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Invest Shanghai
To strengthen its functions as international centers in the fields of economy, finance, trade, shipping, and science and technology innovation, Shanghai has recently released a set of cases highlighting progress in each area.
This edition focuses on three cases that reflect the city's latest advances as an international financial center.
Case 1: Shanghai International Reinsurance Exchange
The Shanghai International Reinsurance Exchange was unveiled at the Shanghai International Reinsurance Conference on Oct 23, 2024.
By bringing together insurers, reinsurers, and intermediaries, the exchange is forming an integrated ecosystem aligned with internationally accepted regulatory, management, and operational standards.
The exchange is helping steer China's reinsurance sector toward early global leadership in digitalization and standardized operations, enhancing its role in global risk governance.
To date, 131 institutions have registered for trading access, with premium transactions reaching 5.3 billion yuan ($753.26 million) in the first 10 months of 2025.
Case 2: Offshore trade financial services
The Lin-gang Special Area of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone launched a pilot program aimed at enabling real-time fund settlement for offshore trade in June 2025.
A key feature of the pilot is the use of dedicated offshore trade subsidiaries as operating entities, allowing designated banks to provide one-to-one services to participating firms.
By leveraging free trade accounts, banks can settle funds in real time based solely on payment instructions, without the need to verify supporting documents. This shortens transaction time from two to three working days to just seconds.
The reform has achieved cross-border settlement efficiency in line with international standards, significantly improving business convenience and overall user experience.
Case 3: Sci-tech growth tier
The Science and Technology Innovation Board, also known as the STAR Market, has launched a sci-tech growth tier at the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The move expanded access to capital for innovation-led companies with strong business prospects and sustained R&D investment despite ongoing losses.
Six supporting measures have been rolled out alongside the new tier. These include the introduction of a senior professional institutional investor mechanism, a pilot pre-review system for initial public offerings by high-quality technology firms, and the expanded application of the fifth set of listing rules.
Under the expanded fifth listing rules, eligibility has been extended to a broader range of frontier sectors, including artificial intelligence, commercial spaceflight, and the low-altitude economy.
As of now, the sci-tech growth tier comprises 35 listed companies with a combined market capitalization of nearly 1.3 trillion yuan.
Taken together, these measures have accelerated the growth of innovative technology enterprises and strengthened the capital market's role in supporting high-quality hard-tech development.