SSE Global Investors Conference 2021 Kicks off

Featuring the theme of “Embracing Growth Opportunities in the New Development Stage”, the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) Global Investors Conference 2021 opened online and offline simultaneously in Shanghai on October 25. With the interactions between the six major international financial centers of Shanghai, New York, London, Hong Kong, Paris and Luxembourg via video link, nearly 100 representatives of financial institutions from all over the world jointly discussed the emerging investment opportunities under China's new development paradigm at the event, drawing more than 1,000 overseas investors online through the SSE Roadshow Center. Fang Xinghai, Vice Chairman of the CSRC, delivered a video speech at the opening ceremony of the conference sponsored by the SSE under the auspices of the Shanghai Municipal Financial Regulatory Bureau. Among those giving remarks on site were Wu Qing, Standing Member of the CPC Shanghai Committee and Vice Mayor of Shanghai, and Huang Hongyuan, Party Secretary and Chairman of the SSE.

This year marks the start of China’s “14th Five-Year Plan” period as well as the year when China embarks on the great journey toward all-round modernization. While implementing the new development philosophy in the new development stage, the SSE offered overseas investors activities including policy interpretation, discussions on hot topics, industry analysis and company communication. All this includes 23 keynote speeches on hot topics, roundtable discussions on 5 emerging industries, promotion of 4 featured markets of the SSE and the online visits to about 40 SSE-listed companies. Emphasis has been laid on the key tasks such as financial service for the real economy, so as to support the green and low-carbon development, and propel high-standard opening up. Comprehensively presenting the overseas investors with China’s latest achievements in high-quality economic development and the institutional two-way opening up of the capital market, the conference showcased China’s capital market in a true, multi-dimensional and panoramic manner.

Thanks to the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core, China's economy has demonstrated strong resilience and great potential since the beginning of this year, in the face of multiple impacts such as the complex and changing international situation, the scattered outbreaks of the pandemic, and the flood disasters within the country. With the opening up of the capital market further accelerated and the innovation-driven development and the strategy of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality advanced continuously, China's capital market has increasingly become an important destination for asset allocation across the world. Compared with last year, this year’s conference is characterized by a wider coverage of investors from more regions in the world. In addition to the attendees from Europe, America and the Asia-Pacific region, quite a few first-time participants came from the countries along the Belt and Road such as Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and Russia, as well as South Africa and Brazil. All this indicates that the investors from emerging markets have gradually turned their attention to China. As the CSRC removed the restrictions on foreign shareholding proportions in the establishment of foreign-invested securities companies, fund management companies and futures companies, the representatives from 7 foreign-controlled securities companies and 3 wholly foreign-owned public fund companies were active in voicing their views at the conference, reaching the consensus that with a huge size and great potential for growth, China's capital market has offered a unique asset class for overseas investors for higher return and lower risk.

The topics of sci-tech innovation and the green and low carbon development are still the focus of global investors. On November 5, 2018, President Xi Jinping announced the plan to establish a Science and Technology Innovation Board (the SSE STAR Market) and pilot the registration-based IPO system. In the past three years, the demonstration effect of the SSE STAR Market has become increasingly obvious in supporting “key and core technology”, with overseas investors continuously increasing their shareholding and steadily expanding their proportions in trading of the shares of the STAR-listed companies. At the conference, the representatives of a number of securities companies held round-table dialogues on the topic of the SSE STAR Market’s supporting the innovation in key and core technology and improving the ability to serve the real economy. Focusing on the national carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals and Shanghai’s accelerated efforts to build itself into an international green finance hub, the conference has also set up four roundtable meetings on green finance, ESG investment and other topics, to discuss green investment and collaboration with overseas investors.

After three years of development, the SSE Global Investors Conference has gradually become a major channel for China’s capital market to connect to the outside world and for the international community to understand China’s capital market. In addition, it is committed to being a flagship event for the opening up of China’s capital market and Shanghai’s efforts in building itself into an international financial center. Focusing on the main theme of attracting overseas medium and long-term funds into the market, the SSE will take full advantage of the brand of the global investors conference, play the important role in communication and coordination among multiple parties and further explore paths for the opening up of the market. All this aims to expand and deepen the participation of overseas investors in the market, effectively carry out the tasks in the capital market reform, and better support the construction of the new development paradigm.