At the 22nd China International Finance Forum held in Shanghai on December 19-20, Huang Jinlao, Chairman of Bank of Jiangsu and President of Jiangsu Digital Finance Association, delivered a keynote speech on building intelligent financial ecosystems in the digital economy era.
Huang noted that over the past 15 years, Chinese enterprises have shown strong momentum in global expansion, with annual non-financial ODI investments exceeding $100 billion. In the first nine months of this year alone, China's ODI reached $110 billion, growing faster than domestic GDP. Each year, 1,000 to 4,000 new overseas direct investment enterprises are established, accumulating substantial assets.
He highlighted that Chinese enterprises primarily expand through direct investments rather than cross-border M&A, which has been declining recently. Over 50,000 overseas enterprises employ more than 5 million people across 190 countries, creating significant opportunities for cross-border financial services.
Domestically, Huang pointed out that while Chinese banking institutions continue to grow, their core customer base—especially high-quality clients—is increasingly moving overseas, reducing service targets and intensifying competition. "With China's GDP growth at 5.2% and net interest margins shrinking to 1.42%, China has become a global low-interest-rate zone alongside Japan and Switzerland. The current mismatch between credit asset returns and risks is unsustainable and violates lending principles," he said.
Huang emphasized that the banking sector should expand overseas to seek new growth opportunities. Some banks, like Bank of China, have achieved notable success, with overseas operations contributing 23% of revenue—on par with JPMorgan Chase. Overseas lending remains the strongest segment, accounting for 13.6% of Bank of China's business, compared to less than 5% for others.
However, he acknowledged challenges faced by Chinese enterprises abroad, such as legal disputes—EU restrictions on Chinese EVs, Xiaomi's frozen funds in India, and tax hurdles for power stations in Indonesia—underscoring the need for specialized cross-border financial services.
Bank of Jiangsu, headquartered in Jiangsu with assets of RMB 160 billion, has served 80 million customers through digital solutions. Maintaining a 15% ROE—the highest in Jiangsu—it has gained international recognition. Five Chinese private banks ranked among Moody's 2025 "Top 20 Global Emerging Banks," while three, including Bank of Jiangsu, made The Asian Banker's "Top 100 Digital Banks" top 10.
Huang concluded that China's digital finance has made strides in cross-border payments and online lending across Belt and Road countries like Malaysia, the Philippines, and Brazil. "Large banks lead overseas financial services, while smaller banks can excel in digital payments and credit. Private banks' technological edge enables them to provide online credit and value-added services, forming a multi-tiered financial ecosystem for global Chinese enterprises," he said.
"In short, as Chinese enterprises expand globally, the financial sector must accelerate its overseas presence to support their investments," Huang added.
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