From fragmented cross‑border facilitation pilots to systematic institutional‑based opening‑up — the roll‑out of the Action Plan for Developing Offshore Finance in the Shanghai International Financial Center marks that Shanghai’s offshore finance has entered a new phase of institutional‑based opening‑up. This is not a simple superposition of policies, but an in‑depth experiment that reshapes rules and reshapes the ecosystem.

Within this initiative, various institutions, drawing on their respective positioning and resource endowments, have assumed diverse roles, jointly painting a vivid picture of offshore finance advancing from “framework establishment” to “functional improvement”.

◎ Reporter: Ma Min

“One month after returning to China this time, I will fly to the Middle East again.” Li Dun, Chief Financial Officer of Wison Engineering, who has just come back from a business trip, wasted no time sharing with Shanghai Securities News reporters what he gained from the trip.

In July this year, Wison Engineering set up a subsidiary in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, and recently secured a USD 4.04‑billion major engineering contract. Now, over 80 % of the business of this Shanghai‑headquartered global energy and chemical EPC (engineering, procurement and construction management) service provider is generated overseas, placing higher demands on its capacity for global capital deployment.

As more and more Chinese enterprises venture overseas, demands for offshore finance have become increasingly concrete and diversified. Cross‑border financial services cover extensive ground, ranging from payment and settlement to overall investment and financing activities. Based on this financial opening‑up “experimental field”, Shanghai’s financial institutions are building a safe and reliable “financial haven” for Chinese enterprises “going global”.

“Instant‑arrival” Settlement: Upgraded Offshore Financial Services

For banking practitioners engaged in cross‑border businesses in Shanghai, offshore finance is nothing new.

“As early as 2002, SPD Bank became one of the four domestic banks granted OSA (Offshore Account) licences. It launched offshore financial businesses at an early stage and later gained rich practical experience with Free Trade Accounts. SPD Bank has accumulated profound expertise in offshore service delivery,” said Shen Yanbing, General Manager of the Cross‑border Finance Department at SPD Bank Shanghai Branch. Working on the front lines, she has witnessed multiple upgrades in what offshore financial services can deliver.

Shen Yanbing observed that continuous policy support together with banks’ digital‑intelligent transformation has brought greater facilitation for enterprises engaged in offshore trade. Previously, banks had to verify trade backgrounds transaction‑by‑transaction for corporate trade settlement. Today, for pilot enterprises conducting offshore trade, only a few seconds elapse between issuing a payment instruction and funds being transferred to overseas counterparties.

Instant‑arrival corporate fund settlements serve as a telling example of Shanghai’s leading progress in its offshore‑finance experiment. Nevertheless, early‑stage offshore finance mostly consisted of scattered, fragmented services. It was not until June this year that the Action Plan for Developing Offshore Finance in the Shanghai International Financial Center, alongside the expansion plan for the comprehensive reform pilot of offshore‑trade financial services in the Lingang New Area, were released at the Lujiazui Forum, endowing the offshore‑finance “experimental field” with richer dimensions.

The expansion of the Lingang pilot is well‑timed. Its scope has been broadened from single‑point “offshore trade” to comprehensive “offshore businesses”, covering the full spectrum of enterprises’ global operations.

Enterprises’ real‑world pain points define the direction of Shanghai’s offshore‑finance reforms. Li Dun told reporters that offshore financial services in the Lingang New Area are no longer confined to settlement for physical‑goods transactions. Instead, they extend across the full value‑chain of corporate global operations including R&D, production, sales and services. New business scenarios are fully enabled, such as cross‑border treasury pooling, overseas‑acquisition financing, and settlement for cross‑border technology service fees. The shift is underway: services no longer merely “follow the flow of goods”, but “follow enterprises’ global footprints”.

A suite of facilitating policies enables enterprises to connect with global markets without going far from home. Lin Ying, General Manager of the International Finance Department at ABC Shanghai Branch, remarked: “For global traders and commodity enterprises, combined facilitating measures including the Offshore Connect and Trade Connect platforms as well as exchange‑rate risk management can boost fund‑settlement efficiency, shorten corporate cash‑conversion cycles, and support enterprises in building global supply‑chain management centres and strengthening commodity‑resource allocation capabilities.”

Expanded Financing Channels: Accelerated Issuance of Free‑Trade Offshore Bonds

Free‑trade offshore bonds open new direct‑financing channels for enterprises. On 13 August, an overseas subsidiary of Shanghai Electric issued RMB 1.5‑billion worth of free‑trade offshore bonds, marking the market’s first corporate‑oriented free‑trade offshore bond.

Free‑trade offshore bonds constitute a key entry‑point for Shanghai’s offshore‑finance pilot, underpinned by their “both‑ends‑outside” feature: denominated in RMB, both issuers and investors are overseas entities, and the instrument serves “going‑global” enterprises and their offshore projects with genuine overseas capital needs.

Issuing enterprises must weigh the economics between bank borrowing and bond issuance. Multiple free‑trade offshore bond intent‑signing ceremonies took place during the 2026 Lujiazui Forum, where Li Dun attended as Wison Engineering’s representative.

“In terms of tenor, compared with one‑year revolving loans, bonds offer longer maturities so that capital can match long‑cycle projects. In terms of financing cost, RMB bond yields are substantially lower than those of US‑dollar‑denominated offshore bonds,” Li Dun disclosed. Bond issuance also involves comprehensive considerations covering project matching and credit rating. Wison Engineering is in talks with multiple banks regarding its issuance plans.

Since the revival of free‑trade offshore bonds more than one year ago, issuance activity has picked up pace. To date, 17 such bonds totalling roughly RMB 7.1‑billion have been issued across the market. Banks are actively forming syndicates and competing for landmark deals: Bank of Communications Hong Kong Branch issued RMB 0.6‑billion in free‑trade offshore bonds, pioneering the participation of Free‑Trade Unit (FTU) funds in primary‑market issuance. Bank of China launched the market’s first “dual‑tenor” free‑trade offshore bond and initiated the market’s first roll‑over issuance programme for this instrument.

Free‑trade offshore bonds remain in the early phase of development, yet industry insiders see broad prospects for them to advance RMB internationalisation. Lian Ping, Chairman of the China Chief Economist Forum and Dean of the Institute of International Finance, suggested: Going forward, free‑trade offshore bond issuance should uphold the regulatory bottom‑line of “both‑ends‑outside and risk isolation”. Coordinated progress should be pursued across supply‑side, investment‑side, trading‑side, institutional‑side and regulatory‑side dimensions to achieve simultaneous improvement in compliance standards and issuance scale.

Building the “Experimental Field”: Two‑Way Connectivity Boosts Opening‑Up

As Chinese‑owned overseas enterprises deepen their integration into global industrial and supply chains, demand for cross‑border mergers‑and‑acquisitions and overseas‑project financing has grown. Leveraging integrated “onshore + offshore” service networks, Shanghai‑based financial institutions deliver two‑way support to help outbound enterprises make full use of domestic and overseas markets and resources.

Reporters noted that the 15th Five‑Year Plan for the Development of the Lingang New Area prioritises cross‑border and offshore activities to advance higher‑level opening‑up. Within offshore‑finance priorities, scaling‑up non‑resident M&A loans stands as one key task.

“In cross‑border M&A transactions, enterprises often face multiple requirements including carve‑out and restructuring of domestic and foreign assets as well as cross‑border consideration payments. Complex cross‑border capital deployment sets extremely high standards for banks’ cross‑border settlement, treasury management and foreign‑exchange compliance capabilities,” a senior official from Industrial Bank Shanghai Pilot Free‑Trade Zone Branch commented. Drawing on free‑trade‑zone policies and the FT‑Account system, the bank has designed end‑to‑end integrated solutions combining “commercial banking + investment banking”, “domestic + overseas” and “financing + advisory services”. These support enterprises in real‑ising integration and upgrading of technologies, brands and distribution channels and enhance their global competitiveness.

Recently, leveraging differentiated policies for non‑resident M&A loans in the Lingang New Area, Bank of China Shanghai Branch led the cross‑border syndicated‑loan project for Carlyle Group’s acquisition of Svetu. As the sole Chinese‑funded bank in the deal, it facilitated multi‑currency settlement, effectively mitigating corporate exchange‑rate risks. The transaction extended RMB international usage beyond trade settlement into core arenas including global capital intermediation and cross‑border industrial restructuring.

Enterprises sailing overseas face turbulent waters, and financial services must provide full‑journey support. Liu Xiaochun, Adjunct Professor at Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Deputy Dean of the SAIF Think Tank, stated that Shanghai will align its financial development fully with high‑standard international economic‑and‑trade rules. It will explore ways to refine offshore‑credit business models and examine the feasibility of launching offshore‑financial‑asset transfer businesses, so as to deliver more competitive financial services for enterprises “going global”.

Echoing the strong opening‑up messages from the Lujiazui Forum, Shanghai’s offshore‑finance market is taking shape. The gradual materialisation of policy dividends demonstrates that Shanghai is carrying out a systematic experiment expanding from isolated pilots to comprehensive roll‑out, responding to the genuine demands of enterprises pursuing global layouts.

Source: Shanghai Securities News