THE Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) witnessed the establishment of its first financial holding company licensed by China’s central bank, with the inauguration of China Merchants Financial Holding Co. Ltd. in Qianhai, Shenzhen, on Sunday.

The company, a wholly owned subsidiary of China Merchants Group, is the country’s third financial holding firm approved by the People’s Bank of China since it officially issued rules in 2020 to regulate financial holding companies and to prevent systematic risks to the nation’s vast financial sector.

Shenzhen Party chief Meng Fanli and Mayor Qin Weizhong attended the inauguration ceremony.

A financial holding company is a type of bank holding company that offers a range of nonbanking financial services such as insurance underwriting, securities dealing, securities underwriting and investment advisory services.

In March, the central bank approved the establishment of the first batch of two financial holding companies, namely CITIC Financial Holdings and Beijing Financial Holdings Group, in an effort to strengthen risk prevention and enhance financial regulation.

“The inauguration of China Merchants Financial Holding is the latest achievement of China Merchants Group in its centennial financial development history and the latest achievement of Shenzhen’s reform and opening up,” Miao Jianmin, chairman of China Merchants Group, was quoted as saying in a speech Sunday.

China Merchants Financial Holding was previously the financial business department within China Merchants Group and was mainly responsible for coordinating and managing the group’s financial business.

According to information from China Merchants Group’s official website, there are about 670 risk consolidation institutions and major shareholders under the regulation of China Merchants Financial Holding, which are distributed in financial fields such as banking, brokerage, asset management and insurance.

As of the end of June, the total assets of China Merchants Group’s financial business had reached 10.4 trillion yuan (US$1.48 trillion), and the assets under management exceeded 19 trillion yuan.

According to an SZTV report, China Merchants Financial Holding in Qianhai is expected to leverage the advantages of cross-border finance to help Qianhai build a gateway for high-level opening up and provide strong financial support for the GBA’s construction.

In turn, Qianhai, as a testing ground for China’s financial reforms and cross-border RMB business innovations, will provide unique opportunities for China Merchants Financial Holding’s development, the SZTV report said.

According to official data, Qianhai’s financial industry saw its added value grow 18.1% year on year in the first half of this year. Qianhai has so far granted funds exceeding 105 million yuan (US$14.97 million) in supporting 103 projects for financial enterprises.

(Zhang Yu)