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ACGA Annual Conference 2018, Beijing

ACGA’s 18th Annual Conference, the “Asian Business Dialogue on Corporate Governance 2018”, returned to Beijing, China following our previous conferences there in 2006 and 2009. The conference took place over November 13–14, 2018 at the Grand Hyatt Beijing, and was attended by 350 delegates and speakers from around the world. 

The conference programme ran over one and a half days and comprised plenary panel discussions and workshops on topical issues around the central theme of ‘The Rise of ESG in Asia: Implications for Companies and Investors’. 

Sponsors

We would like to express our appreciation to the following companies for continuing their generous support for the conference:

·         Foundation Sponsor: Norges Bank Investment Management

·         Founding Sponsor: CLSA

·         Principal Sponsor: China Universal Asset Management

·         Supporting Sponsor: EY

·         Luncheon Sponsor: Capital Group

·         Workshop Sponsor: Blackpeak

We also express sincere thanks to our new sponsors and supporters this year:

·         Principal Sponsor: Fidelity International

·         Gala Dinner Sponsor: CLP Holdings

·         Luncheon Sponsor: E Fund Management

·         Supporting Organisation: Corporate Governance Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CGCC)

·         Media Partner: FTChinese

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

The conference was opened by Mr Anthony Muh Yi-tong, Chairman, ACGA. 

Plenary and workshop topics and speakers on Day 1 included, in order of appearance:
Note: presentations for speakers (name with underline) are able to be downloaded.

Plenary 1: speakers included Mr Jamie Allen, ACGA; Ms Nana Li, ACGA; and Ms Rachel Morarjee, The Economist Group.

Plenary 2 The ACGA Debate: Ms Maggie Lin Zhaowen, IFC; and Ms Melissa Brown, Daobridge Capital, argued the affirmative and negative cases, respectively, on the topic ‘Are hostile takeovers good for capital markets?’. The debate was moderated by Mr Jenn-hui Tan, Fidelity International.

Concurrent Workshops, Session 1

Workshop on company governance and ESG: speakers included Mr Christopher Leahy, Blackpeak; and Mr Zheng Baomin, Sinopec Corp.

Workshop on the investor dimension: speakers included Mr Charles Yonts, CLSA; Ms Elaine Ng, MSCI ESG Research; and Mr Mirza Baig, Aviva Investors.

Workshop on management of sustainability: speakers included Ms Karlyn Adams, BSR; Ms Yuan Yuan, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI); and Mr Michael McComb, SAP Greater China.

Concurrent Workshops, Session 2

Workshop on company governance and ESG: speakers included Mr Steven Watson, Capital International Investors; Ms Flora Wang, BlackRock; and Ms Zhu Xu, China Vanke.

Workshop on the investor dimension: speakers included Ms Linda Chen, Taishin Financial Holding; Dr Francois Perrin, East Capital; and Mr Ronnie Lim, Robeco Hong Kong.

We concluded Day 1 with a Gala Dinner, addressed by Dr Liu Yadong, Editor-in-Chief, Science and Technology Daily, Beijing, on the topic ‘Tech innovation in China—what is really going on?’.

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

The second day of the conference was opened by Ms Pru Bennett, Managing Director and Head of Investment Stewardship APAC, BlackRock.

Parallel panel sessions and speakers in the morning of Day 2 included, in order of appearance:

Panel 1: speakers included Dr Chu Xuping, Association of China Directors Branch of Chinese State-owned Property Exchanges Association; Dr He Jibao, Shenzhen Stock Exchange; Professor Zheng Zhigang, Renmin University of China; and Dr Zhang Zhengjun, King Parallel Consulting.

Panel 2: speakers included Mr Richard Lawrence, Overlook Investment Group; Mr Xie Feng, China Yangtze Power Company; Ms Herry Cho, ING; and Mr Li Junfeng, National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation.

The morning concluded with the Chairman’s Dialogue hosted by Mr Anthony Muh Yi-tong, Chairman, ACGA. Speakers included Dr Feng Lun, Vantone Holdings and Professor Lu Tong, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.