June 25, 2009. CEIBS campus -- Against the backdrop of the global economic downturn, CEIBS -- in collaboration with the influential World Economic Forum (WEF), today hosted a roundtable that explored the theme of "Harnessing Capital Markets for Future Growth". 

The event brought together top executives from Chinese and global enterprises, as well as academics and high-level government officials who probed the relationship between capital markets and the real economy. They explored answers to vital questions such as:
- What are the key challenges and risks faced by industries?
- How should investors mitigate those risks?
- What should Chinese companies do to harness the capital markets to re-launch growth?

Chief Economist of CICC Mr. Ha Jiming

The roundtable took the format of two separate sessions which focused, respectively, on the topics of "Challenges and Risks Amid Financial Crisis" and "Harnessing the Capital Markets to Re-launch Growth".

In sharing their views during the first roundtable, participants identified the key risks facing the Chinese economy as: inflation, energy crisis, USD-RMB exchange rate fluctuation and aspects of government policy. Chief Economist of CICC Mr. Ha Jiming, who made the opening remarks during the session, pointed out that the global economy has entered the low-growth-rate and high-inflation-rate stage. He highlighted these points within the context of the fundamental change in population structure. The economist told the audience that, with the U-shaped path of economic recovery, China will no longer experience its historically rapid growth. He stressed that a global asset bubble is inevitable, and China should be careful of a recurrence of an overheated economy which leads to bubbles forming. However, he had good news for investors who, he said, should make use of the opportunities available.

The session was skilfully moderated by the Director of the Brookings-Tsinghua Centre for Public Policy at Tsinghua University, Mr. Xiao Gen. Among those who led the discussions were:
- Vice Mayor of Tianjin Municipal Government Mr. Ren Xuefeng
- Chairman of MMC Hong Kong Mr. Rafael Gil-Tienda
- Partner of Booze & Company Mr. Andrew Cainey
- President of Shanghai Highly (Group) Co. Ltd Mr. Shen Jianfang and
- Chairman and CEO of E.J. McKay & Co. Inc. Mr. James Z. Li.

Researcher and former Executive Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Prof. Wang Luolin

During the second session on "Harnessing the Capital Markets to Re-launch Growth", Researcher and former Executive Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Prof. Wang Luolin, made the opening remarks. He pointed out that there has been a halt in China's economic downturn, followed by modest signs of improvement. He expressed concern, however, that there is a risk of stagflation next year. This, he said, would stem from two factors:
- private investment falling behind government investment and
- decreased government fiscal income along with rising raw material and oil prices.
He predicted that there would be a W-shaped economic recovery, and urged the government to give some thought to how to adjust its policies to keep economic growth stable in the post-crisis stage.

Participants in this roundtable included:
- Vice Chairman of APCO Worldwide Inc. (Asia), Mr. Christian Murck
- Executive Deputy Director of CEIBS Lujiazui International Finance Research Centre, Dr. Yin Jianfeng
- Chairman & CEO of Sino Pacific Heavy Industries Group, Mr. Simon Liang and
- Executive Managing Director of Softbank Asia Infrastructure Fund (SAIF Advisors Ltd.) Mr. Andrew Y. Yan.
In addition to fielding questions from the audience, the participants also debated the long-term challenges facing China, such as economic restructuring, Shanghai becoming a global financial centre, and industries' key success factors (KSFs).

The forum was sponsored by Shanghai Jinqiao Export Processing Zone Development Co. Ltd.