CAEXPO Finding Innovative Approaches to Financial Service

（Written by Chen Libing / Translated by Mo Tingting）In the exhibition halls of the previous CAEXPO, diversified financial services, including cross-border finance, cross-border settlement, science and technology finance and Internet finance, satisfied the financial demand of participant merchants from different countries. And in its various forums, leaders and elites in financial areas from both China and ASEAN countries came together to raise a series of new visions, ideas and practices for China-ASEAN financial cooperation and development.

Undoubtedly, CAEXPO, emerging along with the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA), has served as the best platform for further boosting China-ASEAN financial cooperation. In recent years, CAEXPO has kept seeking in-depth China-ASEAN financial cooperation and steady economic development by increasing exhibitions on financial services and holding the China-ASEAN Summit Forum on Financial Cooperation and Development, China-ASEAN Summit Forum on Insurance Cooperation and Development, etc.

CAEXPO deepening financial cooperation with various highlights

Back in 2009, the economy of ASEAN countries suffered a hard blow. Since China, an important financial and commercial partner of ASEAN, took the lead in economic recovery during the global financial crisis, ASEAN countries finally restrained the spread of financial risks and obtained steady and healthy economic growth. Under this backdrop, ASEAN countries showed ardent expectations for further financial cooperation with China. 

To help enterprises cope with the financial crisis by deepening China-ASEAN financial cooperation, the 6th CAEXPO in 2009 began to set financial service exhibitions and held the China-ASEAN Summit Forum on Financial Cooperation and Development. In addition to successfully practicing these activities, CAEXPO found it a new way to boost China-ASEAN financial cooperation by holding summit forums and exhibitions. Since then, CAEXPO has been making a valuable contribution to the establishment of a financial service system that promotes and deepens financial as well as economic and commercial cooperation between China and ASEAN countries.

Both domestic and foreign famous financial organizations such as Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the Export-Import Bank of China, Development Bank of Singapore and Sacombank participated in the previous CAEXPO financial service exhibitions, displaying financial enterprises, products and services, etc. As a result, participant organizations could acquire the latest financial information more directly and effectively, as well as seek cooperation chances to deal with challenges brought by the financial crisis.

To address concerns raised by its members, China-ASEAN Summit Forum on Financial Cooperation and Development, an important forum under the framework of CAEXPO, established a regional platform for communication and cooperation featuring institutionalization, normalization and high standard, and contributed to a number of cooperation cases and agreements.

In the previous 11 China-ASEAN Summit Forums on Financial Cooperation and Development, CNY to KHR exchange rate and the exchange rate of nine ASEAN countries by Agricultural Bank of China were listed; Operation Center for Hong Kong and Southeast Asian Business of Bank of China, Cross-Border RMB Business Center of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Nanning) and ASEAN Insurance Service Center of China Taiping Insurance Group were inaugurated; cross-border RMB index of Bank of China, CNY to ASEAN currency exchange rate index and VND index by Agricultural Bank of China were issued; strategic cooperation agreement was signed between Bank of Liuzhou and Canadia Bank, as well as between Guilin Bank and Hong Leong Bank.

These results marked the deepening financial cooperation between China and ASEAN, as well as CAEXPO’s contribution to this field. A path of mutual benefit and win-win results was thus opened up for financial and enterprise sectors in both China and ASEAN countries, which won great praise. 

“In the previous 16 sessions of the CAEXPO, Bank of China provided participant merchants with over 120,000 ticket collection services, over 17,000 smart POS services, over 20,000 foreign currency exchange services and ATM deposit and withdrawal services involving over RMB 75,000,000 yuan. Convenient services of Bank of China earned CAEXPO even more praise from guest merchants including furniture dealers from Cambodia, jewelry dealers from Sri Lanka and jade dealers from Myanmar, who would enjoy services like foreign currency exchange at temporary outlets of Bank of China on every year’s CAEXPO,” said Yuan Long, president of Guangxi Branch of Bank of China. He also said that the Bank of China would continue to promote its “internationalization” via the CAEXPO, and seek in-depth financial cooperation with ASEAN countries.

CAEXPO innovating financial services to create a new chapter

With concerted efforts from China and ASEAN members, the financial cooperation between the two sides has been deepened and has made gratifying progress. However, with the increasingly close economic and trade cooperation between China and ASEAN members, there are higher requirements for opening up and innovation in the financial sector. Especially in the past two years, China has issued the Overall Plan for Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to Build an Open Financial Gateway for ASEAN and approved the establishment of China (Guangxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone, so it is necessary to further promote the cross-border financial business innovation and cooperation between the two sides.

Against this background, as an important platform for both sides to seek cooperation and common development in the financial sector, CAEXPO also adapts to the changes of the times, and makes an improvement on the basis of the original financial service exhibitions and forums, so as to further promote the development and innovation of financial industry as well as cross-border exchanges and cooperation between China and ASEAN.

According to the CAEXPO Secretariat, the 17th CAEXPO will highlight financial cooperation under the special subject of service trade, giving prominence to fields of highly complementary between China and ASEAN, such as financial services, tourism services and talent services. Among them, the financial exhibition area will fully display Guangxi’s new achievements in building an open financial gateway for ASEAN in an all-round way, launch new platforms and businesses for the ASEAN market, and show more innovative financial products and services such as green finance, Internet finance and cross-border financial service platforms, thus to provide stronger financial support for mutual trade and investment of enterprises in China and ASEAN.

It is worth mentioning that another professional financial exhibition will be independently held for the first time, to more proficiently serve China-ASEAN financial cooperation and promote Guangxi’s construction of an open financial gateway for ASEAN. 

The preparation works for the upcoming CAEXPO is in full swing. At present, with higher degrees of China’s opening-up to the outside world and Guangxi’s undergoing construction of an open financial gateway for ASEAN, the CAEXPO will embrace a new historical opportunity for greater financial openness. What financial institutions will make debuts in the 17th CAEXPO? And how can CAEXPO provide more comprehensive financial support for enterprises in China and ASEAN? We’ll wait and see. 

Source: China-ASEAN Panorama