(Yicai Global) Oct. 12 -- Shanghai's financial market turnover jumped almost five times to CNY2,511 trillion (USD350.1 trillion) last year from a decade earlier as the eastern city is becoming an increasingly important international finance hub.

The Shanghai Stock Exchange handled transactions worth CNY49 trillion (USD6.8 trillion) last year, up two times from 10 years ago, making the bourse the third-largest worldwide instead of the seventh, the local government revealed at a press conference yesterday. 

The city’s bond market raised nearly CNY34 trillion last year to become the world's biggest bond bourse. Since the beginning of this year, Shanghai Futures Exchange has logged CNY107 trillion (USD14.9 trillion) in transactions, more than four times that of the same period in 2012. Securities institutions in the city serve over 33 million customers.

Shanghai has listed 26 new types of futures and options over the past decade, covering key commodities in fields such as agriculture, chemicals, metals, and energy, said Wang Dengyong, deputy director of the local arm of the China Securities Regulatory Commission. Moreover, the China Financial Futures Exchange, which is located in Shanghai, has set up two categories of financial futures products involving equity and interest rates, he added.

The city has also established several new financial markets over the past decade such as the Shanghai Commercial Paper Exchange, the Shanghai Insurance Exchange, the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System, the China Trust Registration, the Shanghai head office of the China Central Depository & Clearing, and a clearing house for city commercial banks, said Xin Yadong, secretary of the party committee of the Shanghai Financial Working Commission.

The financial sector is becoming increasingly important for Shanghai’s macroeconomy. The sector's value added made up 18 percent of the city's gross domestic product last year, compared with 11 percent 10 years ago. The ratio jumped to 21.3 percent in the first half of this year. Direct financing in Shanghai surged to CNY18.3 trillion last year from CNY3.9 trillion (USD542.8 billion) in 2012.

The eastern city is attracting foreign financial institutions. The number of licensed financial institutions in Shanghai rose to nearly 1,720 as of June 30, up 40 percent from 2012, and around 30 percent of them were foreign companies, according to official data.

Shanghai is getting increasingly connected with offshore markets. Overseas investors held CNY3.5 trillion of notes traded on Shanghai's interbank bond market as of Aug. 31, up more than 400 percent since December 2016. The total of yuan-denominated bonds issued by overseas borrowers in the city surged to CNY612.1 billion (USD85.4 billion) as of Aug. 31 from the end of 2012. 

Editors: Tang Shihua, Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi