A forum on the High-quality Development of Qingdao West Coast New Area (Qingdao WCNA) Empowered by Fintech was held on Feb 25, which attracted experts, scholars and entrepreneurs across the country to share their views on how fintech helps drive the region's economic transformation.
Themed on "Fintech, Winning the Future with Wisdom", the forum aimed to inject vitality into the high-quality development of the area.
During the event, a total of 15 projects were signed in areas such as finance, science and technological innovation, environmental protection and new energy.
Key projects, such as China Merchants Futures' branch in Qingdao and Silicon Paradise's high-tech industrial platform, which specializes in semiconductors and display panels, are expected boost the financial sector in the area.
The Qingdao Global Financial Talent Station and the Qingdao Research Institute of Carbon Neutrality were also unveiled during the forum. The former provides financial talents with services such as free job placement, accommodation, policies and entrepreneurial support, and the latter carries out carbon neutral training, cooperates with professional institutions involved in carbon trading and offers technical assistance for enterprises.
In the past two years, the Qingdao West Coast New Area has invested 4.5 billion yuan ($652.4 million) to boost the development of the fintech sector, set up special funds to encourage technological innovation and build an integration mechanism of "government, industry, university, research and financial services". The area has 239 financial institutions and its balance of deposits and loans exceeded 700 billion yuan in 2022.
Email: xhatg@qd.shandong.cn 
Tel: 0532-86812345 
Address: No 181 Xihai'an Road, Huangdao district 
