BEIJING, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) Yi Gang, governor of the People’s Bank of China, revealed on the 24th that at present, there are more than 4,500 banking financial institutions, more than 130 securities companies and 230 insurance companies in China. The total assets of the financial industry are 300 trillion yuan, of which the banking industry is 268 trillion yuan, ranking first in the world.
Information picture. China News Service reporter Zhang Bin photo
On the 24th, the first press conference was held in the news center celebrating the 70th anniversary of the founding of People’s Republic of China (PRC). Ning Ji Zhe, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission and director of the National Bureau of Statistics, Liu Kun, Minister of Finance, and Yi Gang, governor of the People’s Bank of China, introduced the new development concept to promote the stable, healthy and sustainable development of China’s economy, and answered questions from reporters.
At the press conference, Yi Gang, governor of the central bank, said that in the past 70 years, the great motherland has flourished and will soon build a well-off society in an all-round way. The financial industry is also thriving. With the country’s reform and opening up and the promotion of high-quality development since the 18th National Congress, it has made historic achievements.
First, a modern financial market system adapted to Socialism with Chinese characteristics has been basically established. After the founding of New China, China started from scratch and quickly established a stable and credible legal tender system. In the 40 years of reform and opening up, the financial industry has ushered in a period of great development and prosperity, and gradually formed a comprehensive and competitive financial market system covering banking, securities, insurance, funds, futures and other fields.
At present, there are more than 4,500 banking financial institutions, more than 130 securities companies and 230 insurance companies in China. The total assets of the financial industry are 300 trillion yuan, of which the banking industry is 268 trillion yuan, ranking first in the world. In addition, the bond, stock and insurance markets have also become the second largest markets in the world. The balance of foreign exchange reserves is 3.1 trillion US dollars, ranking first in the world for many years.
Second, a financial service system aimed at serving the real economy and benefiting the people has been basically established. Since the founding of New China 70 years ago, China’s financial services have been continuously enriched, and the convenience and inclusiveness of basic financial services such as deposit and loan, payment and settlement, wealth management and investment, and information inquiry have been at the forefront of the world. The registration, custody, clearing, settlement, credit reporting and rating systems of the financial market are basically sound, and the financial infrastructure is constantly improving.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China has continuously improved the financing services of private enterprises and small and micro enterprises with the structural reform of service supply side as the main line. At the end of August 2019, the loan balance of small and micro enterprises in inclusive finance was 11 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 23%; The loan balance of private enterprises was 45 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.7%, and the comprehensive financing cost of enterprises dropped by more than 1 percentage point compared with the average level in 2018.
Third, a financial supervision system has been basically established to effectively maintain financial stability. China insists on resolving financial risks through reform and continuously improving the health of the financial system. After the Asian financial crisis in 1998, we resolutely carried out market-oriented reform and reorganization of large commercial banks, effectively handled the risks of rural credit cooperatives and promoted the standardized development of various financial formats. At present, the NPL ratio of the banking industry is 1.99%, the capital adequacy ratio is 14%, and the provision coverage ratio is 180%.
China has continuously improved its financial legal system and risk disposal system, continuously optimized its financial supervision system, and enhanced the professionalism and effectiveness of financial supervision. The construction of financial rule of law has been continuously improved. At present, the the State Council Financial Stability and Development Committee has formed a financial supervision framework, in which one line, two sessions, one bureau and local departments are responsible for the overall planning. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, especially since 2018, we have achieved positive results in fighting the tough battle to prevent and resolve financial risks, and handled financial risks in key areas in accordance with the law and regulations. The overall financial risks have shown a situation of convergence and controllability, and market expectations have undergone positive changes.
Fourth, an effective financial regulation system has basically been formed. In different historical stages of the development of New China, financial regulation has always strived to keep the value of RMB stable and protect the people’s money bags. Since the reform and opening-up, China has continuously improved the framework of monetary policy regulation to meet the needs of the socialist market economy, focusing on promoting the transformation of the regulation mechanism from direct regulation to indirect regulation. Innovate and improve the monetary policy tool system such as open market business operation, deposit reserve ratio, refinancing and rediscount, and continue to promote the interest rate marketization reform. Establish a dual-pillar regulatory framework of monetary policy and macro-prudential policy, and pay attention to countercyclical adjustment.
Fifth, an opening-up system with global orientation and equal competition has been basically established. At present, the market access of banks, securities and insurance has been greatly liberalized, and the share ratio limit will be fully liberalized next year. At present, there are 989 foreign banks in China, 13 foreign securities companies and 57 foreign insurance companies. The exchange rate of RMB is mainly determined by market supply and demand. Since 1994, both the nominal effective exchange rate and the real effective exchange rate of RMB have appreciated significantly. More than 90% of capital projects are convertible and partially convertible. In 2016, RMB officially joined the IMF’s SDR currency basket, and its pricing, settlement, trading and reserve functions have been significantly enhanced. In recent years, China has played a responsible role, actively participated in international exchanges and cooperation, and enhanced the voice and representation of developing countries in international economic and financial governance.