OVER 30 percent of overseas Chinese returnees in Shenzhen are working in the financial sector, the Shenzhen Evening News reported Sunday.

The figure was unveiled by the Shenzhen Overseas Chinese Returnees Association during the 4th Shenzhen OCR Finance & Innovation Forum held Saturday.

Data from the city’s human resources and social security bureau showed that the number of overseas Chinese returnees settling in Shenzhen had soared from 3,418 in 2014 to 10,509 last year.

Ma Zhiyong, head of the city’s foundation of returned overseas Chinese, said the added value of the financial industry in Shenzhen reached 287.6 billion yuan (US$42 billion) last year, with a year-on-year growth of 14.6 percent and accounting for 14.8 percent of the city’s GDP last year.

The total assets of banks, securities firms and insurance companies in Shenzhen reached 12.7 trillion yuan as of the end of last year.

The GFCI (Global Financial Centers Index) released by the British think tank Zyen recently revealed that Shenzhen ranked 22nd among global financial centers and has become the third-largest financial center in China following Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Lu Jundong, a representative of the CFA Institute, said the promotion of green finance is beneficial for the development of countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

Lu said green finance can connect the financial industry with infrastructure construction, which will require government investment as well as P2P and private fundraising.

(Zhang Yang)