On December 25th, the Shanghai International Finance Center Development Forum was held in Shanghai. It was co-organized by SAIF, China Media Group Shanghai Bureau (CMG Shanghai), Shanghai Xuhui District People's Government, and the Shanghai Finance Association (SFA). The theme of the forum was "The Construction of Shanghai as an International Finance Center in the New Development Pattern".
Qing Wu (Executive Vice Mayor of Shanghai, Chairman of the SAIF Board), Xiwei Jiang (Vice Director of CMG), Zhenbin Yang (Secretary of the CPC SJTU Committee, Vice Chairman of SAIF Board), and Liqiang Cao (Secretary of Shanghai Xuhui District Committee) attended the forum and delivered speeches. They shared the mutual efforts we have made on building Shanghai as an International Finance Center on the behalf of the Shanghai Municipal government, China Media Group, and SAIF.
Guangshao Tu (Member of CPPCC, Adjunct Professor at SJTU, Executive Director at SIAF), and Penghui Jin (Deputy Director, Deputy Secretary of the CPC PBC Shanghai Headquarter Committee, President of PBC Shanghai Branch) attended the forum and jointly released the 2021 International Finance Center Development Report.
Professor Tu said that Shanghai International Finance Center has developed a lot in recent years in terms of internationalization, green finance, fintech, innovation of listed companies, agglomeration of foreign institutions, credit environment and financial consumer rights. At the same time, he also pointed out that the functioning of the Shanghai financial markets still needed to be improved — for example, the return rate of the stock market. In addition, there's still room to improve the Shanghai financial development environment in terms of the financial system, financial talent, business environment, and urban ecology.
On the theme of "The New Global Economic Pattern in the Post-Epidemic Era", some participants gave opening speeches. They included: Xiaochuan Zhou (Vice Chairman of Boao Forum for Asia, President of China Society for Finance & Banking), Qifan Huang (Former Mayor of Chongqing, Academic Advisor of the China Finance 40 Forum), Yanli Zhou (Member of CPPCC, Former Deputy Secretary of the CIRC Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the CIRC), Jianqing Jiang (Former President of the ICBC, President of the CEIBS Lujiazui Institute of International Finance), Vincent Keaveny (Mayor of the City of London, UK), Mervyn King (Alan Greenspan Professor of Economics at New York University, Former Governor of the Bank of England), and Jean Tirole (Director of the Institute of Industrial Economics at the University of Toulouse, France, 2014 Nobel Laureate in Economics).
During the forum, guests delivered keynote speeches on the topics of "Shanghai International Finance Center Development and the 14th Five-Year Financial Plan", "Regional Economic Development and New Financial Service Pattern", among others. Professor Chun Chang (Executive Dean, Professor of Finance, Huifu Chair Professor at SAIF) reported on "Research on the Construction of RMB Offshore Financial System". In the discussion session, participants also focused on "The Future and Challenges of Financial Development" and "The Road to Green Development of International Finance Center". They shared forward-looking thoughts on the construction of Shanghai as an International Finance Center in the new pattern based upon their own backgrounds.
The inauguration ceremony for the Shanghai International Finance Center Development Forum in Xuhui Binjiang and the signing ceremony between Xuhui District People's Government and various financial institutions was held during the forum. The Xuhui District has vigorously developed strategic emerging industries, and it has also optimized its business environment to become a better partner for financial institutions.
