Several foreign financial institutions have recently expanded their investments and established bases in China, further deepening their engagement with the Chinese market.
Mastercard's Chinese joint venture, Mastercard NetsUnion Information Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd., announced the official commencement of its bank card clearing operations on Thursday, making it the second joint venture for Mastercard in the country.
Allianz Global Investors, the ninth company engaged in wholly foreign-owned public fund management business in China, is gearing up to launch its first public fund product since commencing operations in April.
"We are excited about the prospects ahead and look forward to establishing long-term relationships in China's thriving investment landscape," said Roxane Zander from Allianz Global Investors.
In April, the China Securities Regulatory Commission approved the establishment of BNP Paribas Securities (China) Limited, a fully-owned subsidiary of BNP Paribas. This marks another expansion of BNP Paribas's business footprint in China following the launch of a wealth management joint venture with the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) in June last year.
China has so far approved 10 foreign-controlled securities companies, nine wholly foreign-owned fund management companies, and three foreign-controlled futures companies to do businesses in the country.
In the first quarter, both Fidelity Fund and Neuberger Berman completed their fourth and third rounds of capital increases in China, respectively, since their inception.
"Investing in China is consistently a wise choice. Now, the world economy is experiencing a slowdown, the imperative to invest in China becomes even more pronounced. We hold a strong optimism regarding the stability of China's present market and our confidence in its future prospects," said Yan Xiaoqing, CEO of Lubomai Fund Management (China) Co Ltd, Neuberger Berman's subsidiary in China.
Data show that in the first quarter, the actual use of foreign capital in the financial sector increased by 1.4 percent. The net increase in foreign holdings of domestic bonds reached 41.6 billion U.S. dollars in the first quarter, exceeding the total net increase for all of last year.
Foreign financial institutions expand investment in China
The growing popularity of contemporary art in Shanghai has driven foot traffic to galleries like ShanghART, where Swiss founder Lorenz Helbling has for decades striven to stay at the helm of the city's creative circuit.
Now a sought-after space for local artists to present their latest works, ShanghART opened in 1996 with humble beginnings in the corridor of the Portman Hotel, now the Portman Ritz-Carlton, in central Shanghai.
"The beginning was in a hotel and we were just there and open 12 hours a day, seven days a week, and waited till somebody comes," said Helbling, who first arrived in Shanghai in 1985 to study Chinese history and film at the city's prestigious Fudan University.
In the early 2000s, ShanghART moved to the now-iconic 50 Moganshan Road, also known as M50, a thriving contemporary art district located in the northwest of Shanghai's city center. Once a collection of dilapidated industrial factories, M50 has transformed into a fashionable hub for creative minds, with artists breathing new life into the old warehouses.
"Many artists were quite happy. I had a place here [where] they could show art. They thought that was ideal for the artist here in Shanghai, where each artist tries to find his own voice, his own way to express his ideas. So M50 was kind of ideal for that. Everybody could find a place that fits him. The freedom of having a gallery is just showing works you like. I think it's important and we'll stay around," said the gallerist.
M50 was underscored last year when China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) recognized the district as a model case for the preservation and transformation of industrial heritage.
According to recent data, foot traffic in M50 surged by 77 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024, with 20 percent of visitors coming from outside China.
As the city's art scene continues to evolve, ShanghART has become a preferred venue for many emerging and established artists. Contemporary Chinese artist Hu Xiangcheng has chosen the gallery for his latest exhibition, citing its deep cultural roots as the ideal backdrop for works that took years to complete.
"I really love this gallery. Back when there were still very few galleries in China, ShanghART was already serving the function of a gallery, helping connect the public with artists. It's a place for displaying and collecting artists' ideas. Contemporary artists have always paid attention to ShanghART because it has always been at the forefront of the art scene," Hu said.
Swiss-founded gallery in Shanghai becomes mainstay for contemporary Chinese art
