During the 2026 Lujiazui Forum, the Action Plan for Developing Offshore Finance of the Shanghai International Financial Center (hereinafter the Action Plan) was officially released. The pilot for offshore RMB foreign‑exchange trading, one of its six pilot businesses, was launched in tandem, putting Shanghai’s offshore‑finance development into high gear.

As one of the first six banks approved for the offshore RMB foreign‑exchange trading pilot, how will Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) map out its business layout? How will ABC Shanghai Branch seize this historic opportunity in offshore finance?

In a recent exclusive interview with Shanghai Securities News, Lin Ying, General Manager of the International Finance Department at ABC Shanghai Branch, noted that as an inaugural pilot bank, ABC will draw on the Cross‑border and Offshore Business Center in Lingang New Area to steadily complete all preparatory work. It will support the development of the Shanghai International Financial Center through high‑quality offshore‑finance services and demonstrate the responsibility of a major state‑owned bank on the new journey of institutional‑opening‑up.

Pushing Shanghai to Evolve into a “Global Pricing and Risk‑management Hub”

The Action Plan explicitly calls for Shanghai to take the lead in building an offshore‑finance system matching its status as an international financial center.

“The release of this Action Plan marks China’s financial opening‑up advancing from ‘isolated business breakthroughs’ to ‘top‑level design for institutional‑type opening‑up,’” Lin Ying commented on the document’s significance. During the 15th Five‑Year Plan period, China is steadily expanding institutional‑type opening‑up and accelerating the formation of an internationally competitive policy and institutional framework. Shanghai’s pilot initiatives set out an evolution path for high‑level opening‑up, delivering stable expectations for long‑term capital input by financial institutions.

In Lin Ying’s view, offshore‑finance development will transform Shanghai from an onshore‑oriented center toward a “global pricing and risk‑management hub”. It will foster an independently‑controlled “onshore‑based offshore” market ecosystem in Shanghai. Domestic financial institutions will supply self‑determined financial infrastructure and services, effectively insulating risks while consolidating Shanghai’s role as a pivot linking domestic and international circulations.

She also underscored offshore finance’s role in elevating the global clout of RMB‑denominated assets and financial rules. Coordinated onshore‑offshore development will gradually lower frictions between domestic and overseas markets and amplify the global influence of the “Shanghai Price” for bulk commodities and financial markets. Meanwhile, through deep engagement in offshore trade finance and cross‑border investment‑financing, Shanghai will leverage institutional‑opening‑up strengths to participate more in the formulation of international rules and reinforce its global resource‑allocation functions.

The People’s Bank of China has announced the offshore RMB foreign‑exchange trading pilot within the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, authorizing six banks including ABC to conduct trades via the platform of China Foreign Exchange Trade System in the Shanghai FTZ. Lin Ying disclosed that ABC responded promptly to policy directives, coordinated domestic and overseas resources, and successfully completed the first‑batch pilot offshore RMB foreign‑exchange transactions, delivering on this market‑reform task.

According to her, the initiative carries four‑pronged breakthrough significance: first, delivering tangible progress in two‑way opening‑up of the foreign‑exchange market; second, advancing deep integration between onshore and offshore markets; third, lifting the international competitiveness and service capacity of Chinese‑funded financial institutions; fourth, offering more convenient cross‑border financial services for the real economy.

“Allowing Chinese‑funded banks to directly engage in offshore RMB foreign‑exchange trading helps forge a domestically‑overseas linked price‑discovery mechanism for offshore RMB and strengthens the Shanghai International Financial Center’s say in RMB exchange‑rate pricing,” Lin Ying said. For enterprises, completing offshore RMB foreign‑exchange transactions “at their doorstep” cuts exchange costs and administrative burdens, better supporting “going‑global” firms to integrate into global industrial chains.

Precisely Addressing Core Demands of “Going‑Global” Enterprises

As Chinese enterprises enter a new phase of global expansion, Shanghai’s construction of an offshore‑finance center bolsters support for outbound firms and the Belt and Road Initiative. Drawing on front‑line business insights, Lin Ying grouped key corporate demands responded to by the Action Plan into three dimensions.

First, new‑type international‑trade demands from enterprises within modern industrial systems. “High‑tech firms in Shanghai’s three pillar industries — integrated circuits, biomedicine and artificial intelligence — take extensive part in international cooperation and generate substantial offshore demand for packaging‑and‑testing, technical services, computing‑power support and other trade in services and digital‑trade activities,” Lin Ying explained. An offshore‑finance center can satisfy corporate needs for account management, payment and settlement under overseas commercial scenarios. It can also furnish financing for growing tech firms or those pursuing cross‑border mergers‑and‑acquisitions to secure direct overseas funding.

Second, global‑management requirements for headquarters‑based economic entities. Regional headquarters of multinationals and large central‑state‑owned enterprises may set up international treasury centers in Shanghai to realize parent‑subsidiary coordination and efficient global capital orchestration. Surplus cash scattered across overseas jurisdictions can be centrally deployed to lift capital turnover and support sophisticated global asset‑liability management.

Third, global supply‑chain‑management demands of bulk‑commodity traders. For global traders and bulk‑commodity enterprises, facilitative measures together with platforms such as Offshore‑Connect and Trade‑Connect, alongside exchange‑rate risk‑management tools, raise settlement efficiency, shorten corporate cash‑conversion cycles, help build global supply‑chain management hubs and strengthen bulk‑commodity resource‑allocation capabilities.

Multi‑dimensional Progress in Offshore‑finance Business Layout

With offshore‑finance boundaries expanding, financial institutions based in Shanghai face major opportunities. How should they seize the policy window and select business breakthroughs?

ABC made early inroads into the offshore‑trade service system. “To deeply engage in high‑level reform‑and‑opening‑up and leverage key pilot zones, we began developing offshore‑finance businesses last year,” Lin Ying noted. The bank has set‑up a dedicated offshore‑finance institution in Lingang New Area and kept building a new‑model offshore‑trade service system, delivering offshore‑finance services for domestic and overseas market participants.

In cross‑border payment services, ABC will capitalize on the foreign‑exchange compliance‑review reform pilot and other high‑level opening‑up policies to deliver streamlined cross‑border payments for emerging forms such as offshore trade and digital trade. Lin Ying stated the bank will connect with major cross‑border e‑commerce platforms, support foreign‑exchange settlement, sales and fund receipt‑payment based on electronic transaction records, and provide financing for overseas‑warehouse construction, warehouse‑operation and logistics turnover.

For modern‑industry services, ABC prioritizes integrated financial needs of pillar sectors including integrated circuits and biomedicine under the “cross‑border syndicated loan plus global treasury” framework. Lin Ying said the bank will deploy Free‑Trade (FT) Accounts to offer RMB‑priority cross‑border syndicated‑loan products for tech‑firms’ cross‑border R&D, achievement commercialization, participation in global industrial‑chain division‑of‑labor and attraction of global sci‑tech capital. It will also provide cross‑border syndicated‑loan and M&A services for major projects such as large‑scale cross‑border M&As by central SOEs, overseas mineral‑resource development and infrastructure construction.

On cutting‑edge‑technology application, ABC empowers cross‑border supply‑chain finance with blockchain. Lin Ying revealed ABC participates actively in blockchain‑platform development, supporting end‑to‑end cross‑border supply‑chain services on blockchain infrastructure. Blockchain‑driven duplicate‑financing identification and management opens new funding channels for cross‑border supply‑chain and industrial‑chain financing requirements.

Source: Shanghai Securities News