On September 7th, the third conference on contracts and governance in the digital economy, sponsored by East China University of Technology and organized by the Business School of East China University of Technology and the Oliver Hart Contract and Governance Research Center of East China University of Technology, was held in the Shaw Building lecture hall. Professor Oliver Hart, co-recipient of the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, professor at Harvard University, honorary professor at East China University of Technology, and director of the Oliver Hart Research Center for Contract and Governance Research, attended the conference and delivered a keynote speech. Chairwoman of University Council Du Huifang attended the conference and gave Welcome Remarks, and the event was hosted by Vice-President Yan Haifeng. 

Image: Group photo of attending guests

This conference also invited entrepreneurs and experts from enterprises such as Bank of Communications Financial Technology Co., Ltd., Shanghai Lingang Economic Development (Group) Co., Ltd., Ant Group, as well as universities such as Fudan University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Renmin University of China, Tongji University, etc. to conduct discussions on corporate responsibility, financial technology, and sustainable development in the context of the digital economy.

Image: Chairwoman of University Council Du Huifang giving Welcome Remarks

Du Huifang, on behalf of the university, welcomes and thanks Professor Oliver Hart and other guests for attending this conference. She pointed out that the current digital economy has become an important engine driving global economic development. In response to the requirements of the digital economy era, China is also actively accelerating the construction of a community with a shared future in cyberspace, promoting innovation in the intelligent industry, and deepening the reform of the digital industry. She hopes that the attending guests will deeply explore hot issues such as the empowerment of high-quality development by the digital economy through this conference, and jointly promote the development of the digital economy and industrial transformation.

Image：Professor Oliver Hart giving the keynote speech

Professor Oliver Hart expressed his pleasure in attending this conference and gave a keynote speech on the theme of "shareholder voices", presenting a viewpoint that overturns traditional economics' understanding of companies. Fifty years ago, Milton Friedman proposed that the only social responsibility of enterprises was to make money, which was called Shareholder Value Maximization (SVM). This has since almost become the iron rule that economists believe in. Countering this notion, Professor Oliver Hart pointed out that the purpose of a company should promote the maximization of shareholder welfare (SWM). Shareholder welfare not only includes the market value of the stocks they hold, but also the overall interests of society such as the ecological environment and sustainable human development affected by company behavior. On this basis, Professor Hart pointed out that shareholders can voice their opinions through voting to force companies to make decisions that maximize shareholder welfare. Professor Hart further compared the research findings with recent corporate practices to verify their rationality. Actually, more and more companies are adopting shareholder voice strategies to maximize shareholder welfare rather than solely considering corporate profits or market value. Professor Hart's report provides new directions and ideas for participating teachers and students to understand corporate governance issues from the perspective of sustainable human development and the overall interests of society. Its theoretical policy implications also contribute to further improving the corporate governance system.

Image: Vice-President Yan Haifeng hosting the conference 

After the keynote speech, Hou Limin, Chair of School Council, presented Professor Hart with a commemorative certificate and mug for the "Business School Celebration Forum and 40th Anniversary Series Forum".

Image: Chair of School Council Hou Limin presenting Professor Hart the certificate

Image: Guest speech session

During the guest speech session, Feng Xiaoming, Vice-President of Bank of Communications Financial Technology Co., Ltd., focused on the theme of "Financial Technology and Sustainable Development" and introduced the efforts and achievements of Bank of Communications Group in green finance, paperless construction, and improving social welfare, focusing on how enterprises actively practice ESG social responsibility; Sun Meng, Vice-President of Shanghai Lingang Economic Development (Group) Co., Ltd., shared the practices and experiences of Lingang Group's digital transformation under the theme of "Digital Intelligence Innovation to Build a New Ecology of Digital Industry". Wu Yuming, Executive Director of Oliver Hart Contract and Governance Research Center, hosted the guest speech session.

Image: Fintech Panel

During the Fintech Panel, Professor Oliver Hart, Vice-President Feng Xiaoming, Director of Shanghai Blockchain Technology Research Center Ma Xiaofeng, and many professors from the School of Law at Fudan University, as well as Cai Nianyu, General Manager of the Compliance Department of Qihe Ant Group, jointly participated in the discussion. Jiang Shicheng, Deputy Director of Oliver Hart Research Center of Contract and Governance, hosted the panel.

Image: Academic Forum Parellel Session

In the afternoon seminar, several experts and scholars, including Nie Huihua, a distinguished professor at Renmin University of China, Wang Yongqin, a professor at Fudan University, Liu Qingfu, a professor at Fudan University, and Li Youping, a professor at our business, participated in the academic forum and reported their research results. Professor Oliver Hart attended the academic forum in the afternoon and had in-depth discussions with the attending scholars.

Image: Professor Hart and Professor Wu Yuming, Executive Director of the Research Center, jointly participated in the seminar

Authors: Jiang Shicheng, Wang Jianyun, Liu Zhenying