Qianhai zone a boon for investors

The number of millionaires in China has grown sharply in recent years and has greatly pushed up domestic demand for high-return investment options.

Yet, unlike most foreign countries though, China's tightly controlled financial industry only offers a limited number of low-yield investment choices, such as fixed income products and wealth management services, which have long failed to satisfy the needs of the country's cash-rich investors.

Things may soon change though for China's rich now that the Qianhai Bay economic zone in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, a testing ground for financial reforms, has opened. One of the zone's goals is to allow local private banks greater access to cross-border financial derivatives with strong yields. These new investment options will undoubtedly be welcomed not only by Chinese investors, but also the country's private banking sector.