Xi’an Financial Business Zone

With rivers, tress and industries, the Chan-Ba area seems to be a success in the eyes of others. Once a seriously afflicted area due to many ecological situations in northeastern of Xi’an, it is now a land of greenery. People may think that Chan-Ba can expected to develop steadly from now on. The Chan-Ba area, however, would not be subjected to this prediction, nor would the Xi’an Municipal Government neglect this geologically excellent area so easily. “A financial business zone is going to be established here”.Some officials proposed.

It has been predicted by some expert that”the true development of China depends on the development of the western region, and the true development of the western region depends on the development of northwestern China. To develop northwestern China, we must first develop the Shaanxi Province, where the lifeline of the economy resides in the Guanzhong area. The rise of Guanzhong area, in turn, would requir that Xi’an be the core and take the lead.” When it comes to the question of whether ecological construction is successful, ecological environment can not only be the sole standard; instead, the key lies in whether GDP can increase in a green way with regard to the economic development mode and the industrial structure. Under the guidance of the four industrial development concepts of “Green, Ecological-friendly, Low-carbon and Recreation”, the Chan-Ba Ecological District centers on financial services and develops a industrial system supported by tourism and leisure, modern commerce and trade, conventions and exhibitions, features cultural innovation and supplemented by strategic emerging industries. With many proactive efforts, we are going to build this area into a western financial and business service center, a gathering area of headquarters of enterprises, capital of western conventions and exhibitions, and an international top-notch ecological tourism destination. Now the mainstay of the Chan-Ba Ecological District, the financial industry will also be its most distinctive industry in the future.

In 2008, Xi’an, in Shaanxi Province, confirmed the strategic objective of “building the Chan-Ba Financial Business Zone and becoming an important financial center of western China” The Xi’an Financial Business Zone was built inside the Chan-Ba Ecological District. In January 2010, the Chan-Ba Financial Business Zone was officially named Xi’an Financial Business Zone by the Xi’an Municipal Government. In September, Xi’an Financial Business Zone was designated as the experimental zone for the national comprehensive service reform.

In 2011, the Shaanxi Provincial Financial Working Conference was held. In the working report delivered on the conference, it is explicitly stated that the mapping and the advancement of the project for establishing a regional financial center and the advancemen shall be conducted with the support of Xi’an, where the convergenece of the financial resources would happen. In addition, it is necessary to strengthen the efforts in attracting investment into financial institutions, to invite national financial institutions to fund new enterprises or to fund a backstage service center in the Chan-Ba area, to guide the present provincial financial institutions to relocate into the Chan-Ba area, to substantially implement related preferential policies and to support the construction of fundamental supporting infrastructures. In October 2012, Shaanxi Provincial Government introduced the Opinions on Further Advance the Reform and Development of Financial Industry, pointing out that: “We shall earnestly accelerate the establishment of Xi’an Financial Business Zone, an important carrier for building Xi an into a financial center. We shall proactively improve infrastructures and supporting service facilities, develop supporting industry for the development of finance, strengthen our efforts in inviting investment, raise the standard for importing and encourage financial institutions to establish service centers, so as to build Xi’an Financial Business Zone into a regional gathering place for financial institutions and large-sized enterprise s headquarters in the west, into supporting base for national finance and financial outsourcing, and transforming it into a preferred destination for regional headquarters of international financial institutions by the end of the Twelfth Five-Year Plan.

In October 16, 2012, the Shaanxi Provincial Government promulgated Opinions on Building the Greater Xian and Accelerating the Establishment of an Innovative Region Under the Concerted Efforts of Shaanxi Province and Xian City. It has been explicitly pointed out that”we shall make scientifi plans for industrial layout, forming an emerging industry functional zone with Chan-Ba Financial Business Zone and other zones all at its core; we shall support the establishment of a regional financial center, speeding up infrastructure construction in the Chan-Ba Financial Business Zone. In March 29, 2013, the Shaanxi Provincial Government gave formal approval to list Xi’an Financial Business Zone as one of the provincial-development zones, thus entitling it with many preferential policies enjoyed by provincial-level development zones. In August 2013, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs send a letter for approval for the establishment of Xi’an Consulate District, which stands in the core area of Xi’an Financial Business Zone, with a planning area of over 900 mu. In November 2013, the Xi’an Municipal Government enacted On the Implementation Plan of Speeding up the Establishment of a New Starting Point of the Silk Road Economic Zone. It has been clearly put out that: “We shall accelerate the construction of Xi’an Chan-Ba Consulate District centering on the permanent venue of Euro-Asian Economic Forum,””We shall succeed and make us of the Euro-Asian Economic Forum’s financial cooperation conference and the Xi’an (Chan-Ba)Finance Summit, strengthen the communication and connection with national financial management institutions and state development bank, attracting the development banks of SOC to Xi’an.” In November 2013, “Symposium on speeding up the Establishment of a New Starting Point of the Silk Road Economic Zone”was held. On this symposium, Zhao Zhengyong, Shaanxi provincial secretary, stated in his speech that: we shall moderately carry out ten things circling around the “Five-C Requirements” of Communication Policies, Connect roads, Carry out trades, Circulate currency and Connect people”. The requirement of “speeding up the establishment of a regional financial center that gears toward central Asia and provides service for western China”has also been put forward. At this time, the Chan-Ba area is develoing in an extremely smooth way. Up to date, Xi’an Financial Business Zone has invited a total 64 financial institutions from all kinds and business supporting projects, among which the following have been either contracted or ascertained. Government and financial regulators China Securities Regulatory

Commission-Shaanxi Bureau, China Insurance Regulatory Commission- Shaanxi Bureau; headquarters of financial institutions: China Development Bank-Shaanxi Branch, Chang’an Bank, Yong’an Insurance, Xi’an Bank, Western Securities, Financial Center for Shaanxi Coal Industry, Western Trust, Fore-sea Life Insurance- Shaanxi Headquarter. Sigma Asset Management Co. Ltd; supporting projects for financial institutions: Bank of China Global Customer Service Center, Xi’an China Construction Bank Operating Center, Sinopec Financial Settlement Center of Northeastern China, Financial Escort Service Base and Banks’ Note Center, Backstage Service Base of Chang’an Bank, Back Support Center for Yong’an Insurance, Back Support Center for Xinhua Insurance, Xi’an (Chan- ba)Financial Service Outsourcing Base, Multi-service- Center for Xi”an Local Taxation Bureau, Xi’an Longhuwei Financial Safeguard Base; market projects for financial elements: Shaanxi Chan-Ba- Coal Trading Center, Shaanxi Environmental Right Exchange; projects for financial intermediaries: Everbright Financial Holding Asset Management Co. Ltd., Shaanxi Chang’an Futures Brokers Co Ltd., Guosen Securities Co. Ltd., Xi’an Sigma Asset Management Co Ltd., Shaanxin Xinlante Investment Counseling Co. Ltd., Shaanxin Xinlante Asset Appraisal Co. Ltd., Shaanxin Xinlante Land Evaluation and Consultation Co. Ltd. business- related, residential and other auxiliary projects: Su-Shaan International Finance Center, China-ASEAN Xi’an Economic and Trade Center, Hong Kong- Xi’an Wealth Center, Baoneng Building, SIUD Chan-Ba Project, Shenzhen Zhenye Ecology-friendly City La Botanica, Shaanxi MBA Institute Building, Chan-Ba Institute of Finance Sunshine Plaza, Chan-Ba Automobile Themed Park, etc.. It is estimated that, by the end of2020, the financial business zone will converge 100 to 130 financial institutions and 1000 commercial agencies, with the financial value addition reaching 1.5 billion yuan, accounting for over 50% of the newly-added value of Xi’an’s financial sector as whole, and over 30% that of Shaanxi province. It will contribute significantly to the development of Shaanxi financial industry. The contribution rate will be over 20%, bringing a value addition of 30 billion yuan out of finance- related industries. Green witnessed our development, and it is golden finance that leads us to the future. In the next decade, in the development of Xi’an Financial Business Zone, the city will avail the opportunity of western development and the construction of Guanzhong-Tianshui Economic Zone, proactively giving scope to it having leading role in the financial sector, with an aim to build the zone into a congregate for the modern service industry that integrates into one finance, business, convention, trade, culture and recreation based on an international vision, to make it into an important financial center in the west as well as an international modern metropolis. All of the markets and streets of the Xi’an city used to be bustle and hustle. Riding a horse on the imperial roads, Choe Chi-won, a Silla poet, marveled at its flourishing and written poem reading “To be welcomed by the east wind, how lucky I am. Be greeted by blossoming flowers, here I come, as if I’ve’ come back in Silla.

Those prosperous days, though it failed to stand the severe test of history, left us with much admiration for its magnificence and regrets as it will never return back. The dizzy mist foating on the vast Guangyun Pond, fascinating music flowing out the fute from Wangchun Pavilion, with the boundless footsteps of the Lantian Man, all disappeared into the great river of history, but remains an unforgettable as part of the Tang Dynasty, rendering us with a memory neither a too grave nor negligible.