An agreement has been announced between The University of Nottingham and Guangdong University of Finance, to create a new Institute which will train up to 2,000 Chinese financial specialists each year.
The announcement was made in Beijing as part of the UK Prime Minister’s visit to China, the largest British trade delegation to ever visit the country.
Based in Southern China, Guangdong has the largest GDP of any Chinese province, estimated to be around £550 billion per annum. It is also one of the most populous regions in China, with over 100m people, and the provincial capital, Guangzhou, is recognised as the largest financial centre in China.
The new academy, which will be known as the Guangdong-Nottingham Advanced Finance Institute (GNAFI), will provide advanced training to senior managers from industry, commerce, financial institutes and government organisations. The Institute will be located in a new, state of the art building, funded by the Guangdong regional government.
Complementing and informing its executive training activities, applied financial research will also be part of the Institute’s core activities.
Professor David Greenaway, Vice-Chancellor of The University of Nottingham, said: “The ongoing internationalisation of China’s financial industry means that its influence on the world economy is increasing day-by-day. The fact that The University of Nottingham will be so directly involved in supporting this process is very exciting, and I am sure it will open the door to numerous opportunities for the University, and the UK, in Guangdong and other parts of China.”
Professor Greenaway signed the agreement along with Professor Lu Lei (President of Guangdong University of Finance), who was also representing the Vice-Governor of Guangdong Province. Witnessing the ceremony on behalf of the UK government was Lord Livingston, Minister Designate for Trade and Investment.
Professor Greenaway, along with The University of Nottingham’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor (International), Professor Yu Hai-Sui, initially visited Guangdong in April 2013 to discuss and develop this agreement.
Dr Chen Yunxian, the Vice-Governor of Guangdong Province said: “The University of Nottingham has been chosen to support this important initiative — working in partnership with the Guangdong University of Finance to develop our senior financial leaders and support the continued growth of a sector critical to the economy of Guangdong and Southern China.”
For more information about the Guangdong-Nottingham Advanced Finance Institute, email Dr Allister Smeeton at The University of Nottingham, on allister.smeeton@nottingham.ac.uk
