Over the past three years after the construction of the Integrated National Demonstration Zone for Opening up the Services Sector and the China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone (the "Two Zones" for short), Beijing Municipal Bureau of Local Financial Regulation (hereinafter referred to as the "Bureau") of the National Financial Regulatory Administration has approved the establishment of 55 branches and independent enterprises in the banking and insurance industries in Beijing in an efficient manner, facilitating the implementation of several first-of-its-kind projects.

According to statistics, the Bureau has efficiently approved the establishment of 55 institutions above the branch/company-level in the banking and insurance industries in Beijing, including eight foreign-funded institutions (excluding two newly established representative offices of foreign banks) and 15 institutions within the China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone. There are also 175 newly established institutions below the branch/company-level.

The newly established foreign financial institutions include the Beijing branch of Habib Bank Limited, a bank of Pakistan which is a partner country of the Belt and Road Initiative; Ueda Yagi Money Broking (China) Co., Ltd., the first and currently the only wholly foreign-owned currency brokerage company in China; HSBC Insurance Brokers Ltd, the first wholly foreign-owned insurance brokerage company after the implementation of the measures to open up the insurance intermediary market in December 2021; and the Beijing Branch of Kasikornbank (China) Co., Ltd., the first newly established foreign-funded legal person branch within the Beijing Pilot Free Trade Zone.

(Source: Beijing Daily)