Chinese Ambassador to T&T Song Yumin, accompanied by Lu Bing, director of Political and Consular Affairs, recently paid a courtesy call at the offices of the T&T International Financial Centre (TTIFC) in Port-of-Spain.
In welcoming the ambassador, TTIFC chairman Richard P Young said: "The financial services sector is the second largest contributor to the economy after oil and gas and it was earmarked for development by the government to facilitate diversification of the economy. In light of extensive investments made by the Chinese government and Chinese businesses in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as the potential for further investments, the Trinidad and Tobago government in October 2015 signalled its intention to hold discussions with the Chinese government with a view to strengthening relationships and having Chinese financial institutions establish offices in the Trinidad and Tobago IFC.
"We see these initial discussions with the Chinese Ambassador on the part of the Trinidad and Tobago IFC, as assisting in achieving the government's stated objective."
Young said the TTIFC anticipates that further discussions will be held with the Ambassador in this regard.
The Ambassador said the time was opportune for strengthening the relationship between the two countries, especially in view of the previous visit by President Xi Jinping of the People's Republic of China. He said he looked forward to further discussions with the TTIFC with respect to Chinese financial institutions.