(Yicai Global) May 30 -- Beijing will greatly increase access by international investors to its capital markets over the next three years as China’s capital city transforms itself into a global wealth management center of international influence.

Foreign financial institutions will be encouraged to expand their presence in Beijing, the interconnection between mainland and foreign stock markets will be facilitated and international exchanges and cooperation strengthened, according to a document released by the city’s financial regulators recently which laid out over 20 measures to accomplishing the goal.

Overseas investors that have been licensed as Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors or Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors will be permitted to trade on the Beijing Stock Exchange and invest in domestic securities, the document said. In the same way, Qualified Domestic Institutional Investors will be encouraged to invest in overseas securities.

More pilot programs will be introduced to allow Qualified Foreign Limited Partners to invest in China and Qualified Domestic Limited Partners to invest overseas. Insurance funds, sovereign wealth funds and other long-term domestic and foreign funds will be encouraged to enter the market, the document said.

Beijing has many advantages over other cities as a financial hub, Dong Ximiao, chief researcher at Merchants Union Consumer Finance, told Yicai Global. For one, Beijing residents have the second-highest disposable income in the country, at CNY75,000 (USD11,273) per annum as of last year, and there is strong demand for wealth management.

Also, as the seat of government, it is easier to get approvals to set up new companies and introduce new products. In addition, it is the regional base to over 900 financial institutions, including around 30 foreign-funded ones, which employ very highly qualified, internationalized staff. And the capital city held nearly half of the country’s total financial assets at the end of last year at CNY180 trillion (USD27 trillion).

Beijing’s value-added in the financial sector accounted for 18.9 percent of the city’s gross domestic product last year, making it a key growth driver.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Kim Taylor