(Yicai) Sept. 22 -- Financial leasing is accelerating its shift from a “financial tool” to an “industrial engine” in China as it plays a growing role in supporting emerging industries, according to the chief of a state-owned exchange operator in Shanghai.

Shanghai Exchange Group aims to work with industry participants to bring financial leasing back to its core role of combining financing with physical assets while ensuring compliance, and to expand its role in strategic sectors including computing power, energy storage and embodied intelligence, Guan Xiaojun, president of the group, said at the 2026 Leasing Industry Finance Ecology Conference in the eastern city today. The conference was jointly hosted by Shanghai Exchange Group and Yicai.

Shanghai Exchange Group, which was established in 2023 on the basis of Shanghai United Assets and Equity Exchange, is a state-owned marketplace for trading non-stock assets and public resources, including state-owned corporate equity, public land leases, intellectual property, and carbon emission allowances.

The group also aims to further improve infrastructure for the circulation of leasing assets and build a national hub, while bringing together regulators, academics, industry participants and capital to develop a collaborative ecosystem that more closely integrates industry and finance, the chief said.

Shanghai Leads Financial Leasing

Guan described Shanghai as China’s leading center and headquarters hub for financial leasing. Shanghai had CNY3.29 trillion (USD491.4 billion) of financial leasing assets at the end of 2025, accounting for about 40 percent of the national total.

Half of the country’s top 20 financial leasing companies are headquartered in the eastern city, which has also attracted leading institutions with more than CNY10 billion (USD1.5 billion) of assets. Shanghai-based leasing institutions provide capital, professional expertise and innovative models nationwide, turning the city’s advantages as an international financial center into financial support for the development of new-quality industries across China, he added.

Shanghai Exchange Group is tasked with improving the multi-level factor market system and promoting the market-oriented allocation of resources, Guan said.

One example is the Shanghai Financial Leasing Asset Circulation Center, which Shanghai Exchange Group helped establish in March 2024 to facilitate the circulation of financial leasing assets. The center has served more than 160 leading institutions nationwide, with cumulative transaction volume reaching CNY48 billion and assets traded across the country.


Editor: Emmi Laine