Former Chinese Finance Minister states China may allow foreign-funded financial institutions to go public

According to reports on Saturday, a former finance minister stated that China plans to encourage foreign capital to enter its financial markets and may permit foreign-funded financial institutions to conduct initial public offerings (IPOs) in the country when the appropriate conditions exist.

Lou Jiwei reportedly stated during the Global Asset Management Forum in Beijing that these actions would be consistent with China’s efforts to open up its financial industry.

During the same forum, Cao Yu, the vice chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, was quoted by the Shanghai Securities News as saying that China is willing to address the needs of foreign financial institutions and encourage the joint development of both domestic and foreign-funded banking and insurance entities.

China has been intensifying its efforts to attract foreign companies and investors to support its economic recovery since the end of its zero-COVID policy last year.

In recent months, it has accelerated the approval process for fund licenses of foreign asset managers in order to facilitate their participation in the country’s financial markets.