The Pingtan branch of the People's Bank of China (PBOC) was upgraded from the section level to division level on July 5, making it PBOC's first division-level branch in Fujian province.

On the same day, the Pingtan branch of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange was established.

The two financial agencies are expected to play a bigger role in financial regulation and exploration of more cross-Straits cooperation, said Wu Xiangren, deputy director of the Pingtan administrative committee, at the launching ceremony on Friday.

Over the past three years, 8 branches of banking institutions have opened in Pingtan, and 3 securities institutions and 4 insurance agencies have also opened. The number of employees in the financial sector increased 2.4 times.

As of the end of 2012, bank savings and loans in Pingtan increased 1.8 folds and 2.95 folds respectively compared with three years ago.

Edited by Chen Zhilin and Niva Whyman