News

September 22, 2020

SAIFR Private Economy Research Center Officially Launched

On September 19th, the closed meeting entitled “Trends and Solutions of Private Economy” was held and the opening ceremony of the Private Economy Research Center of Shanghai Advanced Institute for Financial Research (SAIFR) was successfully launched. It was jointly organized by the China Academy of Financial Research, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (CAFR-SJTU), SAIFR and its Private Economy Research Center. A number of distinguished guests were invited to witness the inception of the new Research Center and to discuss trends and solutions. Prominent attendants included: Mr. Guangshao Tu, Adjunct Professor of Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Executive Director of the Board of Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance (SAIF); and Mr. Hanmin Zhou, Member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of CPPCC, Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of China Democratic National Construction Association, Vice Chairman of Shanghai CPPCC, and Chairman of Shanghai Committee of China Democratic National Construction Association.

September 18, 2020

SAIF Launched Chair Professor Mechanism

On September 14th, the Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance (SAIF) at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) awarded the titles of SAIF Chair Professor and Huifu Chair Professor to Professors Jun Pan and Chun Chang, respectively. This marks the inauguration of SAIF’s chair professor mechanism. One of the first distinguished professors at SAIF’s inception in 2009, and holding both a Ph.D. in Finance from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in Physics from New York University, Professor Jun Pan joined SAIF on a full-time basis in 2019. Prior to SAIF, Professor Pan taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for nearly two decades and was awarded tenured professorship. She was also granted the MIT Chair Professorship for her outstanding research in the field of finance. One of the first Mainland China scholars to teach finance in a world-class business school in the United States, Professor Chun Chang served as Professor of Finance at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota for 17 years. He is also the first Chinese scholar in finance to give up a tenured professorship in the United States and return to China on a full-time basis. Professor Chang has outstanding research achievements in corporate finance and macro-finance, lately as evidenced by his winning the Sun Yefang Financial Innovation Award. In the past decade, Professor Chang, as Executive Dean of SAIF, made remarkable contributions to SAIF’s development. A chair professor mechanism is a way for world-class universities and colleges to attract talent and build up core academic and research frameworks. A chair professor title is regarded as the top honor of the teaching pyramid. Among world elite universities, scholars who have received a title of chair professor are all distinguished professors in their respective fields. In general, chair professor seats are closely related to public donations. The model of “chair donation fund”, combining the chair professor system with public donations and modern fund management systems, has become an effective means for attracting public resources, retaining first-class scholars, consolidating academic strengths, and improving teaching quality and social influence. The chair professor system implemented by SAIF also follows this model. The SAIF Chair Professor Fund was established with the help of donations from several companies and alumni; the Huifu Chair Professor Fund was set up by and named after Huifu Co., Ltd., a company founded by Dr. Ye Zhou, one of the first graduates of the SAIF GES Program. The full amount of the investment proceeds of both funds will be dedicated to, and subsidize the compensation and research expenditures of, chair professors. This will provide a more stable funding guarantee for outstanding scholars to pursue long-term and important research topics. The SAIF Faculty Management and Remuneration Committee is responsible for selecting and deciding upon candidates for chair professorships, approving budgets, management, and auditing use of the fund. Professor Hong Yan, Professor of Finance and Deputy Dean of SAIF, commented: “For SAIF, to build a world-class financial school, it must have a strong faculty team with an international perspective and world-class standards. The establishment of the chair professor funds and the implementation of the chair professor mechanism is to set benchmarks in the faculty team and recognize outstanding professors for their extraordinary achievements in academic research and talent training. We hope that in the future, we will continue to attract top-notch and world-renowned experts and scholars in economics, finance and management at home and abroad to join SAIF and further expand SAIF’s international faculty team."

September 18, 2020

Donation Ceremony of Huifu Chair Professor Fund Held at SAIF

On September 14th, the donation ceremony of the first titled chair professor fund, the Huifu Chair Professor Fund, was held on the Xuhui Campus of Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance (SAIF) at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). Professor Guangshao Tu, Adjunct Professor at SJTU and Executive Director of SAIF; Ansheng Zhang, Member of the Standing Committee of CPC Committee and Vice President of SJTU; and Dr. Ye Zhou, Chairman and CEO of Huifu Co., Ltd. and one of the first graduates of SAIF GES Programs, all attended the ceremony and delivered speeches. Jie Pan, Associate Dean of SAIF, presided over the ceremony. Professors Chun Chang and Hong Yan, and many representatives from the SJTU Education Development Foundation, the Huifu Co., Ltd., and SAIF alumni were present at the event. After the ceremony, the guests also witnessed the setup of a golden plaque marked with the Huifu logo on the donation wall of SAIF. Afterwards, the guests were invited to the dean's banquet, which was hosted by Professor Hong Yan. During the banquet, Professor Chun Chang welcomed all alumni representatives back to their alma mater, and thanked SAIF for the award and recognition.

September 08, 2020

"Corporate Value Research" Cooperation Launched at SAIF

On September 3rd, the launching ceremony of the "Corporate Value Research" cooperation between the Corporate Finance Research Center of the China Academy of Financial Research (CAFR) at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) and the Beijing Qirong Zhishang Technology Co., Ltd. was held at the Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance (SAIF), SJTU. Professors Chun Chang, Hong Yan, and Zhan Jiang were in attendance. Hui Xie, Executive Dean of the Hong Kong China Capital Research Institute and Chairman of Beijing Qirong Zhishang Technology Co., Ltd.; and Shuyan Li, General Manager of Shanghai Operations at Beijing Qirong Zhishang Technology Co., Ltd. also attended the event. At present, the weight of direct financing is only around 15% among Chinese businesses, while the figure exceeds 80% in the US and other developed economies. In response to this phenomenon, the Office of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China recently issued Several Opinions on Strengthening Financial Services to Private Enterprises, which mentioned “actively supporting private enterprises to expand direct financing”. Local governments must also consider support to the direct financing of enterprises and financing through capital markets as priorities. Although the development of the registration system and capital market reforms have created more opportunities for direct financing, the growth of direct financing for enterprises still encounters many difficulties. In this context, the CAFR Corporate Finance Research Center and Beijing Qirongzhishang Technology Co., Ltd. jointly conducted research on corporate value, aiming to establish a corporate valuation system with greater logic, rationality, effectiveness, and accuracy. At the launching ceremony, Hui Xie was appointed as Part-time Research Fellow at CAFR Corporate Finance Research Center and Professor Chang presented him with the Letter of Appointment. Through this cooperation, the two parties will work closely to translate research findings into financial sector advantages for China’s future.

August 21, 2020

Post-2020 Shanghai International Financial Center Construction Seminar Held at S ...

On August 1st, 2020, the Post-2020 Shanghai International Financial Center Construction Seminar was successfully held at Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance (SAIF), Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). Qing Wu, Vice Mayor of Shanghai and Chairman of the SAIF Board was in attendance. Guangshao Tu, Adjunct Professor of SJTU and Executive Director of SAIF, presided over the event. The seminar focused on the theme of Evaluation and Future Prospects for the construction of the Shanghai International Financial Center. The latest research findings of SAIF and NIFD were presented by: Feng Li, Associate Director of CAFR, Co-Director of SAIFR ( Shanghai Advanced Institute for Financial Research) and Professor of Accounting at SAIF; Yang Li, Chairman of the National Institution for Finance and Development (NIFD), Chief Expert and Chairman of the Academic Committee of the Shanghai Institute for Finance and Development (SHIFD) and Adjunct Professor of SAIF; and Gang Zeng, Deputy Director of NIFD. They commented that, although the interim goals of Shanghai's international financial center have been generally achieved, there is still a certain gap when benchmarking against world-class financial centers is considered. Under the current background of drastic changes in international and domestic markets, it is important to adhere to a distinctive development roadmap, seize new opportunities in the new era, further enhance Shanghai's position in the international financial sector, and strive for more rule-making power for China in the global financial community. In the subsequent panel discussion, the participating experts and scholars expressed their opinions and conducted in-depth and full exchanges of viewpoints.

August 11, 2020

Zijiang Special Fund for Discipline Development Launched

On July 23rd, 2020, the Memorandum Signing Ceremony of Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance (SAIF) and Shanghai Zijiang Foundation was held at the SAIF Xuhui Campus. Jia Fang, Head of Development and External Relations at SAIF, presided over the ceremony. Professor Chun Chang, Professor of Finance and Executive Dean of SAIF, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU); Han Liu, Chairman of Shanghai Zijiang Foundation; Lin Chen, Secretary General of Shanghai Zijiang Foundation; Kai Zhang, Assistant to Secretary General of Shanghai Zijiang Foundation; and other leaders and guests attended the event. In December 2018, Shanghai Zijiang Foundation signed a donation agreement with SAIF to set up the Special Fund for Socially Responsible Investment Discipline Development. In 2020, Zijiang proposed to change the purpose of its contributions and instead launch the Zijiang Special Fund for Discipline Development. It would further facilitate the training of financial professionals and academic research in the financial domain based upon the concept of public welfare, to better serve the national strategic goal of the construction of Shanghai into an international financial center. The Fund will extensively support the needs of SAIF’s overall discipline development framework, strive to achieve a flexible and diversified discipline development architecture, and inject new momentum into SAIF’s sustainable development. Witnessed by the guests, Executive Dean Chun Chang and Chairman Han Liu signed the donation memorandum on behalf of each party. This contribution reflects Zijiang's expectations for the cultivation of world-class financial professionals and its social responsibility to foster charity. It is also a recognition and acknowledgement of SAIF’s education philosophy. With the encouragement and aid of the Zijiang Foundation and other community leaders, SAIF will continue to make ongoing progress towards the goal of building a world-class financial school and cultivating more outstanding financial professionals for the both the state and society.

August 05, 2020

Yang Li Appointed as Adjunct Professor of SAIF

On August 1st, 2020, Yang Li was appointed as Adjunct Professor of Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance (SAIF), Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). Yang Li is a well-known economist, Chairman of the National Institution for Finance and Development (NIFD), and Chief Expert and Chairman of the Academic Committee of Shanghai Institute for Finance and Development (SHIFD). At the appointing ceremony, Professor Guangshao Tu, Executive Director of SAIF, expressed his gratitude to Professor Yang Li for his continuous support for SAIF development. On behalf of the SAIF faculty team, Professor Jiang Wang, Chair of SAIF Academic Council, delivered a welcome speech for Professor Li. Professor Yang Li mentioned, in his following speech, that he was extremely privileged to be appointed as Adjunct Professor. He stated that over past years when he has had frequent cooperation and exchanges with many SAIF professors. In the future, NIFD and SAIF will both share their insights, contribute to the development of China's financial sector, and help to build Shanghai as an international financial center.

July 15, 2020

SAIF Proposals Selected by Shanghai Finance Society in 2020

Shanghai Finance Society recently announced a list of key research projects in 2020, which includes 3 research proposals submitted by Professors Chun Chang, Hong Yan, and Feng Li at the Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance (SAIF). The proposals cover a variety of cutting-edge financial topics, including: international financial centers, (new) free trade zones, financial collaboration in the Yangtze River Delta, hi-tech innovation and entrepreneurship centers, FinTech, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic upon financial sectors and the economy. The Shanghai Financial Society received a total of 56 proposals, among which 36 were selected by the expert panel.

July 01, 2020

Xinlei Chen’s Research shortlisted for "Long-term Influence Award"

In June 2020, for a second time, the INFORMS Society for Marketing Science (ISMS) announced that a paper co-authored by Xinlei Chen was a finalist for the "Long Term Impact Award 2020". Professor Chen is currently a Professor of Marketing at Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance (SAIF) at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. ISMS is a leading international association for professionals in operations research and analytics. The purpose of the award is to promote collegiality and best practices in marketing. The award is given annually to research papers which have made a significant long run impact upon marketing research and which have been published in Marketing Science, Management Science, or other INFORMS journals within a 6-10 year term. Professor Xinlei Chen received his Ph.D. in Marketing from the University of Minnesota. His research interests focus upon industrial organization, market competition, consumer choice, and marketing strategy. He specializes in pricing, branding, channel distribution advertising, and promotion. Prior to joining SAIF, he served as Professor of Marketing and Director of Brand Research Center at the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB), and as Associate Professor and Finning Junior Professor of Marketing at the University of British Columbia.

June 22, 2020

Competitiveness Report 2020 Released by SAIF and SSE

A joint research team composed of Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance (SAIF) at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the Capital Market Research Institute of Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) recently released the "Global Capital Market Competitiveness Report (2020)”. It shows that the competitiveness of China's capital markets have been improved significantly, and now rank 5th in the world. As a key component of the modern financial system, capital markets play a significant role in the competition of great world powers. In order to objectively reflect the evolution of China’s capital markets and to accurately benchmark best practices in the world’s major capital markets, the research team focused on major elements of core competency. It developed an evaluation system to assess the competitiveness of worldwide capital markets based upon four dimensions: institutional environment, market size, functionality, and quality. The team studied the world’s Top 20 markets in terms of both real economy and capital market size, and then calculated their capital market competitiveness indices.