On the evening of August 18th, the forum on financial services and cooperation in the new landscape hosted by the MOFCOM Training Base for International Business Officials (Shanghai) and the Faculty of Professional Finance and Accountancy was successfully held. The forum was conducted both online and offline. He Ying, dean of the "Belt and Road" Sustainable Development Research Institute of Shanghai Business School, presided over the forum. Guo Raofeng, lecturer of the Faculty of Professional Finance and Accountancy of SBS, Li Shenru, assistant professor of Macau University of Science and Technology, Caesar Morello, Purchasing Manager of the National Library of Venezuela, and Zamil Hosen, deputy general manager of Bangladesh Krishna Bank, were invited to give keynote speeches. 42 participants of "Seminar on Financial Services and Cooperation for Developing Countries" from 9 countries including Ecuador, Ethiopia, Iraq, Jordan, Mongolia, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela attended the forum.
Focusing on the "Research on Regional Financial Integration in the Yangtze River Delta", Guo Raofeng comprehensively analyzed the current state of financial integration in the Yangtze River Delta, the bottleneck of integrated development and corresponding suggestions. He said that in the process of economic integration in the Yangtze River Delta, finance takes the lead to be one of the core strategies for developing the Yangtze River Delta region. As an international financial center, Shanghai boasts the concentrated financial institutions, and complete financial market to the extent that it is second to none in China and even in the world, which can provide reference for many financial reforms, opening up and innovation.
With the theme of "sustainable finance", Li Shenru introduced the theoretical basis of sustainable finance - firm theory, agency theory and signaling theory. He believes that, based on the current literature, a win-win situation for the enterprise is more likely to be achieved through a good corporate governance structure, good fiduciary responsibilities, and good risk control. At present, the development of global ESG investment has been very "thriving". ESG indicators measure the sustainability of corporate development from the perspectives of the environment, society, and corporate governance, which helps companies reduce risks, improve reputation, and improve recruitment. Therefore, the promotion of ESG construction is not only about "energy saving and emission reduction" and "environmental governance", but also an overall view of "implementing new development concepts, building a new development pattern, and promoting high-quality development".
Taking Venezuela's renewable investment as a starting point, Caesar Morello objectively analyzed the challenges Venezuela faces in the field of financial services and cooperation under the new situation. Green investment refers to investment activities that comply with environmentally friendly business practices and protect natural resources, he said. Investors can support green initiatives by buying green mutual funds, green index funds, green exchange-traded funds (ETFs), green bonds, or holding shares in environmentally friendly companies. Latin American countries are also well aware of the interdependence between sustainability and economic development, trade and investment and wish to participate in meetings on the subject of the resulting international and regional trade and investment agreements.
Zamil Hosen shared his insights on recent economic challenges and regional cooperation. In his view, the world economy faces the risk of a prolonged period of lower-than-expected growth. The mid-term outlook for global growth is clouded by the COVID-19 pandemic, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, inflation, the impact of worsening climate change, and structural macroeconomic challenges such as weak investment and rising debt vulnerabilities. Developing countries need to conduct cooperation to improve transport infrastructure, provide business information, and join hands in areas such as energy, water supply, R&D, and knowledge creation, which are critical to the development of each countries and the world.
He Ying made a concluding speech. She addressed that with the in-depth development of economic globalization, financial cooperation has gradually become an important part of economic, trade and investment cooperation between China and developing countries. By holding the forum on financial services and cooperation in the new landscape, we will further promote the win-win financial services and cooperation between China and developing countries, and inject new impetus into the development of regional economic integration. She hoped that taking this forum as a new cooperation opportunity between China and developing countries to improve the well-being of the people of all countries, and ultimately realize the sustainable development of global finance.
Written by: Sun Ya
Photos by: Li Zheng
Reviewed by: Chen Wei
