On March 15, the inauguration of the SAIF Shanghai International M&A Research Center and the launch of the Shanghai M&A Yearbook (2026) were held at Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance (SAIF), Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). Hosted by SAIF and organized by the Center, the event unveiled the yearbook’s compilation and brought together industry leaders to explore pathways for high-quality development in the M&A market.
Distinguished guests included Guangshao Tu, former Executive Vice Mayor of Shanghai and former Chair of the SAIF Board; Xiaoquan Zhou, Executive Deputy Director of the Shanghai Municipal Financial Services Office; Yanwen Cao, Deputy Director of the same office; and Shijun Cheng, Executive Dean and Chair Professor of Accounting at SAIF. Also present were SAIF Deputy Dean Feng Li; Wei Wang, Chair of the Center and Founding Chairman of the China M&A Association; Zhiping Song, President of China Association of Listed Companies; Xiaoqiu Wu, former Vice President of Renmin University of China; and Shukui Fan, President of the China M&A Association, among other industry leaders. The event was moderated by Professor Chun Chang, Director of the Center.
Opening Remarks
Guangshao Tu framed the M&A market as pivotal to high-quality growth, outlining three strategic dimensions for Shanghai: optimizing local industries through advanced manufacturing and modern services, supporting national modernization, and driving global M&A development. He called on SAIF to lead in talent cultivation, intellectual support, and platform building.
Xiaoquan Zhou congratulated the launch on behalf of Shanghai authorities, highlighting the city’s progress in clarifying M&A pathways and accelerating ecosystem development. He outlined three priorities for boosting M&A activity: aggregating key players, demonstrating exemplary leadership, and strengthening service support.
Shijun Cheng noted that amid global restructuring and technological revolution, M&A is a critical driver of resource allocation and industrial upgrading. He affirmed SAIF’s full commitment to supporting the Center and fostering deeper integration among industry, academia, and research.
Shukui Fan emphasized three areas for M&A development: targeted policy implementation, professional empowerment, and capital liquidity. He identified Shanghai’s strengths in technology, industry, and finance as ideal conditions for cultivating a thriving M&A ecosystem.
Keynote Speeches
Drawing on extensive corporate experience, Zhiping Song illustrated M&A’s role in enabling company growth, enhancing listed-firm quality, and supporting global expansion. He proposed four guiding principles: strategic alignment, return focus, synergy reinforcement, and risk control.
Xiaoqiu Wu identified three drivers of capital market growth—internal momentum, external integration, and environmental optimization—and highlighted the core M&A issues of function, risk boundaries, and relative value.
Wei Wang argued that the era of investment has given way to M&A, with finance now central to national competitiveness. He analyzed how changing consumer values, digital competition, and generational shifts are reshaping M&A, and called on the Center to cultivate an open, international M&A ecosystem rooted in Shanghai.
Hongping Cai traced four historically missing elements in China’s M&A development and identified five forces now driving the market toward maturity: slowing growth at established firms, succession challenges, the rise of professional managers, transformation in investment banking, and a low-rate environment. Fueled by policy, industrial upgrading, and capital demand, he forecast a golden era for China’s M&A market as a key driver of economic restructuring and value creation.
Center Inauguration and Yearbook Launch
The Shanghai International M&A Research Center was officially inaugurated by Yanwen Cao and Feng Li, with Guangshao Tu, Shijun Cheng, and other guests serving as witnesses. Jianjun Wang, Vice Chair of the Center, presented the Shanghai M&A Yearbook (2026). The yearbook systematically reviews the development of Shanghai’s M&A market—documenting policy evolution and market innovation, identifying key trends, and offering strategic recommendations to support Shanghai’s role as a leading international financial center.
Panel Discussion
A panel discussion on enterprise development through new productive forces, technological transformation, and M&A was moderated by Jianjun Wang. Panelists drawn from government, industry, law, and academia explored the opportunities, challenges, and practical pathways shaping China’s evolving M&A landscape.
The successful launch of the Center and the yearbook drew broad industry support and established a premier platform for exchange and collaboration. Going forward, the Center aims to serve Shanghai, the nation, and the market-oriented, professional, and international development of China’s M&A industry.
