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On May 26, the 1st China and Central Asia Capital Market Forum was unveiled in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan. Present at the forum were Chinese representatives including Zhang Yujun, Assistant to Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), Qi Bin, Director of the International Cooperation Department of the CSRC; President Huang Hongyuan and Vice President Que Bo of the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE), as well as representatives of Kazakhstan including senior officials of the Ministry of Investments and Development and the National Bank of Kazakhstan and President of the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE). The two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
Addressing the opening ceremony of the forum, Zhang Yujun briefed the latest progress in Bilateral Opening-up of China’s Capital Market now underway. “Since Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect was launched last year,” he said, “It has drawn wide attention from the global capital market. Now, we’re building trading platforms for financial assets in the free trade zone and for international crude oil futures, while planning Mutual Fund Connect between China’s mainland and Hong Kong as well as Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect for the next half of 2015.” Such an openness of China’s capital market has laid a solid foundation for China-Kazakhstan cooperation in the capital market. Zhang hoped such cooperation could go further and further by virtue of the “New Silk Road Economic Belt” strategy.
To achieve the goal he suggested: firstly, exchanges between capital market insiders in the two countries should be encouraged to get them acquainted with each other’s markets as soon as possible; secondly, the two sides should conduct pragmatic business cooperation in an all-round way based on their own conditions. Chinese enterprises should make full use of the national strategy of “One Belt, One Road” that focuses on connectivity and cooperation among countries primarily in Eurasia, and both the SSE and the KASE should play a better role in resource allocation between the two countries to boost their collaboration in capital market building and bilateral opening-up; thirdly, the impact of China and Central Asia Capital Market Forum should be enhanced to make it an excellent platform for China’s cooperation and exchanges with central Asian countries.
On the other hand, Qi Bin introduced the general situations of China’s macro economy and capital market as well as the development opportunities it enjoys at the current transitional period; he also demonstrated the mutual promotion between reform and opening-up of the capital market and their important roles in helping China evade the “Middle Income Trap”. After visioning the capital market cooperation between the two countries, he expressed his hope that such cooperation could serve as a role model for China’s cooperation with other countries along the “One Belt, One Road”.
According to Huang Hongyuan, with consistency in national strategies between China and Kazakhstan, the two countries should embrace a great prospect for cooperation. As an organizer of the capital market, the SSE is both obliged and motivated to collaborate with securities companies, fund companies and listed companies to respond to the strategy of “One Belt, One Road”. Since its founding 25 years ago, the SSE has evolved into a comprehensive securities exchange trading stocks, bonds, funds and derivatives, thus making itself an emerging market boasting initial global influence, high regional competitiveness and capacity of sustainable development. Huang extended sincere welcome to overseas government institutions and enterprises, especially those from countries along “One Belt, One Road”, to issue bonds in Renminbi on the SSE in order to exert its role in supporting the national strategy. He also expected the forum to initiate a platform for direct communication of enterprises and financial institutions between the two countries and advance the capital market cooperation between them toward a higher level, a deeper scale and a wider scope. As follow-up, Que Bo provided a detailed introduction to the SSE.
It is learnt that this forum is a product of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Kazakhstan. Cooperated by the SSE and the KASE, the forum is both a manifestation of high-level cooperation between the two countries and a sign of the SSE to act in tandem with “One Belt, One Road” and broaden opening-up. By signing MOUs with 44 overseas exchanges, the SSE is embracing greater development opportunities with its expanded connections.
