The groundbreaking ceremony for the permanent site of the International Finance Forum (IFF) is held on Nov 24 at Guangzhou’s Nansha International Financial Island. [Photo/southcn.com]

The groundbreaking ceremony for the permanent site of the International Finance Forum (IFF) kicked off on Nov 24 at Guangzhou's Nansha International Financial Island.

IFF, also known as Finance 20, is a non-profit and non-official independent international organization headquartered in Beijing. It had signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Guangzhou in November 2016 to hold the event every year in Guangzhou since 2017. 

Another strategic cooperation agreement was signed between the administration committee of Guangzhou Nansha Development Zone and IFF in June 2017 to have the meeting permanently held in Nansha.

The permanent site of IFF includes an overall investment of 3.5 billion yuan ($497.67 million). Covering an area of 240,000 square meters and a building area of 300,000 sq m, the site consists of four parts: an international convention center, an international conference service hotel, service apartments, and government buildings, which will be able to undertake a variety of events spanning meetings, banquets, news conferences, and exhibitions.  

The sketch of Nansha International Financial Island. [Photo/dayoo.com]

Nansha International Financial Island, the first of its kind in China, has attracted investment of no less than 100 billion yuan. It will make full use of the high-end resources in the international financial industry to turn the island into an important brand of Guangzhou and Guangdong province. 

"Nansha is located in the central area of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the island will be an ideal place for various kinds of financial events. I hope more financial institutes from home and abroad can settle down in the area to turn the Greater Bay Area into a world leading financial center," said Han Seung-soo, co-chairman of IFF.

Zafar Uddin Mahmood, co-secretary general of IFF, said that both infrastructure construction and economic development require financial participation, and that the settlement of IFF's permanent site will provide a matchmaking platform for Guangzhou and financial institutes around the world.