Shanghai Vice Mayor Tu Guangshao (left) and Jacob Wallenberg, chairman of Investor AB, unveil a new logo for the International Business Leaders' Advisory Council for the Mayor of Shanghai yesterday. Wallenberg will chair the council's 23rd annual session tomorrow, during which Mayor Han Zheng will discuss with top executives of the world's leading corporations how to make Shanghai a better business market. About 500 foreign and Chinese delegates will take part in the forum, including consul generals, senior government officials, heads of major state-owned companies and top private firms. [Photo: Shanghai Daily]

Top brains of the world's leading corporations will gather in Shanghai this weekend and brainstorm on how to make Shanghai a better business market.

They will give their views and share their experiences with Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng at the 23rd International Business Leaders' Advisory Council, which carries a theme of "bolstering the market system."

About 500 foreign and Chinese delegates will take part in the forum, including consul generals, senior government officials, heads of major state-owned companies and top private businesses.

Yesterday, a book full of ideas on how to improve Shanghai's business environment was made public. Based on a pre-forum survey, the book "Overseas Perspective On Shanghai's Business Environment" collected opinions and advice from senior executives at multinational companies and overseas financial media professionals working and living in Shanghai.

The book is sponsored by Shanghai Daily and the Oriental Morning Post and supported by the Information Office and the Foreign Affairs Office of the city government and the Shanghai Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment.

The book, which will be presented to a broader audience at the forum, has won praise among its first batch of readers.

Also yesterday, Mayor Han met with some delegates, including Bain & Company Inc's board chairman Orit Gadiesh, Infosys co-chairman S. Gopalakrishnan and keynote speech maker Carlos Gutierrez, a former member of the United States Cabinet as secretary of commerce.

Today, the council members are scheduled to visit the commemoration exhibition of Shanghai World Expo, and the forum will be convened tomorrow.

The IBLAC forum was initiated in 1989 by Zhu Rongji, then Shanghai's mayor who later became China's premier.

Zhu envisioned it as a platform for the world's top business leaders to provide strategic advice on Shanghai's development and the challenges ahead.

The council has grown into an international think tank for Shanghai's mayor.

It started with 12 members from seven countries, and has grown to 50 members from 16 countries. They come from various industries including finance, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and retail.