.5%, and the Shanghai Gold Exchange surged 40.2%.

Former central bank vice governor HU Xiaolian said at a wealth management forum that Shanghai has "largely achieved" its goal of becoming a comprehensive international financial center, hosting globally significant markets for foreign exchange, bonds, commodities and gold. She noted that by the end of 2024, the Shanghai Stock Exchange ranked third worldwide by market capitalization and fifth by turnover, while the city’s bond depository was second globally and its gold exchange remained the world’s largest spot market.

YANG Jing, Vice President of Standard Chartered Bank (China), said Shanghai's expanding range of products — including Shanghai Gold, Shanghai Copper and Shanghai Oil — has given China greater influence over global commodity and precious-metal pricing, complementing benchmarks set in New York and London.

Robust market activity has reinforced Shanghai's role as China's core pricing and liquidity hub. By the end of September, total bank deposits reached 23.84 trillion yuan, up 8.4%, while loans rose 7.1% to 12.89 trillion yuan, outpacing the national average. Corporate medium- and long-term lending increased 190.6 billion yuan, driven by industrial and infrastructure investment, and household mortgages climbed 255.8 billion yuan amid a property rebound following August's policy easing. Turnover at local securities branches nearly doubled (up 95%), tracking a 10-year high in the Shanghai Composite Index above 3,900, while insurance premium income grew 10%, accelerating from the first half as consumer confidence strengthened.

Analysts said Shanghai's next phase of growth will depend on financial innovation and cross-border connectivity. The city is expanding digital yuan pilots and testing a "two-ends-offshore" model for offshore renminbi bonds, under which both issuers and investors operate outside mainland China. The initiatives align with Beijing's goal of promoting yuan internationalization while keeping capital flows stable.

"Beyond volume growth, Shanghai is deepening its financial ecosystem and improving international access," Zhang said, adding that it has become a key gateway linking China's domestic capital and global markets. As China leans more on services and high-value sectors to drive growth amid slower momentum and external headwinds, Shanghai's financial upgrade is set to play a pivotal role in sustaining that transition.