The increasing importance of financial technology will be a major trend in the future development of Lujiazui, Shanghai's financial hub, said Guo Zhiying, deputy director of Lujiazui Financial City Development Bureau, at the 2016 Lujiazui New Finance Global Summit in Shanghai on Nov 30.

Lujiazui, Shanghai's financial hub, will focus on developing the financial technology industry and offering it stronger support. [Photo/Pudong Times]

Financial technology, or FinTech for short, is an emerging industry composed of companies that use new technology to create more efficient financial services.

The integration of technology and finance is considered a boost to the financial industry, producing a variety of subfields such as blockchain, mobile payment, big data finance and supply chain finance, among others.

Guo pledged that Lujiazui will offer these emerging fields support in a variety of different ways, including providing help with industry research and office space; helping to create exchange platforms and incentives for innovation; and offering other preferential policies.

Guo Zhiying, deputy director of Lujiazui Financial City Development Bureau, speaks at the 2016 Lujiazui New Finance Global Summit held in Shanghai on Nov 30. [Photo provided to chinadaiy.com.cn]

Lujiazui has already introduced a number of measures designed to push forward the development of these emerging financial technology sectors in the last few years. It has set up an emerging finance industrial park targeting internet, mobile communication, big data, and cloud computing-based financial businesses. Supportive policies have also been offered to any FinTech companies moving into the park.

These measures have helped to attract a large number of top FinTech firms to Lujiazui, including FinTech subsidiaries of leading Chinese companies and financial institutions such as real estate and entertainment conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group, IT company NetEase, Industrial Bank, e-commerce giant Alibaba's financial arm Ant Financial, and many others.