Mayor of Shanghai, Mr Ying Yong, with Merlin Swire.

Swire Pacific Chairman, Merlin Swire, has joined the prestigious, 40-member International Business Leaders' Advisory Council for the Mayor of Shanghai ("IBLAC").

Founded in 1989 by Shanghai Mayor, Zhu Rongji, who went on to become Chinese Premier from 1998 to 2003, the group is composed of CEOs from major global corporations and serves as a platform for industry leaders across a wide range of sectors to contribute their expertise and ideas to the future direction of business development in Shanghai. Merlin attended the 30th annual IBLAC forum in Shanghai in October, when the themes discussed included branding Shanghai for a new era of opening up; aligning the business environment more closely with international practices, and establishing the city as a hub for the One Belt One Road initiative.