News

April 11,2017

SAIF’s Research Initiative Supported by National Natural Science Foundation

On August 17th, 2016, the Natural Science Foundation of China published the results of its initiative review in 2016. A research initiative on “Chinese Macroeconomic Modeling” led by Chang Chun, Executive Dean and Professor of Finance at Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance (SAIF) of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, won the key initiative grant from the Foundation. The initiative not only represents one of the major breakthroughs in the theoretical framework and modeling of China’s monetary policies, but also fills up the gap of Shanghai Jiao Tong University in the related category of the grant. In addition to Prof. Chang Chun, Prof. Liu Zheng and Prof. Zha Tao of SAIF, the research team is also comprised of eight world-class scholars, including Dr. Ma Jun, Chief Economist of the People's Bank of China (PBOC) Financial Research Institute, Dr. Mark M. Spiegel, Research Fellow of San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, and Prof. Lawrence Christiano from Northwestern University of the United States. The scholars have built up abundant research findings and experience in the areas of structured macroeconomic model, macro empirical quantitative analysis, time series analysis and DSGE modeling of monetary policies. Prof. Chang said that the initiative is intended to construct a systematic macroeconomic database for the Chinese economy that conforms to international standards. The database should provide a useful platform for the academic research on China’s macro economy. “We will identify the important stylized facts about the institutions and efficiency of China’s macroeconomic policy based on the model econometrics methods, including Bayesian Vector Autoregression model and Markov regime switching Vector Autoregression model,” according to Prof. Chang. “Most importantly, we will build a theoretical framework that is consistent with China’s specific economic structure and policy regime. Specifically, our DSGE models should incorporate a segmented economic structure with the coexistence of a state sector and a private sector, a financial system that treats these two types of firms differently, and a tightly managed capital account and exchange-rate system,” Prof. Chang said.

April 11,2017

SAIF Ranked as Top Think Tank

SAIF was ranked as a top Think Tank to Watch in the latest edition of Global Go To Think Tank Report 2016 published by the University of Pennsylvania, one of the most influential think tank reports in the world. According to the report, SAIF was placed the 31st on the category of the global 100 Think Tanks to Watch. Four other Chinese organizations on the same list were ranked No. 51, 54, 63 and 91, respectively. This was the third year in a row that SAIF made into this list and was ranked the highest among all Chinese organizations on this category. Global Go To Think Tank Report 2016 was launched by The Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP) at the University of Pennsylvania in Beijing on January 25th, 2017. It shows that there were 6,846 think tanks across the world in 2016, of which 1,835 were based in US, making it the country with the largest number of think tanks. As the second largest, China boasts 435 think tanks, followed by UK at 288 and India at 280, respectively. Since its inception in 1989, the TTCSP has focused on collecting data and conducting research on think tank trends and the role think tanks play as civil society actors in the policymaking process. Over the years, it has gained the name of “think tank of think tanks”.

April 11,2017

SAIF Professors Won Sun Yefang Financial Innovation Awards

Three SAIF professors won the 2nd Sun Yefang Financial Innovation Awards for their academic studies on monetary policy modeling and the brain gain of corporate boards of listed companies. Founded in 2013, the biennial award is one of the most recognized academic recognitions in China. This year, one book, three journal papers in English and two journal papers in Chinese were granted with this honor. SAIF’s award-winning papers include “Capital Controls and Optimal Chinese Monetary Policy” (Journal of Monetary Economics, April 2015) coauthored by Prof. Chun Chang and Prof. Zheng Liu of SAIF together with Dr. Mark M. Spiegel of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. The paper focuses on the study of optimal monetary policy in a dynamics stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model that incorporates the Chinese characteristics. The other winning paper was “The Brain Gain of Corporate Boards: Evidence from China” (Journal of Finance, August 2015), coauthored by Prof. Xiaoyun Yu of SAIF and , Prof. Mariassunta Giannetti and Prof. Liao Guanmin. This paper looks at the effects of corporate board directors with overseas education background on corporate performance in emerging markets by reviewing and systematically analyzing the background of 32,823 executive and non-executive directors in 1,667 public companies in China between 1999 and 2009. It is found that directors with international education background improve the quality of corporate governance. With the participation of such directors, the valuation and productivity of a company is improved and upgraded to a certain extent, so is its profitability. In short, when members with foreign experience joined a board, they bring significant improvement to the company they serve. In the inaugural Sun Yefang Financial Innovation Awards in 2014, SAIF Prof. Tan Wang, also a deputy dean, and SAIF Prof. Kai Li won the recognition with their research paper of Privatization and Risk Sharing: Evidence from the Split Share Structure Reform in China”. So far, SAIF faculty has contributed 3 of the 9 research papers recognized by the Sun Yefang Financial Innovation Awards for academic research published in world-class journals in English, which fully represents SAIF’s outstanding capabilities in financial research.

April 11,2017

Dr. Raghuram Rajan Talks on Rules of Monetary Game

Dr. Raghuram Rajan, Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago, former President of the Reserve Bank of India and former Chief Economist of International Monetary Fund (IMF), shared his views on rules of monetary game at the SAIF-CAFR Distinguished Speakers Series to a roomful audience of over 400 scholars and practitioners on January 14th, 2017. According to Dr. Rajan, though the communication between central banks is complicated and the existing international environment doesn’t facilitate the achievement of global protocols, it is essential to introduce new rules of monetary policy, in order to include potential spillover effect in the framework of decision-making, without compromising the interest of other economies in exchange of domestic growth. “Once the currency of an emerging market drops, due to lack of the same credibility as the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of Japan, the market is concerned of further depreciation, which leads to the self-fulfilling effect. Probably the intervention of exchange rate is the best and the most realistic vehicle, yet it is not permitted by prior rules,” highlighted Dr. Rajan. In his opinion, developed and developing economies follow different rules in the current context. However, due to its spillover effect, a matured economy needs to take account of international responsibility in its policymaking framework. Therefore, it is vital to create new game rules built on a number of implicit rules. Dr. Rajan proposed to classify monetary policies into three levels of rating, namely Green, Red and Orange, resembling the implications of traffic light. A Green Policy imposes positive effects on both domestic and international economies. Such policies shall be encouraged by the global community and may include,, for example, the conventional monetary policies that simultaneously drive local and international demands, or the policies that will significantly improve local economy but have only temporary adverse spillovers on other countries A Red Policy shall be avoided at all times. Though it creates positive effect on the local economy in short run, it has large negative effect on foreign growth, which leads to negative net effect. In contrast, an Orange Policy can be carefully implemented in short term but not on sustainable basis. It is important to take account of its short- and long-run results. In summary, the appropriate policymaking framework shall consider the timing, the stage of business and financial cycle and its short- and long-term effects on both domestic and foreign economies.

April 11,2017

SAIF Holds 2017 Board Meeting

Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance (SAIF) held its Board of Directors Meeting on January 26th, 2017. Zhou Bo, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee, Executive Deputy Mayor of Shanghai and Chairman of SAIF Board of Directors, chaired the meeting and made an important speech on the event. This meeting was attended by Mr. Jin Xingming, Vice Secretary General of Shanghai People’s Municipal Government and Vice Chairman of the SAIF Board of Directors; Mr. Shen Xiaochu, Director of Shanghai Municipal Development and Reform Commission and member of the SAIF Board of Directors; Mr. Su Ming, Director of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission and member of the SAIF Board of Directors; Ms. Song Yijia, Director General of Shanghai Municipal Finance Bureau and member of the SAIF Board of Directors; Mr. Zheng Yang, Director of Shanghai Financial Services Office and member of the SAIF Board of Directors; Mr. Jiang Sixian, Secretary of CPC Committee at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Vice Chairman of the SAIF Board of Directors; Mr. Zhang Jie, President of Shanghai Jiao Tong University; Mr. Huang Zhen, Vice President of Shanghai Jiao Tong University and member of the SAIF Board of Directors; Ms. Xu Xuemin, Vice President of Shanghai Jiao Tong University and member of the SAIF Board of Directors; and Prof. Wang Jiang, Chair of SAIF Academic Council and member of the SAIF Board of Directors. Prof. Chang Chun, Executive Dean at SAIF, and other members of the SAIF leadership and faculty also sat in on the meeting. During the meeting, Prof. Wang reviewed SAIF’s fast development over the past seven years, reported the key accomplishments in 2016 and shared the development plans for the future. The board members highly recognized SAIF’s successes achieved in 2016 and had a heated discussion about the future development of the Institute. Zhou expressed his high hopes for SAIF and expected SAIF to persist in the model of globalization, specialization and market orientation supported by innovation.

April 11,2017

SAIF Publishes Employment Report of Full-Time MF & MBA Graduates

Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance (SAIF) recently published the employment report of its full-time Master of Finance (MF) and MBA graduates in 2016, which shows that both full-time MF and MBA graduates created new records of starting salary. According to the report, the base salary of SAIF MFs reached RMB284,000 on average, with the median of RMB230,000, 25.4% and 27.8% higher than 2015 respectively, which represented historical highs. The highest starting salary was RMB680,000. In terms of location, 15.8% of MF graduates joined financial institutions based in Germany, Canada and Hong Kong, while the rest concentrated on Tier 1 cities in China, including Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen. On the other hand, the employers of SAIF MFs were mostly world-class and leading domestic financial institutions. Five graduates joined J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Merrill Lynch and 3 served CICC. The other employers included Citic Securities, Tencent, Hony Capital, Bain, BCG, China Merchants Bank Headquarters, Haitong Securities, Fosun Group and other industry leaders. As to industry distribution, more than 40% of SAIF MFs chose investment banking and VC & PE. Meanwhile, the top 4 job functions were investment banking (23.7%), investment management (21.1%), research (18.4%) and consulting (13.2). For 2016 SAIF MBA graduates, the median starting salary was RMB250,000 and the mean hit a record high of RMB266,000, 25% and 26.6% higher than 2015 respectively. About 95% of the graduates were recruited by financial institutions, for investment management, research, investment banking and other key front-end functions. The employers included leading financial institutions in China, including DT Capital, China Renaissance, Ivy Capital, Ping An Asset Management, Delta Capital, Dingfeng Asset, Efunds, HFT Fund, Citic Securities, Huatai United Securities, Shenwan Hongyuan Securities and Tianfeng Securities. Prof. Chang Chun, Executive Dean at SAIF, commented, “Today’s economy faces a number of challenges. On one hand, the worldwide recovery is staggering. On the other hand, China’s economy is under enormous growth pressure. However, even in such a context, SAIF graduates have successfully found high-level and quality jobs, and achieved continued breakthroughs, which further proves that SAIF’s commitment to internationalization and specialization is widely recognized by the market.”

February 15,2017

SAIF Hosts Shanghai Finance Forum Focusing on China's capital Markets and Econom ...

SHANG HAI, Jan. 14, 2017— The Shanghai Finance Forum (SFF) gathered together leading economists and finance experts from around the world to discuss about the major challenges and opportunities as China continues to develop its economy and capital markets. “A well-functioning financial system is essential for sustainable economic growth and development – a world-class capital market is necessary for China to execute global economic leadership,” said Nobel Laureate Robert Merton in his keynote speech titled “On the Role of Financial Science and Finance Innovation in Development of the Chinese Capital Market”. Financial innovation drives improvement of the financial system, and finance science, technology, and economic need drive financial innovation, he added. China should create a “North Star to Nirvana”, suggested Merton, also a Distinguished Professor of Finance at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, on a design process for development and implementation of large-scale financial innovation projects in China. Dr. Raghuram Rajan, former governor of Indian Reserve Bank, said that the populist insurrections in the West, driven by concerns about job prospects and stagnant incomes, could pose short-term risks for monetary policy, banking in Europe, geopolitics and China’s growth. “Emerging markets have to focus more on domestic demand and capital flows will remain volatile, Rajan said in his speech on “The Global Economic and Monetary Outlook: How Will Populist Insurrections in the West Affect the Emerging World”. Alleged job losses are more due to automation than trade, according to Rajan, a Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago and the Chief Economist and Director of Research at the International Monetary Fund from 2003 to 2006. Dr. Min Zhu, who retired from the role of Deputy Managing Director of IMF in 2016, said that he expects the world economy to be characterized by low growth, low inflation, low interest rate and low investment this year, as the world undertakes structural changes in demography, demands and income distribution. China has scored some initial achievements in economic structure adjustments, though challenges still lie ahead, said Zhu, who is now President of the National Institute of Financial Research. “Both China and the world need structural reforms to boost productivity and economic growth,” he noted in his speech on the global economy and China. The SFF, bringing together about 350 leading scholars, policy makers and practitioners, was hosted by Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance (SAIF) to exchange ideas on the major challenges and opportunities as China continues to develop its economy and capital markets. Jiang Wang, Mizuho Financial Group Professor at the Sloan School of Management, said that China's switch from a scale-oriented and government-led growth pattern to an efficiency-focused and market-oriented one will inherently require a greater degree of openness in the financial system. "The key of this reform is to truly let the financial market play the decisive role in allocating resources and risk management, and this role must be supported by a modern, open financial system," said Wang, who is also Chair of the Academic Advisory Council of SAIF, the SFF organizer. As a member of the financial community of Shanghai and China, SAIF is committed to training top talent, building an open platform for research, and becoming a leading think tank, especially on issues related to China’s financial system, said Chun Chang, Executive Dean of SAIF. “SFF aims not just to identify the issues but also to explore possible solutions through rigorous research, in-depth discourse and intimate interaction, “Chang added. Besides the keynote speeches, two panel discussion sessions were held on China’s capital market and GDP growth, respectively. The panelists included Shangjin Wei, Professor of Finance and Economics, Columbia University; Tao Guan, a senior research fellow of China Finance 40 Forum and former director of the balance of payments department of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Jun Qian; Professor of Finance, SAIF and Associate Director of China Academy of Financial Research (CAFR), Qiuping Qu, President of Haitong Securities Co., Ltd and Xiaodong Liu, CEO of Sailing Capital Management Co., Ltd. NOTES TO EDITOR The Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance (SAIF) was established in 2009 by the Shanghai Municipal Government within Shanghai Jiao Tong University, with the goal of developing a world-class institution of research and advanced learning in both finance and management. Its objectives include training top talent, building an open platform for research, and becoming a leading think tank, especially on issues related to China’s financial system. The China Academy of Financial Research (CAFR) was established in parallel with SAIF, focusing on policy and applied research in finance, and its work has influenced important regulatory changes and reforms within the Chinese financial industry. More than 40 faculty members obtained tenured positions from top business schools in North America and Europe. Full-time faculty members are recruited through a selective process from the finest institutions in the world, including Stanford, Wharton, Chicago, Duke, UBC and Oxford. They are reviewed and promoted in a manner consistent with leading research institutions in North America and Europe. SAIF has successfully launched a comprehensive set of programs specialized in finance, including the Master of Finance (MF), MBA, EMBA, DBA (Doctor of Business Administration), Ph.D., and EDP (Executive Development Program) programs. It had more than 1,700 students enrolled in degree programs at the end of 2016. SAIF alumni, growing in large numbers every year, have begun to exert impact in the financial industry and the overall economy in China and Asia. In 2016, SAIF earned the accreditation of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB) less than seven years after it was founded, thus becoming one of the youngest business schools in the world to be accredited. It also made a strong debut in the Financial Times’ annual ranking of the best Master in Finance (MF) programs in the world, ranking 2nd in Asia and 28th in the world. For value for money, SAIF ranked 1st in Asia and 2nd globally.

February 10,2017

Economists call for deeper reforms

Following a year where several "black swan" events and capital market fluctuations took place, China's economic growth in 2017 will face uncertainties and challenges, and this should be a motivation for the nation to further innovate and reform its financial market, said macro economists during the recent Shanghai Finance Forum. Hosted by Shanghai Advanced Finance Institute (SAIF) and held at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the forum gathered economists from around the world to discuss about the major challenges that China's financial market is facing, including regulatory uncertainties in the financial technology sector (FinTech), A-share market volatility, foreign exchange rate fluctuation and the pressures that arise from reforming economic growth pattern. Wang Jiang, Mizuho Financial Group Professor at the Sloan School of Management, said that China's switch from a scale-oriented and government-led growth pattern to an efficiency-focused and market-oriented one will inherently require a greater degree of openness in the system. "The key of this reform is to truly let the financial market play the decisive role in allocating resources and risk management, and this role must be supported by a modern, open financial system," said Wang. Robert Merton, School of Management Distinguished Professor of Finance at MIT Sloan, said that China would find its own practice to achieve an "economic nirvana" through innovation. For example, FinTech can be regarded as the future of financial and technological innovation, and can play a significant role in China's financial system should it be able to build trust among investors, regulators, and financial services providers. Revamping the currency policy framework should also be included in the financial market reform, said Zhu Min, president of National Finance Research Academy. "In the past when we talked about financial market reform, we focused on reforms of banking system and market policy. We rarely talked about currency policy framework, but it has to be addressed because it is fundamental to financial market reform," said Zhu. "Now, as the renminbi is included in the Special Drawing Rights basket, the currency policy framework must be aligned with SDR requirements, such as enabling renminbi to be hedged and traded. More global use of renminbi will push forward such reforms," said Zhu.

January 05,2017

New alarm bells ring over Internet finance

Ph.D. Finance, University of California, Berkeley, 1999 Ph.D. Applied Physics, University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, 1991 M.S. Physics, Michigan State University, 1988 B.S. Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, 1985

January 05,2017

SAIF：Reshaping finance education and research

The Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance aims to develop talent and provide solutions to China's economic issues. The Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance has vowed to strengthen its efforts in providing effective solutions to China's economic issues by continuing to develop top talent for the financial industry and generating cutting-edge knowledge in financial theory and applications, said Chun Chang, executive dean and professor of finance at SAIF. "As SAIF is based in China, we naturally have a deep understanding of the domestic market and China's financial system, which allows us to better develop solutions and a theory system with a global perspective," Chang said. Established in 2009, SAIF became one of the youngest business schools in the world to receive the international accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International, a global educational accreditation network, earlier this year. In this year's Financial Times' annual ranking of the best Master in Finance programs in the world, SAIF made a strong debut when it was ranked 2nd in Asia and 28th in the world. "China's financial and economic issues are unique. It takes both local insights and international perspective to tackle them. That's what SAIF tries to do - we study Chinese issues using an international perspective and this allows us to be in a leading position with well-rounded strengths in the finance community," Chang said. Research into China's economy, the second largest in the world, has been a hot topic in the academic world. According to Chang, despite China's rising status internationally, the domestic financial industry is still closed and lagging behind its international counterparts. However, the local financial industry nevertheless holds great potential in the long-term development of China's economy. According to the dean, there is also a shortage of theories and studies to support the government's decision-makers. In response to this issue, Chang said: "At SAIF, we are committed to training top talent, building an open platform for research and becoming a leading think tank, especially on issues related to China's financial system." Birth of SAIF The idea to form the SAIF was born when leading city officials visited Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2008 and were given a chance to compare the finance major curriculums of local universities and overseas schools. "People were shocked to find huge differences between the curriculums and this was when we realized that it was necessary to carry out education reforms," Chang said. "The authorities knew that Shanghai needed to have a high-end financial institute to help the city progress and catch up with its international counterparts. This marked the birth of SAIF." The institute now boasts an internationally-minded faculty team, composed mostly of overseas returnees who not only have rich overseas background and experience, but also possess deep insights into the domestic market. Chang was the first Chinese to become a finance professor in an American university, having taught at Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, for 17 years. He is also the first scholar to return to work in China on a full-time basis after becoming a tenured finance professor in a leading American university. SAIF currently has a faculty of 27 full-time professors and 35 special-term professors. Forty-six of them obtained tenured positions from top business schools in North America and Europe. International operation In a bid to create a dynamic environment for education and research, SAIF has also been pegging its standards to those of the world's top-tier business schools, and is looking to expand its offerings. In addition, the curriculum and management of the faculty are also modeled after the best business schools in North America. "Our full-time faculty members are recruited from the finest institutions in the world, including Stanford, Wharton, Columbia, Chicago, MIT and UBC. They are reviewed and promoted in a manner consistent with leading research institutions in North America and Europe," Chang said. "SAIF is also a platform for exploring the reform of the internationalization of higher Chinese education, something that has not been truly achieved yet," he added. Over the years, SAIF has widely cooperated with overseas business schools for faculty and student exchanges. China Lab, for example, is a three-month international course for SAIF's MBA and Master of Finance students and their counterparts at MIT's Sloan School, and it is designed to help students from both countries gain firsthand experience. Link: http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/epaper/2016-11/04/content_27273860.htm