Shanghai's transformation into a global commercial center will include expansion of the financial street along the Bund, known as "Eastern Wall Street".

Shanghai's transformation into a global commercial center will include expansion of the financial street along the Bund, known as "Eastern Wall Street". [chinadaily.com.cn]

It will be extended southward to Nanpu Bridge to form a 2.6-sq-km zone along the west bank of the Huangpu River, sources said.

Shanghai last month received approval from the State Council to build an international financial and shipping center by 2020, putting expansion along the Bund high on the Shanghai government's agenda.

"The financial street along the Bund will serve as a platform for dealing with personal insurance, financial settlement, trust and arbitration," said Sun Lijian, deputy director with School of Economics at Fudan University.

According to blueprints, the financial street area will reach from the south bank of Suzhou Creek in the north to Lujiabang in the south, and Huangpu River in the east. The coastline along the riverside will be 4.8 km long.

"It is a great opportunity to develop Shanghai as a global financial and shipping center," said Wang Wentao, secretary general with Huangpu district.

In the government draft, the Bund financial street was mentioned with the Lujiazui financial and trade zone in Pudong as key elements in advancing Shanghai's status as an international financial center.

The concept of developing a central business district including the Bund and Lujiazui was raised by the State Council as far back as May 2001. And its history dates to the end of the 19th century when foreign firms and adventurers swarmed to Shanghai and built financial institutions along the Bund.

"The development of the financial street along the Bund has taken up to a century, and the still under-development Lujiazui financial center has already taken 20 years. So the expansion of the financial street will be a generation-long task for Shanghai but with huge economic returns," said Alan Li, national director of markets with Shanghai property service provider Jones Lang LaSalle.

(chinadaily.com.cn April 10, 2009)