Starting December 18, the Hainan Free Trade Port officially began full island customs closure.
The complete customs closure of the Hainan Free Trade Port is a landmark measure for my country to unswervingly expand high-level opening up and promote the construction of an open world economy, and it also brings more development opportunities to all sectors.
In recent years, banking financial institutions have continued to expand their presence to support Hainan's comprehensive deepening of reform and opening up and the construction of the free trade port, demonstrating new responsibilities and new achievements in helping to write a new chapter of Chinese-style modernization in Hainan.
Support the full island-wide customs closure operation in Hainan
The full island-wide customs closure operation in Hainan is a landmark and fundamental project in the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port.
To support Hainan's steady progress in building a free trade port, the Hainan Branch of the China Development Bank proactively provided services, closely aligned with Hainan Province's list of projects for customs clearance operations, focused on key areas such as infrastructure connectivity and port logistics, and actively leveraged its service advantages in providing intellectual support, financing, and investment-loan linkage.
According to a Financial Times reporter, the Hainan branch of the China Development Bank has effectively guaranteed the financing needs of major infrastructure projects such as the upgrading and renovation of ports like Yangpu Xiaochantan, Haikou Meilan Airport, and Sanya Phoenix Airport, as well as the Yangpu International Container Hub Port and the New Hailudao Logistics Park, by deepening cooperation between banks, government, and enterprises. This has helped all 10 "second-tier ports" pass national acceptance, laying a solid foundation for the timely and smooth implementation of customs closure operations and creating "hardware" support for high-level opening up to the outside world.
The Hainan Branch of the China Development Bank (CDB) has prioritized infrastructure services as its top business development priority, proactively participating in the planning of major infrastructure projects and fully supporting the construction of 102 major projects under the national 14th Five-Year Plan and 31 major infrastructure projects in Hainan Province. Simultaneously, addressing the issue of insufficient capital for major infrastructure projects, the branch actively sought policy-based financial support, issuing the province's first new policy-based tool to leverage 3.2 billion yuan in matching loans, thereby driving effective investment in areas such as digital transformation of infrastructure, urban underground pipe networks, and freight hubs.
Serving the growth of cross-border financial business
"After the border is closed, the ease of cross-border capital flows will be greatly improved." Zeng Gang, chief expert and director of the Shanghai Financial and Development Laboratory, said in an interview with the Financial Times that with the support and guidance of relevant policies, banking financial institutions can explore "new blue oceans" in areas such as cross-border trade settlement, capital account exchange, and offshore financial services.
As one of the first financial institutions in Hainan to launch multi-functional free trade accounts (EF accounts), Agricultural Bank of China has fully leveraged the functional policy advantages of innovative accounts to provide convenient cross-border capital flow services for high-quality domestic and foreign enterprises in the Hainan Free Trade Port. It has also achieved business breakthroughs in multiple areas such as remittance, exchange, deposit, and lending, and built a "four-in-one" financial account service system for the Hainan Free Trade Port based on traditional accounts, FT accounts, EF accounts, and integrated RMB and foreign currency accounts.
Meanwhile, with its comprehensive advantages in operating with full licenses, a wide network, and multiple channels, Agricultural Bank of China has included serving the Hainan Free Trade Port in the key areas of its coordinated services. It has established cross-border, regional, and branch-company linkage mechanisms—branches in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, Yangtze River Delta, and Yangtze River Economic Belt collaborate with the Hainan branch to provide comprehensive services for domestic and foreign enterprises investing and doing business in Hainan.
“Here, innovative businesses such as Qualified Foreign Limited Partners (QFLP) and Qualified Domestic Limited Partners (QDLP) will become new profit growth points, and the internationalization of the RMB will also bring huge demand for foreign exchange transactions, cross-border payments and other businesses,” Zeng Gang believes.
Taking China Minsheng Bank's Haikou branch as an example, the bank actively aligns with cross-border financial reform pilot policies and actively implements innovative businesses such as cross-border transfer of non-performing loan assets and QDLP pilot programs. Simultaneously, the bank has been approved for three major foreign exchange innovation pilot qualifications: the Yangpu Economic Development Zone's high-level opening-up foreign exchange pilot program for cross-border trade, the Hainan Province's high-level opening-up foreign exchange pilot program for cross-border trade, and foreign exchange business reform.
Focusing on the five key aspects of finance
Focusing on the five key areas of finance and supporting the development of Hainan's four leading industries and key sectors are crucial to promoting high-quality economic development in Hainan.
"Building the Hainan Free Trade Port to high standards can better promote Hainan's high-quality development. CITIC Bank Haikou Branch is making solid progress in the 'five major tasks' of finance and strengthening its internal capabilities through multiple efforts to fully promote Hainan's economic and social development," said a relevant person in charge of CITIC Bank Haikou Branch.
Seed industry is the core of agriculture, and the high-quality construction of the southern breeding base is of great significance to ensuring food security. In response to the financing needs of a local agricultural research institute, CITIC Bank Haikou Branch innovatively issued a 6 million yuan plant variety rights pledge financing loan to help key research proceed smoothly.
In addition, the bank continues to expand its services to companies in the fields of seed breeding, deep-sea technology, and aerospace technology, and has issued multiple special patent pledge loans and supply chain financing, enriching the scenarios for serving high-quality science and technology innovation enterprises.
Focusing on inclusive finance, CITIC Bank's Haikou branch has explored and launched a series of distinctive products and services. According to reports, the branch has established 12 special working groups for the coordination mechanism of financing for micro and small enterprises, connecting with the city and district-level working mechanisms at different levels. Adopting the "five specializations and five enhancements" working model of CITIC Bank's head office, it aims to bridge the "last mile" of financial services benefiting enterprises and the people, and widely carry out the "Thousands of Enterprises, Tens of Thousands of Households, and Hundreds of Industries Prospering—CITIC Inclusive Finance Joining Hands" special campaign, providing customized financial service solutions for local enterprises in Hainan on a case-by-case basis.
A relevant person in charge of CITIC Bank's Haikou branch said that the bank will continue to increase its support for key industries, major projects, and people's livelihood, and continuously improve the quality and efficiency of its services to the real economy.
