APEC meeting seen boosting Shenzhen's global financial integration
A senior insurance executive says next week's APEC informal leaders' meeting in Shenzhen will accelerate the city's internationalisation. Ping An Property Insurance, a sponsor, has tailored over 400 million yuan in coverage for the event, highlighting Shenzhen's finance-tech integration.
A senior financial services executive has said next week's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) informal leaders' meeting in Shenzhen will help accelerate the southern Chinese city's internationalisation. The comments came as the financial sector, one of Shenzhen's four pillar industries, accounts for nearly 15 per cent of the city's gross domestic product (GDP), and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange listed more than 2,900 companies by the end of September.
Xu Hua, deputy general manager of Ping An Property Insurance, told Hong Kong's public broadcaster RTHK that his company, which began in Shenzhen's Shekou district in the 1980s, has grown from a regional insurer into a firm with a service network covering more than 110 countries. He described the company as 'born in Shekou, grown through reform, and matured through openness', adding that its development is inseparable from Shenzhen's market-oriented, rule-of-law based and international business environment.
Xu noted that a key feature of Shenzhen's financial industry is the deep integration of finance and technology, which includes both high-tech enterprises and innovative technologies. Ping An itself has widely adopted artificial intelligence and big data, and has launched products tailored to protect technology firms. He described the insurance industry as a 'shock absorber' for the real economy, enabling tech companies to innovate and invest confidently.
This year's APEC informal leaders' meeting has chosen Shenzhen as its venue. Xu said the gathering will bring not only short-term benefits but also long-term value, helping to speed up Shenzhen's internationalisation. He expressed hope that the exchanges facilitated by APEC will translate into sustained project cooperation. Ping An Property Insurance, besides helping Chinese companies expand overseas and providing coverage for Chinese firms going global, has forged close ties with APEC economies.
Ping An Group is one of the official sponsors of this year's APEC meeting. Xu said Ping An Property Insurance has developed a customised insurance plan for the event, offering more than 400 million yuan (approximately US$55 million) in dedicated risk coverage.