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As a center of modern services in the region, the city is home to the Chengdu Financial Headquarters Business District.

Chengdu is becoming a leading banking and insurance center in western China as increasing numbers of financial institutions arrive and begin operation there.

The capital city of Sichuan province is now home to at least 60 banks, 69 insurance agencies and 57 securities firms, according to the local Chengdu Daily.

The city is also a favored destination in central and western China for foreign-funded banks, insurance companies and listed companies, said an official of the city's government financial work office.

Thirteen international banks and 14 international insurance companies have branches in Chengdu including Citigroup, HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, JPMorgan Chase and the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.

Many others are awaiting approval from the China Banking Regulatory Commission.

Most international financial organizations followed their clients to Chengdu.

The city is now home to at least 234 Fortune 500 companies.

The global networks used by international banks help them to provide commercial loans to multinational corporations through their local branches. If a London-based Fortune 500 company wants to establish a subsidiary in Chengdu, the parent company can gain approvals at HSBC's UK office, and get a line of credit at its Chengdu branch, said Xie Ling, acting branch manager of HSBC Bank (China) Co Ltd, in an earlier interview with China Daily.

Now well established in the city, many multinational banks are looking to develop more local services in addition to catering to their global clients.

Citibank's Chengdu branch has established a commercial division targeting small and medium-sized local enterprises.

In addition to banks, the city has attracted increasing numbers of private equity firms that help SMEs.

"There are now between 200 and 300 private equity firms in Chengdu," said Zhou Hongliang, a consultant at Infinity Group's Chengdu office.

The Israel-headquarted firm has established a $32.32 million fund to help local companies because "their financing costs are quite high, almost 20 percent".

In addition to IT startups, it is planning to offer more help to agricultural companies and fund more projects in second-tier cities in the province such as Mianyang and Zigong, said Zhou. Chengdu's rapid economic growth over the past few years has brought more financial service firms to the city.

All four major global accounting companies - KPMG, Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte - have offices in the city.

Now that Chengdu registered a GDP of 813.89 billion yuan, an 13 percent increase year-on-year. With its large number of financial institutions, Chengdu leads all other cities in western China in transactions.

Data from the city's financial office show that the balance of deposits in its financial institutions reached 1.7 trillion yuan in 2011 with a loan book worth 1.37 trillion yuan.

Revenues in the city's financial sector that year hit 52.4 billion yuan, accounting for 8 percent of the Chengdu's GDP. The city has had a strong bond with finance since ancient times.

The world's first paper currency - the jiao zi - was introduced in Chengdu in 1023 during the Song Dynasty (960-1279).

What has helped the city gain a foothold as a financial center in western China today is largely due to its stable financial environment and an abundant supply of professionals, said local officials.

The city government's financial office said most employees in Chengdu's foreign banks are locals.

Graduates from universities such as Southwestern University of Finance and Economics provide a good foundation for the industry and the related financial outsourcing services in the city, he added.

lifusheng@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 04/26/2013 page19)