Chongqing - In 2023, Chongqing's financial sector achieved significant growth, advancing its Western Financial Center. The sector's added value by year-end was 259.1 billion yuan (USD 36 billion), accounting for 8.6% of the city's gross domestic product, according to the Chongqing Local Financial Supervision and Administration Bureau.

The balance of domestic and foreign currency deposits and loans reached 5.36 trillion yuan and 5.67 trillion yuan, growing by 8.0% and 9.8%, respectively. There were ten new company listings throughout the year, with the number of domestically listed IPO companies ranking first in Western China. 

The city's efforts in combating non-compliance rank among the top nationwide, with the banking industry's non-performing loan ratio at 1.18%, having decreased by 0.24 percentage points compared to the beginning of the year.

In 2023, Chongqing boosted its service industry by hosting the conference for financial support in modern industry, focusing on the "33618" modern manufacturing cluster system, tech business financing, and rural revitalization. 

At the end of 2023, loans to manufacturing enterprises with medium and long-term plans, technology-driven enterprises, and agricultural loans increased by 24.1%, 28.8%, and 9.8%, respectively. Leading the initiative, Chongqing launched the Chongqing Financial Support for Rural Prosperity Leaders Action Plan, issuing a total of 2.7 billion yuan in loans to new agricultural business entities and farmers.

In advancing reform pilots, the city accelerated the development of a national-level green finance reform and innovation pilot zone. Chongqing introduced 12 local green financial standards and over 330 unique financial products. Its green finance capacity-building experience was included in the G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group report, setting a national example. 

Also, the city led central and western China's first regional equity market reform pilot, including specialized sub-markets and stock rights services. The Qualified Domestic Limited Partner (QDLP) and digital RMB pilots also advanced smoothly.

Expanding financial openness leads to upgraded China-Singapore cooperation, progressing 17 key initiatives items across five major areas. The city established a financial services consortium for the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, introduced policies supporting the "Chongqing Vehicles Going Global" initiative, and achieved USD 1.7 billion in annual cross-border financing, up 21.8%.

China-Singapore projects surpassed USD 20 billion in total financing. The Fifth China-Singapore (Chongqing) Connectivity Initiative Financial Summit saw 90 projects signed, totaling 111 billion yuan. 

Promoting direct financing, for instance, ten new companies were listed in Chongqing. This sets a precedent for district and county-state-owned assets to acquire listed companies, bringing the total number of listed companies to 99. IPO financing surged to 12.07 billion yuan, up 191% year-over-year.

Furthermore, Chongqing leveraged its industrial and technological innovation platform, promoting the establishment of a 200 billion yuan industrial investment fund of funds. It optimized the operational mechanisms of these funds and set up secondary funds such as a 3 billion yuan fund for food and agricultural product processing and a 3 billion yuan fund for the Chongqing-Tianjin collaboration. 

This effort aimed to create a hub for the development of private equity funds, establishing a comprehensive private equity fund evaluation and consultation system. In addition, events such as the 2023 Chongqing Venture Capital Conference and the Symposium on Supporting Chongqing's Development through Venture Capital were held, resulting in a total of 21.56 billion yuan in new investment throughout the year, a year-on-year increase of 40.4%, with cumulative investment reaching 240.67 billion yuan.