Tianjin eyes Internet finance as growth driver

Tianjin will formulate policies to promote the development of Internet finance and build an industrial complex to attract companies providing such services, said a leading official of the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area on Thursday.

The TEDA Administrative Committee will focus on developing third-party payment services, micro-scale loans to small businesses, sales of standardized financial products on the Internet platform and peer-to-peer lending intermediaries, according to its three-year action plan.

"We hope to push forward reform and innovations more actively by using more scientific methods. We will integrate Internet finance with the regional economy and promote their joint development," said Wang Sheng, secretary of the Communist Party of China Leadership Group of the TEDA Administrative Committee.

He said that TEDA offers a huge potential market for Internet financial services. More than 12,000 domestic and foreign companies have established offices in this area. In 2013, the area's industrial output exceeded 800 billion yuan ($130 billion), providing a solid foundation for the development of Internet finance.

The TEDA Administrative Committee has put much effort into developing a modern service industry through financial innovations and pilot projects. In recent years, more than 500 financial institutions have settled in the area.

Wang said the administrative committee will provide many partners for companies to develop Internet financial services. It has been cooperating actively with world-class Internet companies including the National Supercomputing Center of Tianjin (home to one of the fastest supercomputers in the world), the local data center of China's online giant Tencent Holdings Ltd and the Hewlett-Packard Cloud Executive Briefing Center in Tianjin.

"By developing Internet finance, we will provide new financing channels to small and medium-sized enterprises as well as individuals, alleviate financing pressure and improve the efficiency of finance," said Lang Dong, deputy director of the TEDA Administrative Committee.

"We can also solve credit collection problems through big data analytics for financial services and provide diversified products to a wider range of customers," Lang said.

The committee will develop policies to support the Internet finance industry in terms of taxation, operations, office rentals and recruitment. It will set up a fund of 100 million yuan to support the creation of cloud platforms, network facilities and infrastructure.

"Our target is to develop a core area for Internet financial innovations in China. We aim to get at least 30 Internet finance companies, including five industry leaders, within three years, realizing operating revenues of more than 10 billion yuan," said Lang.

To achieve these targets, government officials in Tianjin must figure out how to attract and train highly qualified specialists in Internet finance within a short time, said Luo Mingxiong, president of a Beijing-based investment management company.

He said that Internet finance is still an emerging industry with many talent shortages, such as specialists in Internet technology and financial product design.

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