Throughout this academic year, students who are majoring in Asset Management and Private Banking had the opportunity to participate in the monthly e-roundtable series meeting Senior Executives in Asset Management and Private Banking industry virtually, including Dr. King Au, Adjunct Professor at HKU Business School and Executive Director of Financial Services Development Council (FSDC), Mr. Ronald Chan, Founder and CIO of Chartwell Capital, Ms. Janet Li, Leader of Mercer Investment Advisory Asia, Mr. Ivan Wong, Managing Director and Co-head of North Asia, HSBC Private Banking, Ms. Ronie Mak, Managing Director of RS Group, and Ms. Amy Yip, member of Board of Directors of Deutsche Borse Group (the German Stock Exchange), EFG Bank, AIA Group and Prudential. This series was arranged by Prof. Anna Wong, Programme Director of Bachelor of Finance in Asset Management and Private Banking.
In each e-roundtable, over 50 students joined, and one of them had been selected as the student moderator for the session. Students were well prepared, raised good questions and had conversations with the guest speakers on topics including the current challenges for HK in the finance market, what is value investing, the role of institutional portfolio advising, the current challenges for private banking, the growth of family offices and the importance of sustainable financing. Guest speakers also shared their career journey and tips on developing the talents most wanted by the industry. The whole series was well received, and our students have plenty of takeaways from each guest speaker.
(From left) Mr. Ivan Wong of HSBC Private Banking; Mr. Tony Au of HKU Business School
HKU Business School Professor James K.S. Kung has recently won the Royal Economic Society Prize for the best article published in The Economic Journal in 2020. His paper, “Long Live Keju! The Persistent Effects of China’s Civil Examination System”, co-authored with Dr. Chicheng Ma and Dr. Ting Chen, examines the long-term consequences of China’s millennium-long civil examination system for human capital or educational outcomes.
“There is a growing literature in economics showing that both institutions and culture have had a long-term persistent effect on economic development. Countries with “bad” institutions during the colonial rule, e.g., institutions that fail to constrain the ruler, have demonstrably poorer economic performance in the long run. The same with culture,” Professor Kung explained why the team was dedicated to studying China’s past and its implication on China’s economic development.
Keju, a civil service examination system in Imperial China, became the world’s first meritocratic bureaucracy since the Song dynasty, lasting for nearly one millennium prior to its abolishment. While one would agree that “learning is more than just scoring”, zealous scholars back in the old days were motivated to take keju and determined to attain the highest possible qualification – the jinshi because of its exceptional prestige and rewards. Professor Kung and his team thus hypothesized that keju had likely created a distinct group of elites with deep respect for learning and academic achievements, so much so that over time it fostered a “cultural trait” that has persisted even long after the exam’s abolishment. “Keju provided us with an invaluable opportunity to study the possible persistence of institutions and culture combined in one single instance,” said Professor Kung.
“From our study, we found that an additional jinshi per 10,000 people has had the effect of increasing years of schooling by 0.87% in 2010, which is equivalent to nearly an additional year of schooling out of the mean of 8.72. Benchmarking this to a recent United Nations estimate, the magnitude is translated into an earnings difference of 1.5 times,” Professor Kung added.
By analysing historical data, their work shows that “how it was education rather than material wealth that is considered important to be passed on to the next generation in some cultures but not in others and to the extent that education matters for economic growth, it is the wealth of nations”.
Professor Kung joined HKU Business School in July 2018 as Professor of Economics. “I was attracted to the School because of the sincere invitation extended to me by our dean Professor Hongbin Cai to join what promised to be a thriving academic community. In addition to having a proven track record in leadership, Professor Cai is also an accomplished scholar; the combination of these qualities in academic leadership is very attractive. Moreover, there were also the opportunities to work with such fine colleagues as Professor Zhiwu Chen on developing a programme in China’s economic history. All of these made my decision an easy one,” said Professor Kung. In 2019, he was conferred the Sein and Isaac Souede Professorship in support of his academic and research activities in economic history of China.
Appointed as the new Head of Economics Academic Area in October 2020, Professor Kung will be making plans to modernise the School’s undergraduate curriculum with new courses to equip students with practical skills both in data analysis and substantive knowledge about the rapidly changing world. Similar efforts are also made to strengthen the PhD programme; new postgraduate research courses in applied economics such as “Economic History and Development”, “International Economics/Empirical Industrial Organization”, “Applied Econometrics”, “Macroeconomic Research related to China” will also be offered in 2021/22.
With digitalised data becoming more available and ever-growing computation power, his area is readily up for the challenge that big data brings for researchers in applied economics. Professor Kung has already led the recruitment drive for a bigger and stronger army of top scholars from around the world whose expertise is to make intelligible and innovative use of data in addressing a wide range of issues.
Winners of Royal Economic Society Prize 2020: Professor James K.S. Kung from HKU Business School (middle), Dr. Chicheng Ma from HKU Business School (right) and Dr. Ting Chen from Hong Kong Baptist University (left)
Congratulations to our UG business students who have won the “Best Pitch Deck Award”, Top 10 & Top 25 in the Amplify Trading Global Markets Competition 2021 | APAC.
Kim Nahee, BFin(AMPB), Year 4 and Song Yunju, BBA, Year 5 won the Best Pitch Deck Award. They constructed a buy-side pitch book that aimed to help a recently established asset management firm to raise funds from potential clients following the top-down investment strategy starting from global macroeconomics trends, growth potential and broad industry sectors, and based on concrete quantitative measures to make final investment decisions.
“We think the competition is an amazing opportunity for us to experience the role of portfolio managers, allocate assets based on the market movement, and present data throughout the different market situations. We were also able to experience the roles of both a market maker and hedge fund, which allowed us to gain a well-rounded understanding of the financial market mechanisms.”
On top of the “Best Pitch Deck Award”, Yunju was also awarded top 10, while Lo Chun Yu, BSc(QFin), Year 4 and Ng Lok Shan Brendan, BSc(QFin), Year 3 were awarded top 25 in the competition.
Chun Yu is grateful to have had the opportunity to participate in this fun-filled yet insightful experience. “It was a great way to take the initiative to conduct a detailed global macro analysis, form our own investment strategy, mitigate potential risks, and most importantly to learn how to tell a good story to our hypothetical investors.”
He also thinks the experience is remarkable and recommends those interested in financial markets to join this competition. “Not only did we learn to leverage our finance knowledge and market sense, but also, the thrills of seeing our investment decisions rewarded by the market were definitely something we could not have obtained in textbooks.”
Brendan shares that the competition allowed his team to work on the presentation crafting skills. He also learned the importance of taking quick, calculated decisions to generate profit as an OTC (Over-the-counter) market maker. “Specialising in certain markets or products when making markets made it easier to match buyers and sellers. Overall, I am grateful to have this opportunity to take part in the competition and I think it was worth the time.”
The competition aims to help university students from all disciplines to gain practical understanding in the world of finance, particularly in Asset Management, Sales & Trading, Wealth Management, Hedge Fund and Research through a series of lecture videos, pitch deck presentation and trading simulations.
In the Preliminary Round of the competition, 692 teams of students from the APAC region worked in groups of two to prepare buy-side pitch decks and participated in live asset management simulation online. 38 qualified teams entered the Grand Final Round on March 21, 2021. Members of the teams were required to compete on individual basis. 76 students participated in the trading simulation competition by making multi-asset investment strategies in both the roles of a Hedge Fund Manager and a market maker based on instantaneous news.
Congratulations to Leung Wing Yin, BBA(Acc&Fin), Year 3, taking home the Second Prize in the EY’s Young Tax Professional of the Year 2021 (Local Competition). By bringing together students from all over the world, the competition aims to demonstrate how much the tax profession has changed today and how business is managed in different cultures. The competition also exposed participants to the skills required to be tomorrow’s leaders.
Wing Yin shares that “The truly fascinating part of taxation goes beyond numbers and figures. Along with the current dynamic business environment, international tax compliance modifies from time to time. The competition enabled me to gain insight into the ever-changing tax policies in different jurisdictions and how cross-border businesses manage tax risk. In the discussion of tax, there is no absolute answer, but logical thinking and critical mindsets could help us interpret and analyze new legislative and regulatory challenges in taxation. I was glad to have this opportunity to interact with seasoned tax professionals from different backgrounds at EY and collaborate with students from other universities. This valuable experience sparked my curiosity in tax and facilitated me to advance the knowledge of the international tax system, which had certainly given me exposure for my future career development.”
The first phase of the competition took place in Hong Kong. After an online test regarding technical knowledge and reasoning, shortlisted semi-finalists were invited to give a group presentation and the top eight candidates proceeded to the Hong Kong final competition on April 7, 2021. The finalists had 30-minute preparation time for an individual case presentation followed by a Q&A section with judges.
Hong Kong finalists will be invited to join Greater China final which will take place in Beijing in June (tentative). Country finalist will then be invited to participate in the International final which will take place in Europe.
Established in 2010, the EY’s Young Tax Professional of the Year is an international competition designed to identify young talent with an interest in tax, help them enhance their professional skills and develop their careers. The competition gives participants the opportunity to share experiences with people from a range of backgrounds and cultures, and exposes them to the skills required to be tomorrow’s tax leaders.
The HKU-Accenture Business Consulting Programme aims to give students the exposure to business consulting, equip them with fundamental skills and methodologies for delivering values to big enterprises. Echoing the tagline “Inspire．Empower．Lead” of the HKU Business School, the Programme has INSPIRED and EMPOWERED students to LEAD their own way to success and make a difference in the world.
The Programme complements students’ regular classroom learnings with interactive classes, putting theory into practice through case study exercises. Students also benefit from the in-depth exchanges with industry professionals.
The Programme is ended with a case competition held on March 20, 2021. In response to the impact brought by the pandemic, students were expected to suggest recommendations to a business hard hit under such climate. Judges from Accenture and HKU Business School were impressed by students’ creativity and resourcefulness.
Mr. Ravi Chhabra, Managing Director, Financial Services Hong Kong Lead, Accenture (middle) presents the prize to the Champion team. (Students from left to right) Ng Jade Joyce, BBA(Law)&LLB year 3; Jiang Zhikun, BEcon&Fin, year 2; Leung Si Yiu, BBA(Acc&Fin), year 4 and Chen Minyang, BBA(Acc&Fin), year 3
Mr. Ravi Chhabra presents The Most Innovative and Most Profitable Concept Award to the students. (Students from left to right) Xu Yikang, BEcon, year 3; Sheung Chi Long, BBA(IBGM), year 2; Ryou Soo Min, BBA, year 2; Lam Yuk Lung, BBA(Law)&LLB, year 3 and Chan Lok Yu, BBA(Law)&LLB, year 3.
Ms. Christina Wong, Managing Director, Greater China Consulting Lead, Accenture (right) presents The Best Presenter award to Ryou Soo Min, BBA, year 2 (left).
Stepping into the fifth year, this collaboration continues to groom our young generation. This year, 39 students have completed the Programme with flying colours.
HKU-NWS Joint University Case Competition 2021, co-organised by HKU Business School (the School) and NWS Holdings Limited (NWS), was successfully completed on April 11, 2021.
This year, 16 teams of elite students from City University of Hong Kong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and The University of Hong Kong took part in the 48-hour real-life business case challenge regarding the logistics industry, which is one of the strategic businesses of NWS.
Before the competition, participating students joined an online industrial workshop. Students gained better insights into specific business of NWS as well as the logistics industry after the presentations by Ms. Irene Mak, Associate Director of NWS Holdings Limited, and Mr. Simon Chow, General Manager of ATL Logistics. Mr. Gilbert Ho, Executive Director of NWS Holdings Limited, also shared his experience in business management and views on the development opportunities of the logistics industry with students. Students enjoyed the workshop and gained an in-depth understanding of the logistics industry which better prepared them for the case cracking after a few weeks.
The Preliminary Round and Grand Final Round presentations of the competition were held on April 11. In the Preliminary Round, 16 teams were divided into four divisions and reviewed by panels of alumni judges. The top scorer in each division was advanced to the Grand Final Round to compete for the Championship.
The distinguished panel of judges for the Grand Final included Dr. Winnie Leung, Assistant Dean (Undergraduate) at HKU Business School, Mr. Eric Ma Siu-cheung, GBS, JP, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer at NWS Holdings Limited, Professor Albert Ip, Council Member of HKUST and Independent Non-executive Director at New World Development, Professor Andy Wong, Associate Dean (Undergraduate Studies) at CUHK Business School, and Dr. Zachary Leung, Assistant Professor, Department of Management Sciences, College of Business at CityU. Students presented their case solutions to the judges by showcasing their innovative ideas and responded to penetrating questions from the judges in the Q&A session. Students from the Champion team will be offered internship opportunities at NWS.
Competition results:
Champion: Blackbird Advisory
1st Runner-up: eLab Consulting
2nd Runner-up: Team Cove
Best Presenter: Miss Lam Michelle Mimi Sze Ching (Blackbird Advisory)
This competition is the annual signature event of HKU International Case Society (HICS), a student-run organisation supported by the School which aims to provide a platform for students to hone their case cracking, analytical and presentation skills.
On April 9, 2021, the HKU Beijing Centre (or the Centre) was officially established. An opening ceremony was held at the Asia Financial Centre in Beijing, with over 170 participants, including HKU faculty, alumni and students from MBA and DBA programmes, as well as other distinguished guests.
At the ceremony, Mr. John Leung Chi-yan, Director of The Office of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China in Beijing; Professor Erik Berglof, Chief Economist of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB); Professor Zhenmin Wang, Dean of Tsinghua University School of Law; Professor Haipeng Shen, Associate Dean of HKU Business School; Professor Li Ma, Deputy Director of the School Council of Peking University Guanghua School of Management; and Professor Zhiwen Yin, Associate Dean of Fudan University School of Management, shared their insights on business education and latest economic development during their thought-provoking speeches.
Professor Xiang Zhang, HKU President and Vice-Chancellor, delivered a speech on “New Era, New Development & New Landscape”. He believes that the Centre will become the bridgehead between Beijing and Hong Kong while upholding rigorous scientific attitude and innovative academic spirits, and creating an innovative learning platform with a cross-sectoral and global vision. Professor Hongbin Cai, Dean of HKU Business School also remarked that the establishment of the Centre sets a good example in empowering academic exchange and collaboration between Hong Kong and the mainland.
HKU President Professor Xiang Zhang delivered a keynote speech.
HKU Business School Dean Professor Hongbin Cai joined the opening ceremony remotely.
Located in Asia Financial Center where the AIIB is headquartered, HKU Beijing Centre is at a prestigious location that attracts different international financial, commercial and cultural institutions to set foot on. It offers the ideal environment for quality teaching, interactive learning, networking and research activities. In addition, the design concept of “interconnectivity” of the Asia Financial Centre, echoes perfectly with the Centre’s vision, i.e. to be deeply rooted in Beijing, fully engaged with China, and embrace the changing world.
Leveraging on the unique environment and the state-of-the-art facilities at HKU Beijing Centre, HKU Business School strives to become the cradle for high-end talent development in China, nurturing human capital and leaders that cater to market needs. Courses tailor-made for Chinese executives will be offered at the Centre, so as to equip them with cutting edge knowledge and practical experience, and to sharpen their strategic insights into today’s ever-changing business world.
The Centre will also serve as a platform to foster collaboration between HKU Business School and other top-tier universities in China. Together, we will promote and facilitate the enhancement of fundamental capabilities of China’s scientific innovation to new heights. Moreover, we will utilise our unique advantages in international academic exchange, global talent recruitment and international perspective development, aiming to become the bridge between China and the world in academic and cultural exchange. We strive to create an ideal platform for integrating international education in China.
Capitalising on our extensive teaching resources and experience, the establishment of HKU Beijing Centre will enable HKU Business School to further enhance its reputation and influence in China, to strengthen academic and industry collaboration between the two regions, to nurture the global perspective of talents in all sectors, and to offer them a lifelong learning platform. We believe that the Centre will become a hallmark example of Hong Kong’s academic institution collaborating with China.
HKU Beijing Centre is located on the fifth floor of the Asia Financial Centre.
The courtyard of HKU Beijing Centre.
HKU Beijing Centre provides state-of-the-art facilities for members of the University.
This pandemic happened as we entered what often has been described as the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). As COVID-19 takes the public centre-stage, 4IR has started to gather speed and is dramatically reshaping businesses and our lives. Recent data show that we have vaulted five years forward in consumer and business digital adoption in a matter of around eight weeks. Banks have transitioned to remote sales and service teams and launched digital outreach, propelling fundamental questions of the necessity of physical outlets. Grocery stores have shifted to online ordering and delivery, creating an entirely new operating model and shopping experience. Manufacturers are actively developing plans for “lights out” factories and supply chains, pushing for reconfiguration of the value chain from production to logistics.
In post-COVID-19, we will see pace of change accelerating and impact of change amplifying across all industries and sectors. Organisations that are slow in the speed of transformation for the new digital world are doomed to fail.
Lifelong learning and self-renewal
The exponential change in such unprecedented time calls for the need to create more resilient businesses – companies that are able to make efficient decisions on pivot directions and innovate quickly to get results without consuming excessive time or resources. This puts a premium on the capability and agility of executives to learn, unlearn and relearn.
To this end, business education will become an ongoing process of lifelong learning, and executive education will function as hubs executives can turn to for the latest business and management thinking and evidence-based insights.
*Professor Haipeng SHEN giving a lecture in the HKU-Ivey Executive Leadership Programme in Data Analytics and Big Data (DABD)
To address the challenges confronting executives, HKU Business School Executive Education has evolved apace with trends to help companies and executives stay relevant, informed, and ahead of the curve.
From Courses to Journeys
The accelerating pace of change demands executives of more than just an occasional period of learning events. It requires a commitment to continuous learning and development – a fundamental change in mindset.
HKU Business School Executive Education today works alongside with companies and executives by interjecting periodically substantive modules that are relevant to the specific needs and acts as ‘stepping stones’ to reinforce learning that is matched to on-the-job experience. The deliberate design of intervals and learning activities between modules is critical to the learning journey of executives, allowing them the opportunity to practice, explore and understand what they have learnt in an on-going process.
*Data Scientist Program
With this new model, the challenge of instilling behavioural change in executives to unlock previously untapped management acuity can be overcome, allowing executives to learn, internalise, and get to the next level within a shorter timeframe.
Integrated Support and Development Experience
The learning experience at HKU Business School Executive Education is bolstered by a robust ecosystem of integrated support that draws on academic insights, practical facilitation, coaching support, and business practice.
We leverage on over 130 residential faculty members across six academic areas and the prominence of HKU Business School as a converging point for Western practice and Asian thought leadership. The academic knowledge and expertise are made practical by integrating real-life case studies, hands-on projects, simulations, role-plays, supplemented by coaching and mentoring support and the involvement of prominent industry leaders as facilitators.
*Students of Women’s Directorship Programme
The diverse and integrated support network give executives a wealth of expertise and experience to draw on, preparing them to deal with real-life business issues of mounting uncertainty and complexity.
Multiple Contexts Beyond the Classroom
HKU Business School Executive Education has also made considerable development beyond the traditional classroom into multiple contexts, adding significant depth to the learning experience.
The digital front, through interactions like web conferences, video lectures and interactive digital content, facilitates greater learning opportunities and interactions amongst peers and instructors. The experiential context takes executives out for activities that push them out of their comfort zone, on both physical and psychological journeys that lead them to discover more about themselves. The multi-location context, where modules take place in several worldwide locations, provides contextualised content in each location that comes together in an integrated manner to develop and galvanize a common corporate culture.
*Corporate visit in Singapore for Business Leadership Programme
These different contexts, taken separately or together, enrich the learning experience of executives, their understanding of themselves and the companies they work for.
Empowering businesses, executives, and the alumni community
From grappling with the evolving COVID-19 situation to building a resilient business to weather the storm of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, executives have a lot on their plate. HKU Business School Executive Education is committed to serve the dynamic needs of businesses, executives and the alumni community.
In 2021, we will invest more resources in developing new learning solutions that help executives better cope with unforeseen circumstances, develop problem solving capabilities, and empower creativity and innovation – enabling high-impact learning journeys backed up by integrated support that engage executives in multiple contexts.
As the demand for digitalisation of services is on the increase across every industry, Fintech and Insurtech have been ever-growing in the Asia Pacific region, especially due to the pandemic restricting normal business operations.
Dr. King Au, Adjunct Professor at HKU Business School and Executive Director of Financial Services Development Council (FSDC), and Axiom Managing Director Mr. Alvin Ma, who also serves as Adjunct Assistant Professor at HKU Business School, invited two representatives from the growing Fintech and Insurtech industry, Mr. Ernest Leung of virtual Fintech ‘WeLab’ and Mr. Fred Ngan of online-based virtual Insurtech ‘Bowtie’, as guest speakers to our Asset Management and Private Banking (AMPB) capstone class.
Ernest gave a detailed explanation behind ‘virtual and digital banking’ services such as WeLab, highlighting their aim to reform what is normally a slow, lengthy process to open new bank accounts or approve loans, into something that can all be done within a few minutes: thanks to a smartphone app equipped with edge computing and facial recognition capabilities, making the lives of both clients and banking professionals easier.
Fred, meanwhile, presented the journey of his startup from idea conception to implementation over the past five years. In Dec 2018, Fred’s effort was paid off the Hong Kong Insurance Authority (HKIA) awarding the very first virtual insurer license to Bowtie, a ‘pay as you go’ online medical insurance company offering customer-centric policies with transparency and zero commissions.
Students attending the capstone class had the opportunity to interact with the two Fintech and Insurtech experts and listen to the commentary on both Fintech and Insurtech solutions by Dr. King Au from FSDC and Prof. Anna Wong, AMPB Programme Director of HKU Business School.
In light of the 2021 AMPB cohort being the first class of graduates from HKU by the end of Spring 2021 semester, an initiative was taken to showcase and prepare future financial professionals for the workforce. Specifically, the surge in ‘Fintech’; financial-tech services that would be streamlining various aspects within private wealth management and the financial sector as a whole.
Mr. Fred Ngan of ‘Bowtie’ receives the souvenirs from HKU Business School
Mr. Ernest Leung of ‘WeLab’ receives the souvenirs from HKU Business School
From Left: Dr. King Au of FSDC; Mr. Ernest Leung of ‘WeLab’; Mr. Fred Ngan of ‘Bowtie’; Prof. Anna Wong of HKU Business School & Mr. Alvin Ma of Axiom
Dr. Shiyang Huang, Assistant Professor in Finance, is the recipient of the Faculty Outstanding Researcher Award 2020-21.
Dr. Huang’s research agenda focuses on financial economics and empirical asset pricing. He has published research papers in several academic journals including Journal of Financial Economics, Management Science and Journal of Economic Theory. He also won the best paper awards at academic conferences, including Best Paper Award at 7th Melbourne Asset Pricing Meeting, Conference Best Paper Award at China International Conference in Finance of 2019, Best Paper Award at 14th Annual Conference in Financial Economics Research by Eagle Labs (IDC) of 2017.
The Selection Committee acknowledges the high quality and quantity of Dr. Huang’s research publications, and his important contributions through novel research during his service with the University of Hong Kong.
The Faculty Outstanding Researcher Award was established to honour and reward faculty members for having done excellent research and achieved international recognition in the field of business and economics.
