Shanghai Forum 2021 Roundtable “Technology and Regulation ——Good Data Governance for Responsible Digital Finance” was held online on October 30.
Co-organized by APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC)/Asia-Pacific Financial Forum (APFF), China Institute for Law and Finance, Fudan University (CILF), and Center for Law and Digital Economy, Fudan University, the roundtable was joined by experts, scholars and practitioners from China, the United States, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and other Asia-Pacific countries. The attendees made an in-depth discussion on Strengthening Data Governance Framework and Developing New Data Infrastructure.
Vice President of Fudan University and Dean of China Institute for Law and Finance, Fudan University Chen Zhimin delivered opening remarks. He has pointed out that data is the common ground of digital technology and financial technology, and data governance is the key to the regulation of digital finance.
In recent years, Fudan University has been committed to promoting the development of data governance and digital finance through establishing research institutions, such as China Institute for Law and Finance and Center for Law and Digital Economy to boost related interdisciplinary and multi-dimensional research and exchanges. By strengthening responsible digital finance, he believed that the roundtable would pool innovative ideas and new inspirations facilitating the healthy growth of the industry to benefit the wider public.
The data revolution driven by new technologies had great potential in making financial services more inclusive and efficient, but these technologies could also be abused, said Mins Hiroshi Nakaso, chair of Asia-Pacific Financial Forum (APFF), chair of Daiwa Institute of Research and former deputy governor of Bank of Japan, in his opening remarks. The data revolution has also spawned new types of data and the emerging industry of data analysis. A clear and balanced regulatory framework is essential to address privacy and consumer protection issues, foster continuous innovation and make a positive social contribution to data analysis. APEC’s fundamental goals of free and open trade highlight the need for legal and regulatory regimes that facilitate cross-border data flows. The mission of APFF is to assist member economies in implementing the initiatives of their finance ministers, and it is hoped that this roundtable will continue to boost the development of this process.
The first session of the roundtable was themed “Strengthening Data Governance Framework”. Michael A. Turner, president of PERC, US and FIDN Sherpa, gave his interpretation of the Uniform Personal Data Protection Act (UPDPA). Gao Fuping, director of Institute of Property Law of East China University of Political Science and Law, shared his views on data protection goals and paradigm shifts. Nie Zhengjun, chief privacy officer of Ant Group, made an introduction to the cross-border transmission of personal financial information and the application of technology in privacy protection. Nguyen Hieu, co-founder and vice chairman of Fiin Group, Vietnam, gave a presentation on strengthening data governance in Vietnam. Cao Jianfeng, senior research fellow at Tencent Research Institute and senior legal counsel at Legal Policy Research Department of Tencent, stressed the importance of technology ethics in artificial intelligence data governance.
Moderated by Professor Xu Duoqi, director of Center for Law and Digital Economy, Fudan University, the second session was themed “Developing New Data Infrastructure”. Chen Lianggui, CIO of Shanghai United Property Exchange & Shanghai Public Resources Trading Center, China, (Ji Min, deputy general manager of Information Technology Department of Shanghai United Property Exchange & Shanghai Public Resources Trading Center, spoke on his behalf) analyzed the current problems and countermeasures of the use and circulation of data in the market. Bob Trojan, president & CEO of Token Insights & Financial Services Insights, US and FIDN Sherpa, reported on his analysis of the APEC Cross-Border Privacy Rules (CBPR). Boonsun Prasitsumrit, CEO, National Digital Co., Ltd., Thailand, briefed on Thailand’s national digital identity platform. David R. Hardoon, senior advisor for Data and Artificial Intelligence, Union Bank of the Philippines and managing director of Aboitiz Data Innovation, Singapore (his deputy Viswanathan Namasivayam spoke on his behalf) updated other panelists on the developments of novel data infrastructure using Singapore’s MyInfo as an example. Hu Ling, associate professor of Peking University Law School, gave a presentation on the evolution and regulation of China’s data infrastructure.
Julius Caesar Parrenas, APEC-APFF coordinator and senior advisor for Daiwa Institute of Research, delivered the closing speech. He said, some jurisdictions had been trying to develop the next-generation legal and regulatory framework on data, but such efforts were insufficiently coordinated, potentially leading to continued inefficiencies and increasing frictions. To harness the immense potential of technology and data to achieve greater financial inclusion and efficiency, APEC needs to work towards the shared vision of data ecology together. The APEC Roadmap for a New Financial Services Data Ecosystem serves as a powerful tool for improving the consistency of APEC economies in laws, policies and supervision on the basis of existing international principles, framework and practice, highlighting areas which need better consistency.
As the co-organizer of this roundtable, APFF is a platform for public-private cooperation to accelerate the development of robust and integrated financial markets in the APEC region. The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) proposed the APFF’s establishment to the APEC Finance Ministers, who launched APFF at their 2013 annual meeting in Bali. The APEC Roadmap for a New Financial Services Data Ecosystem was proposed by ABAC and endorsed by APEC finance ministers. The key components for an effective data ecosystem in the region were therefore identified, and specific initiatives and actions were proposed to put these components in place within a reasonable time frame.
Founded by Fudan University, the People’s Bank of China, Shanghai High People’s Court and Shanghai Financial Court in March 2021, China Institute for Law and Finance, Fudan University (CILF) aims to become a first-class institution for law and finance research in China and national high-end think tank with global influence. It has made positive contributions to building Shanghai into an international financial hub, promoting the modernization of China’s financial governance system and capacity and facilitating China’s participation in global financial governance.
Founded by Fudan Development Institute, the Center for Law and Digital Economy of Fudan University, drawing strengths from Law School, School of Computer Science, School of Economics and School of Management of Fudan University, serves as a multidisciplinary research platform for collaborative innovation to tackle issues related to rule of law in the field of digital economy and generate research findings that serve China’s strategies for the development of digital economy.
