BEIJING, May 26 (Xinhuanet) -- The Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) Board on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange has a promising future, visiting financial expert Laura Cha told top Shenzhen officials Thursday.

    Cha, vice chairwoman of a panel of international consultants for the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), made the remarks at a meeting with top Shenzhen officials including Party chief Li Hongzhong and Mayor Xu Zongheng.

    Li warmly welcomed Cha and other members of the consultant panel, who are taking part in a two-day annual meeting in Shenzhen. He invited them to make suggestions about Shenzhen¡¯s financial sector.

    CSRC Chairman Shang Fulin and other international consultants including Alan Cameron, former chairperson of the Australian securities watchdog, also attended the meeting.

    ¡°Shenzhen is in bad need of expertise on the financial market and its bid to become a regional financial center,¡± said Li, who described the meeting as a ¡°rare opportunity for Shenzhen.¡±

    ¡°I personally believe the SME board already have a good start and will have a promising future. Its development will greatly contribute to Shenzhen as a regional financial center,¡± said Cha.

    Finance is one of the four pillar industries of Shenzhen, with the other three being the high-tech, logistics and cultural industries.

    In its latest effort to boost the financial industry, the Shenzhen government recently raised the maximum award for setting up a new financial institution in Shenzhen from 5 million yuan (US$625,000) to 10 million yuan.

    
(Source: Shenzhen Daily)