​The Shanghai Head Office of the People's Bank of China is located in the bustling Lujiazui area in Shanghai. [Photo by Luo Bin/english.shanghai.gov.cn]

Shanghai will further develop its offshore finance sector this year by expanding the offshore trade financial services reform pilot initiative in the Lin-gang Special Area and advancing pilot foreign exchange management reforms, the People's Bank of China Shanghai Head Office revealed during a recent press conference.

According to PBOC's Shanghai Head Office, the city's social financing scale rose by 1.16 trillion yuan ($167.4 billion) in 2025, up 102.1 billion yuan year-on-year, meeting the funding needs of the real economy. Cross-border renminbi transactions in Shanghai reached 32.4 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9 percent, accounting for 46 percent of the country's total.

The upgraded Free Trade Account pilot, launched on Dec 5, 2025, recorded nearly 50 billion yuan in cross-border receipts and payments, involving 11 banks and 29 enterprises.

Shi Jiandong, deputy director of the Macroprudential Management Department of the PBOC Shanghai Head Office, described the FTA upgrade as the most significant reform since its launch in May 2014, noting that it facilitates free receipts and payments.

He noted that enterprises can now conduct most capital account business without quota or approval limits.

Zhou Peng, deputy director of the Monetary and Credit Research Department, said the central bank will continue a moderately loose monetary policy, promote lower financing costs, and improve financial services to support the real economy.

Zhong Lei, deputy director of the Foreign Exchange Management Department of the PBOC Shanghai Head Office, noted that Shanghai's foreign-related economy maintained steady growth in 2025.

Shanghai banks foreign exchange income and expenditure on behalf of clients totaled $5.66 trillion, up 14.3 percent year-on-year and accounting for more than 36 percent of the national total.

Source: Shanghai Observer