On May 26 2014, the launching ceremony of Shanxi Investment Fund Industry Association (hereinafter referred to as “the Association”) was held in Taiyuan. More than 200 people were present at the ceremony, including Cao Dianyi, deputy head of Asset Management Association of China, Yang Lin, secretary and deputy supervisor of Discipline Inspection Committee of China Association for Public Companies, Sun Cairen, head of Shanxi Securities Regulatory Bureau as well as members of the Association. Wei Haisheng, Dacheng senior partner and head of the Taiyuan office, was elected vice president of the Association.

The Association now has approximately 160 members, which include securities investment funds, equity funds, venture capital funds as well as institutional and individual service providers. Incomplete statistics show that there are 128 private equity funds and fund management firms within Shanxi, running more than RMB20bn worth of assets. The industry features vigorous development of multiple types of funds, investing in areas such as new energy, urban construction, culture and tourism, health care, agricultural and urban development and high and new technologies.

The Association vows to observe the rule of self-discipline and safeguard the sound development of investment fund industry in Shanxi, in an effort to prevent regional, systemic financial crisis. Moreover, the Association will lead the transformation in the asset management industry to build more innovative and modernized institutions that best meet the needs of a growing economy and best serve the real economy. In the near future, the Association will provide a series of training sessions to practitioners to instruct on their professional conduct and inform them of new business models. Furthermore, the Association will speed up effort in establishing an integrated service platform (both online and offline)to facilitate information exchange and trading between the investment fund industry and the real economy and pave the way for further growth.