These initiatives demonstrate that Shanghai is a role model in pioneering financial innovation in China. 12 Going forward, I see strong potential for Shanghai and Singapore to synergize and collaborate in a few areas:  (i) Collaborating with Shanghai Authorities on Free Trade Zone and/or Pilot Financial Policies During their meeting in Hangzhou, President Xi remarked to Prime Minister Lee that Singapore could play “a useful role” in China’s newly announced FTZs. Singapore could also be a strategic partner to pilot financial policies implemented in the Shanghai FTZ. As a key offshore RMB centre, Singapore has always been supportive of China’s financial liberalisation and internationalisation policies. Singapore financial institutions are keen to work with Shanghai authorities and financial institutions. Their deep international and ASEAN experiences could contribute to effective calibration of the pilot schemes. Some good examples of Singapore’s involvement in implementing pilots include the following: In February 2014, shortly after PBOC announced its support for more cross-border RMB transactions in the Shanghai FTZ, ICBC Singapore made two cross-border RMB loans to firms based here in the Shanghai FTZ. In October 2015, DBS China was among the first batch of banks selected to participate in the Shanghai-based Cross-Border International Payment System (CIPS). Beyond banking, Singapore capital market players can also work with Shanghai authorities to pilot financial policies related to the asset management and securities sectors. (ii) Belt-and-Road Partnerships China’s Belt-and-Road Initiative (BRI) offers another important area of collaboration between Shanghai and Singapore. This will also contribute to the fulfilment of China’s national objectives.
20 In March 2016, the China Internet Finance Association was established in Shanghai by the People’s Bank of  China. This is the highest-level national self-regulatory organisation for the burgeoning internet finance sector in China. 21 3 of the top 5 FinTech companies globally (ranked by FinTech Innovators) are based in or near Shanghai. Top-  ranked Ant Financial is based in Hangzhou, while 4th ranked Lu.com and 5th ranked ZhongAn Insurance are based in Shanghai itself. 22 For example, one strategic thrust is to help businesses digitise their processes and integrate them with electronic  payments solutions, so as to maximise productivity and efficiency gains. 23 Based on Deloitte’s report released in September 2016 titled “Connecting Global FinTech: Hub Review 2016”. 6/7  BIS central bankers' speeches  7/7  BIS central bankers' speeches