“I am very pleased to integrate into this community [of IBLAC] of global leaders and interact with the municipality of Shanghai, to make sure we share our views regarding the challenges and solutions which can be developed to make Shanghai a leading city in the world,” said Jean-Pierre Clamadieu, chairman of ENGIE, during the 33rd meeting of the International Business Leaders’ Advisory Council (IBLAC).

At the meeting, 40 global business leaders shared their insights and pitched ideas for the development of Shanghai.  

“With a favorable location and a distinct oriental flavor, Shanghai has attracted a lot of foreigners. It mixes very well the Chinese root, the Chinese culture, but also some Western flavor. This is probably what makes Shanghai a unique place to work,” commented Jean-Pierre Clamadieu. 

“I used to describe Shanghai as the New York of China, but maybe I should call New York the Shanghai of America,” said Sir Martin Sorrel, founder and executive chairman of S4 Capital PLC. 

His connection with the International Business Leaders’ Advisory Council (IBLAC) dates back to 30 years ago and he enjoyed those years when he was chairman of the Council, so his affinity with Shanghai goes a very long way.

“Over the past three decades, I’ve witnessed the growth and transformation of Shanghai and China. I’m delighted to see that despite the pandemic, Shanghai has met its goals in the 13th Five-Year plan. The city is not just continuing to grow and becoming more commercially important, but it is extremely safe and public health is at a high level. So, Shanghai has emerged, or is emerging, from the pandemic in a strong and successful state,” added Sir Sorrel. “In addition to that, Shanghai has been improving in a number of things: the financial sector, the regulations and the rule of law, the credit facilities and the capital markets.” That explains to a large degree why many multinational companies are looking at Shanghai as a center for their Chinese operations but also for APAC and the region as a whole.

“Across several matrixes, such as smartphone penetration, online retail penetration, O2O penetration, number and importance of digital native insurgent brands, China is at the forefront of digitalization really around the world,” said Orit Gadiesh, chairman of Bain & Company.

As she also said, digital talent is probably the most critical element in an organization going through digitalization. As Shanghai is home to some top universities and top talents in the country, it is an ideal location for large organizations.   

“No one can ignore Shanghai’s economic strength in China, in Asia and even in the world. Shanghai itself presents opportunities for our core businesses and as a risk transfer specialist,” said Sergio Ermotti, chairman of Swiss Re Group. Swiss Re Group believes that a well-defined global-facing insurance and re-insurance market are vital for a sustainable and resilient future for Shanghai, so “the re-insurance sector can contribute to China’s and Shanghai’s net-zero [greenhouse-gas] emission targets by participating in sustainable long-term infrastructure investments”.

For Shriti Vadera, chair of Prudential Plc, Shanghai is one of her favorite cities around the world. According to her, the city connects international investors to China and Chinese investors to the world, and a key part of this will be green finance. “Shanghai’s new development paradigm aims to support China in reaching its target for net carbon neutrality by 2060 and peak carbon emissions by 2030,” noted Shriti Vadera. “This requires the government and the regulators to work together with financial market participants to ensure the capital markets are able and incentivized to drive the transition to a new economy.” 

“Choosing Shanghai is choosing a brighter future,” said Jean-Paul Agon, chairman and CEO of L'Oréal. As he said, L'Oréal is keen to contribute to setting the city as a new global benchmark for “consumption for good” and a strategic center of “dual circulation”, encouraging green economy, and co-creating an innovative beauty eco-system. 

As Robert (Bob) E. Moritz, global chairman of PwC, looks forward, Shanghai has a great opportunity. In his words, the more Shanghai is seen as a sustainable city, with investors, supply chains, employees, and citizens embracing the idea of decarbonization and creating opportunities for a cleaner supply chain, the more talents, investment and companies will be attracted here.