Regulations of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone
on the Promotion of Financial Development
(Adopted at the Eighteenth Meeting of the Standing Committee of the
Fourth Shenzhen Municipal People’s Congress on April 1, 2008)
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 In order to promote the financial development in the
Shenzhen Special Economic Zone (hereinafter referred to as the Special
Zone), optimize the ecological environment of finance, and upgrade the
optimization of industrial structure, these regulations are hereby
formulated.
Article 2 These regulations shall apply to the government agencies
and financial institutions, professional service institutions, related
trade organizations and their practitioners.
Article 3 The municipal people’s government (hereinafter referred
to as the municipal government) shall regard the financial industry as
a strategic mainstay industry, consolidate and enhance the status of the
Shenzhen City as a financial center by centering on the multitier capital
market and using the financial cooperation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong
as a linkage, and make Shenzhen an organic component of the international
financial center of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen metropolitan region focusing
on investment and financing, wealth management, and financial innovation.
Article 4 The development of the financial industry shall be promoted
by insisting on the principle of reform and innovation, overall planning,
clustering of talented professionals in institutions, Shenzhen-Hong Kong
cooperation, and risk prevention, and by adhering to the guideline of
integration of science and technology with finance, interaction of
industrial and commercial sectors with finance, and giving priority to
finance in the development of modern service sectors.
Chapter II Financial Institutions
Article 5 The municipal government shall adjust and reallocate
public resources, establish incentive mechanisms for financial
institutions to develop and expand, to introduce clusters and to innovate,
support the financial institutions with their headquarters in Shenzhen
in speeding up of their development, and make it the main pattern of the
financial market to have large-scale, internationally competitive
financial institutions as its core, and to have medium and small financial
institutions, professional service institutions, and supporting service
enterprises as its base.
Article 6 The municipal government shall adopt the following measures
to support for the reform and development of the Shenzhen capital market:
(1) to support the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (hereinafter referred to
as SZSE) for the development of the multitier capital market consisting
of the main board, small and medium enterprise board, and growth
enterprise market, etc.;
(2) to support for the development of the market of financial
derivative products, explore issuing municipal government bonds, and give
impetus to asset securitization;
(3) to use SZSE as a trading platform to restructure, standardize the
market of property rights exchange of this city;
(4) to make overall planning of state-owned assets in operation,
resources of listed companies, and resources of excellent enterprises;
(5) to support venture capital and the development of private
placement funds, improve the financing and guarantee system for medium
and small enterprises;
(6) to support SZSE for the institutional reform in its organizational
form and trading management system;
(7) to give impetus to the cooperation between the Shenzhen capital
market and overseas capital markets, attract foreign enterprises and
overseas listed products to be listed or relisted in Shenzhen, and create
conditions for Shenzhen and Hong Kong to develop a unified capital market
across the border.
Article 7 The municipal government shall study and establish a
scientific
evaluation system to assess the potential of the development of the
financial institutions in Shenzhen and the risks of their management as
a basis to give policy preferences.
The municipal government and related departments shall provide
financial institutions with high-quality, efficient administrative
service and social public service.
It shall be supported for the financial institutions with their
headquarters in Shenzhen to take part in government-arranged bond issue,
syndicated loans, and reorganization of state-owned assets.
Article 8 The municipal government shall optimize the financial
environment, adopt support measures which are attractive and competitive,
and introduce various financial institutions into Shenzhen to open their
headquarters and branch offices.
The municipal government shall set its goals of different stages,
build a cluster of financial institutions engaging in a complete set of
business such as banking, securities, insurance, funds, and futures, etc.
The municipal government shall support high-tech financial
institutions in the light of the policies on high-tech and new industries,
in addition to the preferential policies currently available for finance.
Article 9 The municipal government shall provide support, awards,
and protection for fostering and creating new-type financial institutions,
encourage fostering and creating new-type financial institutions such as
community banks, artwork banks, exchange centers for bank credit and
assets, pension insurance companies, liability insurance companies,
agencies of insurance companies, insured assets management companies,
auto finance companies, monetary brokerage companies, etc.
Article 10 If any Shenzhen financial institution opens a branch
office abroad, the municipal government shall provide policy preferences
and awards.
Chapter III Financial Professionals
Article 11 The municipal government shall establish a long term
mechanism for producing a team of talented financial professionals, make
policies on financial professionals, strengthen the introduction and
training of professionals in both financial practice and financial
education, foster and introduce financiers as a group.
Article 12 Encouraging specialized financial professionals both
within the country and abroad to come to Shenzhen for their career
development, the municipal government shall give corresponding policy
preferences to all those who fit in with the policy on introduction of
professionals.
Article 13 The municipal government shall conduct a special
investigation of the demand for financial professionals according to the
development and planning of the financial industry, as for those key
professionals who are in serious shortage, the municipal department of
human resources and the municipal department of financial development and
service shall make a targeted plan of introduction and training on the
job. The administration of certificates for professionals in serious
shortage shall be carried out, and key professionals in serious shortage
shall be given special policy preferences.
Article 14 The municipal government shall support the financial
supervisory agencies of the central government stationed in Shenzhen
(hereinafter referred to as the supervisory agencies), universities and
colleges, and research institutes in establishing institutions of
financial research, education and training in Shenzhen, introducing the
institutions of financial professional training from abroad, and training
specialized financial professionals and interdisciplinary financial
professionals.
Article 15 An impetus shall be given to the certification of
qualifications of financial professionals, and an internationally
accepted system of certification of qualifications of financial
professionals shall be introduced. It shall be supported for financial
practitioners to take internationally accepted exams for certification
of professional qualifications.
Article 16 Incentive systems such as option holding for managers of
financial institutions and so on shall be popularized and improved, and
the pension systems of financial institutions shall be established.
Chapter IV Financial Innovation
Article 17 The municipal government shall support supervisory
agencies and financial institutions in exploratory reforms of the
financial management system, financial organizations, and operating
mechanism, etc.
The municipal government shall improve the evaluation and incentive
mechanisms of financial innovation awards, encourage financial
institutions to innovate in financial products, the way of service,
management system, and financial technology.
Article 18 The municipal government shall support supervisory
agencies in the reforms and innovations in the mechanism, modes, methods,
and rules and regulations, etc. of financial supervision.
Article 19 The municipal government shall make related policies to
encourage financial institutions to improve the system of modern
enterprises and the structure of corporate governance.
The municipal government shall encourage financial institutions to
optimize business procedures by means of informatization, and to increase
the capabilities of transregional branch offices to manage their business
and to control risks.
The municipal government shall support and help the Shenzhen
financial institutions in applying for experiments of comprehensive
operations in order to have a comprehensive development.
The municipal government shall encourage the financial industry to
deepen the division of labor within the industry, and to develop
specialized financial supporting services.
The municipal government shall encourage financial institutions to
make stock and option holding as incentives, and to establish a long term
mechanism of incentives and discipline.
Article 20 Financial institutions shall make efforts in institutional
innovations in inside control, performance assessment, and human
resources management, etc.
Article 21 Financial institutions may, according to market demands,
provide clients with segmented, personalized, customized, innovative
financial products and financial services.
Banks may increase the share of earnings from intermediary business,
and accelerate the reform in the system of examination and approval of
prices of intermediary business.
Commercial banks may innovate in the way of international
settlements.
The banking industry may actively develop the business of small
commercial loans.
Article 22 Financial institutions shall have innovations in various
financial products, steadily develop financial derivative products such
as interest rate derivatives, exchange rate derivatives, stock
derivatives, future derivatives, bond derivatives, securitized assets
derivatives, etc.
Article 23 The municipal government shall adopt various measures to
support small and medium enterprises in making IPO at the capital market
within the country and abroad and issuing bonds, encourage qualified small
and medium enterprises to issue collective enterprise bonds, increase the
proportion of direct financing, and improve the mechanism of venture
capital.
The municipal government shall support financial institutions in
having innovations in the financing mechanism, improve the system of
indirect financing, and provide more loans to innovative small and medium
enterprises.
The municipal government shall set up special funds for finance
discount, guarantee, and risk compensation, etc. , establish the
standardized mechanism of guarantee contribution and guarantee
compensation for small and medium enterprises according to policies.
The municipal government shall encourage and reward innovations in
small and medium enterprise financing.
Article 24 Financial institutions shall have technological
innovations, and raise the efficiency of financial supervision, financial
trading, and financial services by means of the following:
(1) to develop online trading;
(2) to speed up the financial informatization;
(3) to speed up the construction of the application system of bank
cards, expand its coverage, and increase the payment proportion and
efficiency;
(4) to form a unified or relatively concentrated liquidation center,
delivery center, backup center, and foreign exchange settlement center
of the Zhu Jiang Delta.
Article 25 The municipal government shall support the sectors of
banking,
securities, insurance, trust, etc. in their financial service
innovations.
Article 26 It shall be accelerated to push on the establishment of
the state experimental zone of insurance innovation, and to enhance the
capabilities and efficiency of the insurance sector to serve the economic
and social development.
It shall be encouraged for the insurance sector to develop the market
of insurance, re-insurance and insurance intermediaries, expand the
coverage of insurance, and increase insurance penetration and insurance
density.
Innovative science and technology insurance, environment insurance,
logistics insurance, and culture industry insurance shall be encouraged.
Commercial insurance shall be brought into play in public safety,
social management and social security, an impetus shall be given to the
development of liability insurance, and the liability sharing mechanism
for public safety shall be improved.
Insurance institutions shall enhance good faith, innovate in service
ideas, and raise the efficiency of claim settlements.
The insurance sector shall be encouraged to explore the investment
in real estate and financial derivative products.
Article 27 The municipal government shall establish and improve a
protection system for financial innovations to safeguard the legal rights
and interest of enterprises and individuals engaging in financial
innovations.
The municipal government shall give awards to units and individuals
who distinguish themselves in financial innovations, and may also
recommend their superior departments in charge to give awards.
Chapter V Financial Layout
Article 28 When making (revising) an overall plan and special plans
for the city, the municipal government and its related departments shall
have a scientific plan of the scale and functions of the land for the
development of the financial industry, optimize its space layout. It shall
be accelerated to reallocate and transform the land for the financial core
function area, and to build a modern financial core function area with
international influence, which is characterized by the complete financial
infrastructure, clustering of representative financial institutions,
outstanding appearance of a financial center city, and a galaxy of
financial talent.
Article 29 When reconstructing old industrial areas and old villages
according to planning, the municipal government and its related
departments shall strengthen the construction of the financial
infrastructure, properly build a functional base of the financial
development by means of compensation for demolition and relocation, land
exchange, functional transformation, etc.
Article 30 The municipal government and its related departments shall
make a plan to build a fund industry cluster and support for the
development of wealth management.
Article 31 The status of Shenzhen as an industrial base of gold and
jewelry shall be consolidated and strengthened, the share of the actual
national trading shall be increased, and the possibility of creating a
base of noble metal trading shall be actively explored.
Chapter VI Financial Cooperation
Article 32 In the financial cooperation between Shenzhen and Hong
Kong, the principle that shall be adhered to is to be active, cautious,
orderly, gradual, and technologically open, and it shall be in the process
of financial opening to explore how to make connections with the financial
market of Hong Kong.
Article 33 The municipal government shall coordinate the cooperation
of supervisory agencies and financial institutions with their
counterparts of Hong Kong in the following areas:
(1) supporting Hong Kong in the development of the business of Ren
Min Bi, and making further progress in both the scope and quality of the
cooperation between the monetary markets of the two regions;
(2) deepening the business cooperation between the banks of Shenzhen
and Hong Kong, and supporting Hong Kong banks in their development in
Shenzhen;
(3) establishing the cooperative partner relationship between
Shenzhen Stock Exchange and Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and promoting the
mutual connection and mutual linkage between the capital markets of the
two regions;
(4) expanding the scope of the cooperation between the insurance
markets of the two regions, and strengthening the exchange and cooperation
between the two parties in various areas such as business, training,
support service outsourcing, etc.;
(5) strengthening the cooperation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong in
the market of financial derivatives of commodity futures, financial
futures, etc., and exploring the possibility of the joint establishment
of a future exchange of bulk commodities such as petroleum, etc.;
(6) improving the financial infrastructures of Shenzhen and Hong Kong
such as the liquidation system, payment system, etc.
Article 34 The municipal government shall consult with the Hong Kong
authority
on the major issues and tasks of different stages of the
Shenzhen-Hong Kong cooperation, the subjects under discussion shall be
placed on the agenda of the exchange visits between high-rank government
officials.
It shall be supported to establish the communication mechanism
between the supervisory agencies of the two regions, the communication
and coordination with the supervisory agencies of Hong Kong shall be
strengthened, the mechanism of horizontal cooperation, information
exchange, and working meeting shall be set up, and joint support shall
be given to financial innovations and financial risk prevention.
It shall be encouraged for the financial institutions of the two
regions to strengthen cooperation and exchange by means of high-level
forums, professional exchanges, exchange visits between trade
associations, etc.
It shall be encouraged for the financial experts of the universities
and research institutes of the two regions to hold academic symposiums
on a regular basis.
Article 35 The municipal government shall coordinate supervisory
agencies and financial institutions in their cooperation with Macao. The
contents and mechanisms of the cooperation shall be put into practice in
the light of Articles 33, 34 of these regulations.
Article 36 The cooperation with domestic financial center cities
shall be strengthened, the radiated power of the Shenzhen financial
industry shall be increased.
Article 37 The exchange and cooperation with international financial
center cities shall be strengthened, an impetus shall be given to the
personnel and business exchanges, and representative offices shall be
open in each other’s places.
Chapter VII Financial Ecology
Article 38 The municipal government and its related departments
shall adopt the following measures to strengthen financial education,
training, and publicity, raise the financial consciousness and competence
of public employees and city residents:
(1) to incorporate the education concerning financial knowledge into
the training programs of government employees;
(2) to establish a system of advanced seminars on the financial
development so that the heads of government agencies, enterprises,
institutions shall attend the advanced seminars on the financial
development on a regular basis to study financial theories and master the
trends of the financial development;
(3) to hold high-level forums on small and medium enterprise financing,
stock investment funds, and financial derivative products, etc., and to
attract internationally well-known experts and institutions to come to
Shenzhen to exchange the experiences of the financial development,
innovation, and supervision;
(4) to launch a campaign to bring the financial publicity and
education to communities, enterprises, and schools.
Article 39 Government agencies, enterprises, institutions shall
support
supervisory agencies and credit reference agencies in their
collection of credit information, and build a unified credit information
platform.
Article 40 It shall be encouraged to develop professional service
institutions such as those of accountant, lawyers, assets valuation,
credit grading, consultation on security and future investment, financial
information, investigation, registration of title for unlisted companies,
etc.
It shall be encouraged for professional service institutions to
develop national brands, cooperate with internationally well-known
institutions, merge and combine, and raise the level of
professionalization and accountability.
Article 41 The municipal government and supervisory agencies shall
give play to trade associations, direct and support trade associations
in improving the information platform and the mechanism of exposure of
violations, and raising the level of trade self-discipline.
Article 42 Judicial offices shall raise their ability and standard
in dealing with cases concerning finance, make more efforts in trials and
implementation of cases concerning finance, and safeguard the legal
rights and interests of financial institutions and practitioners.
Article 43 The municipal government shall establish a mechanism of
financial development risk evaluation, foster and introduce financial
risk evaluation institutions, scientifically determine the standards for
risk evaluation and risk grading, establish an early warning mechanism
and a routine risk management mechanism, and maintain the local financial
stability and safety.
Article 44 The municipal government may set up a financial development
fund. With the municipal government as a major subscriber and financial
institutions as participants of subscription, the fund shall become a
mechanism of joint subscription, joint ownership, and joint
responsibility to take risks. The measures on the administration of the
fund shall be formulated by the municipal government.
Chapter VIII Financial Development Committee
Article 45 The municipal government shall establish a financial
development committee which is responsible for planning the financial
development and promotion as a whole, optimizing the environment for the
financial development, and making financial decisions more scientific and
forward-looking.
Mayor shall be the chairperson of the financial development committee,
the vice mayor in charge of financial affairs shall be the vice chairperson
of the financial development committee, and chief officers in charge of
supervisory agencies, Shenzhen Stock Exchange, finance, taxation,
auditing, state-owned assets management, and the municipal department of
financial development and service, etc., shall be the members of the
financial development committee.
An advisory board of financial development decision making shall be
set up under the financial development committee and hold joint meetings
on a regular basis.
The municipal department of financial development and service shall
be in charge of the daily work of the financial development committee.
The formation and duties of the advisory board of financial development
decision making shall be decided by the municipal government.
Article 46 The main duties of the financial development committee
shall be as follows:
(1) to list the building of Shenzhen as a financial center city in
the major goals of the economic and social development, establish a
coordination mechanism of financial development, and formulate financial
development plans and working plans which are assessable and accountable;
(2) to
operation,
department
strategies
adjust and reallocate public finance, state-owned assets in
government debts, and other public resources, and bring the
of finance into active play in making financial development
and allocating resources;
(3) to establish a comprehensive system of financial risk control
and management, and set up a special fund for financial risk management
which meets the requirements of the financial development;
(4) to establish a promotion and appraisal system for the financial
development of Shenzhen, introduce the authoritative appraisal
institutions from both within the country and abroad to make regular
appraisals of the financial ecology of Shenzhen.
The specific duties and operation methods of the financial
development
committee shall be formulated by the municipal government.
Chapter IX Supervision and Inspection
Article 47 The municipal government shall make regular evaluations
of the financial development and promotion, report to the standing
committee of the municipal people’s congress, and accept the supervision
of the standing committee of the municipal people’s congress.
Article 48 The municipal department of finance and the municipal
department of auditing shall conduct financial supervision and auditing
supervision over the implementation and results of various special funds
for the financial development according to law.
Chapter X Supplementary Provisions
Article 49 The municipal government and its related departments
shall promptly make various preferential policies and specific measures
to promote the financial development according to the actual needs of the
implementation of these regulations.
Article 50 These regulations shall take effect as of June 1, 2008.