The past year has seen China liberalising – in gradual iterations – its financial and insurance sectors. The process has been slow and careful, but a range of reforms are sending the signal to foreign financial institutions that attitudes are changing.
Against this backdrop, IFLR chose to poll readers on the strategies they're adopting, barriers they still face, and what else needs to happen to smooth their path.
The results show the practical difficulties banks and asset managers face when expanding into China. Respondents offered frank feedback on the day-to-day issues they come across, and how existing and future policies can better motivate foreign financial institutions to access the PRC financial markets.
IFLR distributed this survey to readers at banks, asset managers and law firms between January and March 2019.
All survey respondents were offered anonymity to encourage in-depth and honest discussion of the challenges. Extensive follow-up interviews were completed to provide a more comprehensive analysis of some key issues. Respondents included international banks, asset managers, funds and private practice lawyers in banking and finance based in the Greater China region. While the more structured responses to the poll questions provide interesting statistics, a real sense of in-house lawyers’ concerns emerged from the interviews. The topics raised in those interviews form the basis of the report.
