News

March 03, 2022

2022 Financial Law Excellence Program Held

On January 16th, the closing ceremony of the 2022 Financial Law Excellence Program was held online. The program was jointly organized by SAIF, the Shanghai Financial Court (SFC), the Shanghai Municipal People's Prosecutor's Office (SPP), the SAIF EED Program, and the China Center for Law and Finance (CCLF) of CAFR. After the last lecture on "green finance", given by Professor Tzukuan Chiu (Academic Director of the Sustainable Finance Development Fund), the closing ceremony was held. Professor Ning Zhu (Professor of Finance, Deputy Dean at SAIF, Director of the Sustainable Finance Development Fund, Director of CCLF), Shengping Dai (Deputy Director of SFC Political Department), Xiaojun Gu (Director of the Fourth Procuratorate Department of SPP), and Xintian Chang (Deputy Director of the Education and Training Department of SPP) attended the ceremony; it was presided over by Yile Chu (Secretary General of CCLF). Xiaojun Gu expressed his gratitude to SAIF for the rich and practical curriculum. He pointed out that since the Shanghai Financial Prosecution had been established 10 years ago, being able to work with SAIF and the SFC had not only enhanced its comprehensive capability for financial case handling, but it had also strongly promoted training for finance-law talent. "The program is a success, and it can be replicated and extended. It provides a new path for our rule-of-law talent training."Gu also hoped that the participants would study hard, apply hard-gained knowledge to actual practice, and take initiative in their future work. On behalf of Yong Wen (Member of the CPC SFC Committee, Director of the Political Department of SFC), Shengping Dai expressed his gratitude for the full support of SAIF, the wonderful lectures by experts and scholars, and the careful course design by the course teaching team. He endorsed the achievements of the program jointly developed by the Financial Court and SAIF over the past two years, and hoped that both sides would further deepen cooperation and exchange, improve joint talent training mechanisms, and accelerate the construction of a high-level finance-law talent base. Professor Ning Zhu delivered a speech at the closing ceremony on behalf of SAIF. He congratulated all the students on their successful graduation, and expressed his gratitude to the leaders of the SPP and SFC, and to the students for their support and dedication. Zhu pointed out that the training of finance-law talent was a long-term and gradual process. SAIF and SPP had jointly explored and developed top curriculum and teaching methods, making the program a model for China. He said that SAIF would organize a large number of teachers every year to innovate teaching methods in order to remain close to business realities. Next year, the course will be open to participants from the whole Yangtze River Delta; further improvements will be made regarding the course content and teaching format, from multiple aspects. The program has been held for two consecutive sessions thus far. In the future, SAIF will continue to play to its own advantages in talent training and think tank, and work together with SFC and SPP to better serve the construction of Shanghai as an International Finance Center.

March 02, 2022

Seminar on Supply Chain in Post-Epidemic Era Held by SAIF Think Tank

A closed seminar on "Changes, Opportunities and Strategies of Post-Epidemic Supply Chain"was held by our SAIF Think Tank recently at SAIF's Xuhui Campus. The seminar was presided over by Professor Xiaochun Liu (Associate Director of CAFR). Other experts in attendance include those from SAIF, the China Academy of Finance Research (CAFR), the Antai School of Economics and Management (ATSE) of SJTU, the China Financial Futures Exchange (CFFEX), and the Shanghai Institute of Futures and Derivatives (SHIFD). Professor Hong Chen (Professor of Management at SAIF) reported on "Analysis of the Influencing Factors of Carbon Emissions under the Emission Peak Target and Suggestions". Professor Chen analyzed the characteristics of China's carbon emission structure by comparing international carbon emission structures from different economies and their historical evolution. He analyzed the main influencing factors of carbon emissions by establishing macro-factor and industry-factor models and forecasted fossil energy consumption in the next 10 years. He put forward the necessity of maintaining a stable supply of traditional energy sources yet realizing the necessity of their gradual replacement by clean energy sources. Professor Chen also emphasized two points, the first being carbon footprint. We should not only focus on the direct generation of carbon emissions, but also on carbon emissions caused by consumption on the demand side. Secondly, energy storage technology is a troublesome bottleneck for the scale-up of clean energy. Professor Qigui Zhu (Secretary of the CPC SAIF Committee) reported on "Problems and Suggestions for the Development of China's Chip Industry"from the perspective of turning "crisis"into "opportunity". Professor Zhu discussed the chip industry development condition, both at home and abroad, then compared and analyzed the problems faced by the chip supply chain in China. He then suggested that we seize this good opportunity to promote industrial optimization and upgrading, and to accelerate the process of an independent and controllable chip industry. Specifically, he put forward five suggestions: (1) Insist on long-term investment; (2) Respect intellectual property rights and strengthen innovation protection; (3) Strengthen talent cultivation and attract to grow a senior engineering team; (4) Implement differentiated support policies and create a favorable industrial development environment; and lastly, (5) Enhance supply chain finance to help coordinate production and marketing. Professor Genyuan Zhong and Professor Mengdi Gu commented on the two reports, respectively, and gave high recognition to them. In the discussion session, participants shared their views on carbon emissions and the chip industry, and gave suggestions. These included: Feng Li (Professor of Accounting at SAIF, Associate Director ofCAFR, Co-Director of SAIFR), Professor Tan Wang (Professor of Finance, Academic Director of the MF Program), Professor Zhan Jiang (Term Professor, Academic Director and Executive Director of the EED Program), Professor Tzukuan Chiu, Mingliang Li (Senior Researcher at CAFR, Senior Legal Expert at CFFEX), Lei Hua (Deputy Dean at SHIFD), Ying Ma (Affiliated Professor at SAIF, Expert at CAFR), and Jie Hu (Professor of Practice at SAIF).

March 01, 2022

The Professional Master’s Thesis Supervision Meeting Held at SAIF

On January 12th, 2022, the Professional Master's Thesis Supervision Meeting was held at SAIF by the Thesis Supervision Committee (TSC). The meeting allowed supervisors to exchange ideas and deepen their understanding of quality standards and requirements for thesis writing in each SAIF program. Nearly 40 professors who would be supervising the master's theses in the 2021-2022 academic year attended the lunch, meeting either onsite or online. Professor Qigui Zhu (Secretary of the CPC SAIF Committee, Chairman of TSC) chaired the meeting and delivered a speech. He thanked thesis supervisors from SAIF and beyond for their contributions to the quality improvement of these in the past year. He pointed out that through the whole process of a master's student's cultivation, all the supervisors must attach importance to moral education, and take care of students both in academic matters and in also in life. He also emphasized the importance of academic integrity. In the meeting, Professor Tan Wang (Academic Director of the MF Program), Professor Jie Chang (Academic Director of the MBA Program), and Professor Fei Wu (Academic Co-Director of the EED Program) introduced each aspect of thesis work for the MF, MBA, and EMBA programs respectively, and summarized the overall development in 2021. Professor Xianglin Li (Academic Co-Director of the MF program) made an additional explanation. Professor Tzukuan Chiu was also invited to share her experience in teaching thesis writing courses. Professor Nengjiu Ju (Co-Chairman of TSC) introduced the basic process of thesis guiding work for the MF, MBA, and EMBA programs and shared a speech on "how to ensure thesis quality". In the discussion session, supervisors shared their views on: "the topic of the thesis", "the form of the thesis", "the requirements and responsibilities of supervisors", "the kind of guidance that should be given to different types of students of MF, MBA, and EMBA programs", and "how to effectively improve the standardization of thesis and improve students'enthusiasm for thesis writing".

February 08, 2022

Professor Shijun Cheng Appointed as Executive Dean

On January 27th, 2022, SAIF announced that the Institute Council decided to approve the request of Professor Chun Chang (Professor of Finance, Huifu Chair Professor) to step down as Executive Dean. Professor Shijun Cheng was then designated as the new Executive Dean. SAIF recognized the major and extensive contributions to the construction and development of SAIF made by Professor Chang Chun since he became Executive Dean in 2010. He played a crucial role in the development of SAIF, including the establishment of the international model of research and education, innovative institutional building, the development of our education and research programs, as well as branding and outreach initiatives. Meanwhile, as a distinguished scholar, Professor Chang has obtained major achievements in a number of research areas (Winner of the Sun Yefang Financial Innovation Award in 2016).His pioneering efforts and dedication in teaching/educational activities have also contributed to the development of finance education and research both at SAIF and in China.SAIF looks forward to his continuing contribution to the school’s development in his role as a senior faculty and a leading finance scholar. Professor Shijun Cheng is a senior Professor of Accounting at SAIF and has been a Special-Term Professor since the inception of SAIF. Prior to joining SAIF as a full-time professor in 2018, he accumulated rich expertise and experience from his service as Dean of School of Management, Jinan University (Guangzhou). After joining SAIF in 2018, Shijun acted as Deputy Dean, overseeing our MBA and MF programs and several major administrative functions, including finance and HR. In 2020, he started to serve on the Institute Council as a member in 2020 and participated in the Institute's planning and operation process, demonstrating a strong sense of mission, responsibility and implementation. His character and work have received wide recognition.In addition, as an alumnus of SJTU (1993, Ph.D. in Industrial Management Engineering), Professor Cheng is full of passion and confidence in serving the Institute and contributing to the development of the University. Professor Shijun Cheng said that he would work closely with the leadership team to implement development strategies and decisions made by the Institute Council to serve the construction of Shanghai International Finance Center, and to promote the construction of SJTU as a world-class university. He also hoped to work with all faculty, staff, students, alumni, colleagues, and other concerned stakeholders to build SAIF into a top-class financial school in China as swiftly as possible. Profile Dr. Shijun Cheng is theExecutive Dean and Professor of Accounting at the Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He earned his D.Eng. in Industrial Management Engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and his Ph.D. in Accounting from the University of Pittsburgh. Previously he was on the faculty of the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, and the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland (with tenure). He was also the Dean of the School of Management at Jinan University in Guangzhou. His research is focused upon corporate governance, compensation and incentives, and managerial accounting. Prof. Cheng has published in top academic journals such asThe Accounting Review,Contemporary Accounting Research,Review of Financial Studies, andthe Journal of Financial Economics. He serves (or has served) on the editorial boards ofContemporary Accounting Researchandthe China Journal of Accounting Research, and was on the first academic committee forChina Industrial Economics. Prof. Cheng has taught Managerial Accounting, Financial Accounting, Essentials of Accounting for Decision Makers, Performance Measurement and Compensation Design, and Corporate Governance for doctoral, masters, and undergraduate programs (as well as non-degree programs).

February 07, 2022

10th International Youth Leadership Finance Summit Held at SAIF

Recently, the 2022 International Youth Leadership Finance Summit (Summit), hosted by the SAIF MF Program, was held. More than 120 outstanding students from 24 top universities around the world (including Tsinghua University, Peking University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Fudan University, Cornell University, London School of Economics and Political Science, University of Toronto, and National University of Singapore) gathered online to focus on ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) from the perspective of Generation Z. At the opening ceremony, Professor Chun Chang (Executive Dean, Professor of Finance, Huifu Chair Professor at SAIF) delivered a welcome speech. He expressed his wish that, through this international platform, youngsters could exchange ideas with industry leaders and grow rapidly. The theme of this year's summit was "Exploring Solutions on ESG for a Better Future". It attracted more than 1,000 applications from all over the world. Only 120 students were selected and they formed teams in order to compete in the four-day live PK session. Combining their professional expertise and interests, the participating teams chose case study companies in a wide range of markets, such as materials, new energy, consumer goods, and automotive. Some of the 23 companies selected included: Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL, a Chinese new energy technology company), Deliveroo (a British takeaway platform), JBS (a Brazilian meat producer), and International Petroleum Investment Co. (IPIC). Students used their professional knowledge and creativity to design ESG solutions for these companies, and analyzed the feasibility of the solutions for academic and industry experts. At the end, Team Libru from Fudan University won first prize. They chose CATL as the case study company for their ESG solution and began their analysis from the perspective of the lithium battery cycle. Their perfect presentation and calmness during the Q&A session won unanimous approval from the judges. During the summit, Professor Guangshao Tu (Member of the National Committee of the CPPCC, Adjunct Professor of SJTU, Executive Director of SAIF Board) was invited to deliver a keynote speech virtually on "ESG and the Sustainable Development of Enterprises". He pointed out that the trend of ESG investment was an important symbol of global economic and social development transformation. ESG practice and ESG investment were the two core parts of ESG development. Tu said that three major guiding mechanisms needed to be improved to promote ESG development, including: ESG practice for micro-entities at the government level, ESG investment in the real economy, and social capital by investment institutions. He also pointed out that ESG development needed the support of a theoretical system, institutional construction, main functions, and an ecosystem. ESG investment can play five major facilitating roles in the sustainable development of enterprises, including: enhancing enterprise value, deepening capital function, optimizing asset structure, promoting enterprise governance, and improving disclosure quality. In addition to the twenty-three teams that were strictly selected to enter the summit, more than one hundred public judges from universities around the world were also invited to observe and participate in the summit. This not only built a platform for students to absorb cutting-edge knowledge and to engage in dialogue with academic experts and industry leaders, but also actively promoted peer-to-peer exchange and learning opportunities among students from diverse backgrounds. During the Q&A session after the keynote speech, Qingyang Wang (a public judge from Nanjing University) asked Professor Guangshao Tu how new energy industries could keep up with traditional energy industries based on the goal of carbon neutrality — and whether it would lead to energy shortfalls. She said that, through Professor Tu's speech and answers, she more deeply understood the logic and reasoning of emphasizing the management and control of carbon emissions instead of just limiting energy consumption.

February 05, 2022

Top Journal Papers in 2021 by SAIF Faculty

In the international academic community, the top five journals in economics are: the American Economic Review (AER), Econometrica (ECA), the Journal of Political Economy (JPE), the Quarterly Journal of Economics (QJE), and the Review of Economic Studies (RES). The top three journals in finance are: the Journal of Finance (JF), the Journal of Financial Economics (JFE), and the Review of Financial Studies (RFS). In 2021, a total of 6 papers by SAIF finance professors were published or accepted by the above-mentioned top international academic journals. According to statistics, 52 papers (including accepted and to be published, the same below) were published by SAIF Full Professors in 2021, of which 34 were published in international academic journals. By the end of 2021, SAIF professors published a total of 738 papers, of which 215 were published in top international academic journals, maintaining a leading position among similar institutions. The research results not only reflected the strong intellectual drive at SAIF, but also the academic rigor of the various teaching programs as well. The 6 papers published or accepted by the top international academic journals were: Air Pollution, Affect, and Forecasting Bias: Evidence from Chinese Financial Analysts(JFE) co-authored by Professor Yongxiang Wang (Professor of Finance at SAIF), Rui Dong (Renmin Business School), Raymond Fisman (Department of Economics, Boston University), and Nianhang Xu (Renmin Business School); Under-Diversification and Idiosyncratic Risk Externalities (JFE) co-authored by Professor Chao Zi (Assistant Professor of Finance at SAIF), Felipe S. Iachan (EPGE School of Finance, Brazil), and Dejanir Silva (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign); Property Rights, Land Misallocation, and Agricultural Efficiency in China (RES) co-authored by Professor Yongxiang Wang (Professor of Finance at SAIF), Amalavoyal Chari (University of Sussex, UK), Elaine M. Liu (University of Houston, National Bureau of Economic Research), and Shing-Yi Wang (University of Pennsylvania, National Bureau of Economic Research); Air Pollution, Behavioral Bias, and the Disposition Effect in China (JFE) co-authored by Professor Jie Li (Assistant Professor of Finance at SAIF), Massimo Massa (Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires), Zhang Hong (Wudaokou School of Finance, Tsinghua University), and Jian Zhang (School of Business and Economics, the University of Hong Kong); Premium for Heightened Uncertainty: Explaining Pre-Announcement Market Returns (JFE) co-authored by Professor Jun Pan (Professor of Finance, Chair Professor at SAIF), Professor Jiang Wang (Mizuho Financial Group Professor at Sloan School of Management, MIT, Chair of Academic Council, Senior Advisory Visiting Professor at SAIF), Xing Hu (Wudaokou School of Finance, Tsinghua University), and Haoxiang Zhu (MIT Sloan School of Management); Extrapolative Bubbles and Trading Volume (RFS) co-authored by Professor Ning Zhu (Deputy Dean, Professor of Finance at SAIF), Jingchi Liao (Shenzhen Stock Exchange), and Cameron Peng (London School of Economics and Political Science).

February 03, 2022

SAIF 2022 Annual Board Meeting Held

On January 26th, SAIF held its 2022 Annual Board Meeting. Qing Wu (Member of the Shanghai Municipal Standing Committee, Executive Vice Mayor of Shanghai, Chairman of the SAIF Board) presided over the meeting and delivered a speech. Yuan Hua (Deputy Secretary General of Shanghai Municipal People's Government, Director of Development & Reform Commission, Vice Chairman of SAIF Board), Ping Wang (Director of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, Director of SAIF Board), Jizhen Cao (Director of Shanghai Municipal Financial Bureau, Director of SAIF Board), Changsheng Tao (Chief Economic Manager of Shanghai Municipal Financial Regulatory Bureau), Zhenbin Yang (Secretary of the CPC SJTU Committee, Vice Chairman of SAIF Board), Zhongqin Lin (President of SJTU, Director of SAIF Board), Guangshao Tu (Adjunct Professor of SJTU, Executive Director of SAIF Board), Kuiling Ding (Executive Vice President of SJTU, Director of SAIF Board), Xuemin Xu (Vice President of SJTU, Director of SAIF Board), Jiang Wang (Mizuho Financial Group Professor at Sloan School of Management, MIT, Executive Director of SAIF Board), and other esteemed leaders and professors attended the meeting. During the meeting, Professor Chun Chang (Executive Dean) presented the annual work report for 2021 on behalf of SAIF. The directors reviewed the achievements of SAIF in the past year and discussed various aspects for further work and development. Chairman Qing Wu put forward four suggestions for the new phase of SAIF in his concluding speech. First, we must innovate in order to improve our professional talent training system in line with the zeitgeist of modern Shanghai. Second, we must strengthen the construction of our international top-tier faculty. Third, we should enhance our standing with a high-end think tank. Fourth, we should keep moving forward towards the construction of a world-class Finance College.

February 01, 2022

Professor Haizhou Huang Wins Sun Yefang Economic Science Award

On January 9th, 2022, the award ceremony of the 19th Sun Yefang Prize for Economic Science was held at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). Professor Haizhou Huang (Special-Term Professor of Finance at SAIF, Member of the Management Committee and Head of the Equity Business Department of CICC), together with Patrick Bolton (Professor of Economics and Finance at Columbia University) received the Prize for their publication The Capital Structure of Nations. The paper applies corporate finance theory to analyze national capital structures. Comparing the capital structures of China, the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom, the paper argues that state-issued currency and treasury bonds issued in local currency are considered equity in the capital structure of the state, whereas treasury bonds issued in foreign currency are debt. The Sun Yefang Economic Science jury commended the publication for providing a fresh perspective for understanding monetary and fiscal policies in major economies. It also provided a unified micro-theoretical foundation for monetary economics, fiscal theory, and international finance. This paper also won the 2018 Pagano-Zechner Best Paper Award of the European Finance Association. The Sun Yefang Economic Science Award, named in memory of the eponymous Chinese economist, is one of the most prestigious awards in Economics in China. Founded in 1984, the award is given out biennially to honor economists who have made significant contributions. This year, the committee evaluated 115 books and 195 papers, ultimately giving awards for three of the books and four of the papers. Abstract When a nation can finance its investments via foreign-currency denominated debt or domestic-currency claims, what is the optimal capital structure for the nation? Building on the functions of fiat money as both medium of exchange and store of value (like corporate equity), the model connects monetary economics, fiscal theory, and international finance under a unified corporate finance perspective. With frictionless capital markets, both a Modigliani–Miller theorem for nations and the classical quantity theory of money hold true. With capital market frictions, a nation's optimal capital structure trades off inflation dilution costs and expected default costs on foreign-currency debt. Our framing focuses on the process by which new money claims enter the economy and the potential wealth redistribution costs of inflation.

January 06, 2022

Shanghai International Finance Center in 2021 CCTV News

On December 25th, CCTV News reported that the 2021 Shanghai International Financial Center Development Forum was held in Shanghai on that day. With the theme of "Shanghai International Finance Center Construction in the New Development Pattern", the forum was of great significance to the promotion of "Post-2020 Shanghai International Finance Center Construction". The forum was co-organized by SAIF, China Media Group Shanghai Bureau (CMG Shanghai), Shanghai Xuhui District People's Government, and the Shanghai Finance Association (SFA). Leaders from Shanghai Municipal People's Government, Xuhui District People's Government, and representatives from regulators, banks, and universities gathered to confer on the construction of Shanghai as an International Finance Center. Xiaochuan Zhou (Vice Chairman of Boao Forum for Asia, President of China Society for Finance & Banking), Qing Wu (Executive Vice Mayor of Shanghai, Chairman of the SAIF Board), 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), Juntao Wang (Secretary of the CIRC Shanghai Party Committee, Chairman of the CIRC Shanghai Office), and Dengyong Wang (Vice President of the CSRC Shanghai Office) delivered keynote speeches. The topics of the speeches were: "Study the Promotion of International Board Construction", "Four Major Areas to be Focused", "Six Things to do Based on Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality Goals", "A Path with Chinese characteristics for Building Shanghai as an International Reinsurance Center", "Establishing a Whole-market Asset Allocation System in Line with High International Standards", "Support the Construction of Shanghai as an International Finance Center with a Theoretical system with Chinese Characteristics", and "Build a High-quality International Group of Listed Companies". 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. Tu pointed out that though the assessment system for an international finance center had been studied by many institutions around the world, the Report had its own features. It was function-oriented, listed the main functions of the finance center, adopted a function matrix method that was clearer and more targeted, and its assessment tool had diversified indicators. Tu said that, to promote the construction and development of Shanghai as an International Finance Center, the Report compared and assessed a number of international financial centers around the world, focusing especially on the functions. He pointed out that the construction was in a new stage, which could also be called "Shanghai International Finance Center Construction Version 3.0". "The Report showed that under the guidance of the CPC, the Shanghai Finance Industry had made great progress in reforms, opening up, financial institution innovation, and in financial academic research with Chinese characteristics", Jin said. He also said that the Report might be translated into multiple languages to better transmit news of Shanghai financial industry development to the international community.

January 05, 2022

2021 Shanghai International Finance Center Development Forum Held

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 theSAIFBoard), 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.