Chongqing will become a regional financial center in southwestern China in the coming years, an official from the municipal government said.

The city has set a goal to develop into a regional financial hub by 2015, Li Jianchun, director of Chongqing's Foreign Trade and Economic Commission, told Xinhua.

Chongqing, a traditional manufacturing center in China, has a population of 32.8 million. After being separated from Sichuan province and made into a municipality in its own right in 1997, the city has accelerated its development.

Chongqing has set favorable policies for foreign investments on both local income tax and enterprise income tax.

Any foreign-funded enterprise can open foreign currency accounts in any bank or financial institution in Chongqing which have the right to run foreign currency business, according to the official.

Foreign-funded enterprises may get loans from financial institutions, enterprises and individuals abroad, or from foreign financial institutions in China, and they are not subject to a loan quota.

The city also has invested heavily in infrastructure to attract investments. The network of roads and railways connecting Chongqing to the rest of China have been expanded and upgraded, reducing logistical costs. Those infrastructure improvements have led to the arrival of dozens of foreign investors in industries ranging from auto making to finance and retailing such as Ford, Mazda, HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, Wal-Mart, and Carrefour.

"Chongqing is rapidly urbanizing to promote the region's investment and consumption demand," the official said.

The municipal government launched a household registration reform last week, with the goal of turning 10 million farmers into city dwellers by 2020.

Within two years, 3.38 million farmers, mainly the new-generation migrant workers born in the 1980s and the 1990s, are expected to become urban citizens.

There are also many advantages for Chongqing to develop into a financial center at the moment, Li explained.

"Chongqing is less affected by the international economic crisis than China's coastal regions and the municipality has the most solid and complete industrial base in the region," he said.

Until late 2009, at least 16 foreign financial institutions, including Citibank and Metlife, have set up branches or representative offices in Chongqing.

Meanwhile, the city has just launched a 30-billion-yuan (4.4 billion U.S. dollar) project as part of its efforts to become a financial center.

The first commercial real estate project for the financial sector, to be located in the central business district in the city, will be the core of the city's future development.

Knowing the critical role of the financial industry for the economy, the city has set a goal of balanced development of banking, securities and insurance, the official added.