On 10 March 2022, the Faculty of Finance of the City University of Macau held the Finance Seminar Series [15], Hengqin-Macau Cross Border Finance Seminar – Third Talk, at the Ho Yin Convention Centre. Director Tang Shiqi from Hengqin Innovative Financial Research Institute, was invited to deliver speech titled “Transformation of Commercial Banks in the Digital Economy Era”. Guests attending this seminar include Dean Cheung Wai Kong, and Associate Dean Khong Yeung Wah of Faculty of Finance, City University of Macau.
To begin with, Director Tang explained that digital economy is based on digital computing technologies and is backed by the spread of information and communication technologies across all business sectors to enhance its productivity. He cited speeches delivered by President Xi Jinping in the past, pointed out that digital economy is becoming a critical force in reorganizing global factor resources, reshaping global economic structures, and changing global competition structures. In that light, the digital accomplishments and skills of the entire population and the entire society must be raised.
President Xi also mentioned in his past speeches that we have to advance digital industry development in priority areas, use the Internet and new technologies to conduct a comprehensive transformation of traditional industries such as services sector, and thus, raise the productivity of all factors. The 14th Five-Year Plan for National Informatization issued by the Central Commission for Cybersecurity and Informatization estimated that by 2025, the building of a digital China should make decisive progress, and the quality and efficiency of digital economy development should reach world-leading levels, for which the primary direction is to fully consolidate the fundamental digital infrastructure, such as building a new computing power facility for integration with the cloud-network. Director Tang added quotes from the Guangdong Province’s 2018-2025 development plan of digital economy that the information network has entered a new era of “Internet of Everything” between people, process, data and things. Traditional industries will usher in a digital-driven transformation and upgrade, and will become a new driving force to stimulate a new round of global economic recovery.
Lastly, Director Tang citing the Digital Banking Research Report issued by the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, and also the cases of banks in Hong Kong, raised that high-quality development of banking and insurance industries shall be promoted by digital transformation, and a new digital finance pattern proportional to modern economic development shall be created. Moreover, interdisciplinary talents in finance, science and technology, and data shall be actively introduced, and the capability to operate the financial ecology shall be enhanced. Banks and insurance institutions shall be encouraged to use big data to strengthen the coordination of online and offline businesses, in order to establish an operation and management system oriented to the Internet customer base.
At the end of the sharing session, the students took this valuable opportunity to actively pose questions on e-CNY. Director Tang answered in detail and said that in order to promote international trade and become a major digital currency, CNY (i.e. Chinese Yuan Renminbi) must be digitized. In the Seminar, students paid attention to the development of digital economy and digital finance, which is helpful to grasp the current development trend of finance. The students also expressed their expectation for the sharing of the next finance seminar.