HKU Business School strives to become the leading powerhouse of research and knowledge creation in Asia with global impact. In the recent announcement by the Research Grants Council (RGC), The School attained encouraging results on the two competitive research funding schemes, General Research Fund (GRF) and Early Career Scheme (ECS), which are both initiatives to encourage and support academics to pursue research excellence.
The total amount of funding received by HKU Business School from the two schemes hits a new record high of $16 million, which is a 11% increase from $14.4 million in 2020/21. The overall success rate of 47% is the highest among the Business Studies Panel. This rate is also above the Panel average of 36%.
Our School also yielded the best performance among all participating institutions in the Business Studies Panel in ECS. The success rate of 75% topped the rank among others in the Business Studies Panel. There is also a record-high funding amounted to $3.6 million, which represented a significant growth of 80% as compared with that in 2020/21.
This encouraging result in GRF and ECS is the concerted efforts of all faculty members, which also signifies our commitment to fulfilling the vision of becoming a leading, globally impactful academic institution of business and economics. HKU Business School has been proactively recruiting global scholars to strengthen our research capability and enable impactful research. In the past 3 years, over 40 outstanding scholars joined HKU Business School from all over the world, enabling the School to further pursue academic excellence, advance the knowledge frontiers and achieve new heights.
Looking forward, HKU Business School will continue to work together, through research and knowledge exchange initiatives, with a wide spectrum of stakeholders of the society, aiming to contribute our expertise in the development of the community and to create positive impact locally and globally.
The seminar on Financial Services Development in Hong Kong amidst an Ever-changing World co-hosted by HKU Business School and the Hong Kong Academy of Finance (AoF), was successfully held on 16 July. Over 250 students, alumni, and members of the AoF had joined us via zoom or in person.
Facing the challenges of geopolitical tensions and the rise of disruptive technologies, stakeholders of Hong Kong must unite and fathom new strategies to breakthrough. Against this backdrop, we have collaborated with the AoF, a renowned academic hub dedicated in bridging the intellectual might of academia, the industry, professional training institutes and the regulatory community. We are honoured to invite Mr. KC Kwok, CEO of AoF, and three gargantuan elites from the banking, securities, and insurance sectors, to share with us their sagacious knowledge.
Professor Yuk-fai Fong, Associate Dean (Taught Postgraduate) and Professor of Management and Strategy and Economics, kick-started the seminar with an overview of the challenges our financial sector are facing. Mr. KC Kwok then further elaborated his points with detailed statistics, pointing out that our financial sector is undaunted by the pandemic and its lion share in our GDP will only keep expanding. “As Hong Kong is working with international partners in the development of digital currency projects for cross-border payments, we will carry more clout in the global financial market. But against the backdrop of a low-interest rate, regulators and investors have to remain vigilant,” said Mr. Kwok.
The banking sector has not slacked, and local banks have been working closely with regulatory authorities on the development and promotion of fintech. Ms. Miranda Kwok, President and Executive Director, China Construction Bank (Asia), had also used her career story to demonstrate the adaptability and vigour of local banking elites. “While some criticise that our regulations are too tight for innovation, the stability of our banking sector must not be sacrificed. We innovate in accordance to the market’s demand,” said Ms. Kwok.
Ms. Ding Chen, CEO, CSOP Asset Management Limited, told us that the problems of income inequality, climate changes, and ageing population, are imminent threats to the world. As such, investments in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) related issues will become increasingly important, so as the role of data science in these aspects. “It is easier to collect international financial transaction data in Hong Kong compared to other mainland cities, which makes it the excellent place for quantitative trading and big data development,” commented Ms. Ding. She observed that local business schools have conducted excellent research over the years, but more communication between the private sector and academia is needed to better utilise this great treasure. Mr. KC Kwok agreed, and he told us that the AoF has been advocating applied research in recent years.
As the world changes rapidly and unseen threat like COVID emerges, Mr. Jingwei Jia, CEO Greater China, Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, believed that risk assessments are increasingly difficult and Hong Kong must develop its tech capability to stay relevant. He exhorted students to be humble and innovative to leverage on the mass market of the mainland. “As geopolitical tensions worsens, more of the mainland’s emphasis has inevitably shifted inwards, Hong Kong’s position as China’s gateway will be further strengthened,” said Mr. Jia.
Our distinguished guests have shown us that fintech, ESG, and quantitative trading are the feasible paths we should take. The future may be unpredictable, but as our students are equipped with patience, perseverance, and good communication skills, we believe that they can grasp every opportunity and excel.
HKU Business School has been focusing on economic policy research over the years and is committed to becoming a powerhouse of research and expertise hub on economic and business trend, Fintech and AI and regional finance, so as to contribute to the local, regional and global economy. Our scholars have participated in the Federation of Hong Kong Industries’ (FHKI) “Made by Hong Kong – The Way Forward for Hong Kong Industries” Research, with an aim of reviewing Hong Kong-invested manufacturers’ current operations and business strategies in local and global contexts.
The research, which is also a project in celebration of FHKI’s 60th Anniversary, is funded by the Trade and Industrial Organisation Support Fund under the Trade and Industry Department of the HKSAR Government, and conducted by the research team from the Hong Kong Centre for Economic Research under HKU Business School.
In July 2021, FHKI organised the “Made by Hong Kong – The Way Forward for Hong Kong Industries” Research Report Presentation and Knowledge Exchange Forum. At the Forum, representatives of FHKI presented major research findings and policy recommendations for the future industrial development of Hong Kong. Speakers from the industry and academia were invited to share their expert views on Hong Kong’s industrial policies and the development pathways for Hong Kong-invested manufacturers.
Mr. Paul Chan, the Financial Secretary of the HKSAR Government, stated in his opening remarks, “The Research revealed that many Hong Kong manufacturers deployed the ‘China-Plus-One’ by setting up new production lines in ASEAN economies to cope with trading challenges arising from international political dynamics. This strategy demonstrates the vision and agility of Hong Kong manufacturers and reflects that Government supportive measures align with market needs. The Research conducted by FHKI brings together invaluable insights from trade associations, scholars and enterprises, providing useful references for the Government to formulate up-and-coming industrial policies.”
Professor Richard Wong, Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of The University of Hong Kong, Chair of Economics & Philip Wong Kennedy Wong Professor in Political Economy, and Director of Hong Kong Institute of Economics and Business Strategy shared his views on the transformation of Hong Kong’s industrial structure at the event. He said, ‘The technological advancement, well-established system, intellectual property, trade contracts, fair trials and appropriate market supervision are essential for the globalisation of the supply chain. Apart from investing in the hardware facilities, Hong Kong should build up more intangible assets such as knowledge, innovative researches and human capital, reform the current land and human resources policies and promote the industrial transformation for repositioning Hong Kong. I believe the brand of “Hong Kong” is still enjoying a comparative advantage and it contains sufficient conditions to perform “Re-industrialisation”. It is now the opportune time for Hong Kong manufacturers to capitalise on the opportunities brought forth by industrial transformation and develop innovation-driven industries in the Greater Bay Area and nearby regions.
Photo Caption: Professor Richard Wong sharing his views on the transformation of Hong Kong’s industrial structure.
In addition, Professor Tao Zhigang, Director, Institute for China and Global Development and HSBC Professor in Global Economy and Business Strategy, HKU Business School, together with three outstanding industry representatives, including Mr. Chang Ka-mun, Managing Director of Fung Business Intelligence Centre; Mr. Stephen Wong, Senior Vice President and Executive Director of Public Policy Institute of Our Hong Kong Foundation; and Mr. Stanley Tsui, Group Chief Operating Officer of ASM Pacific Technology Limited, had an intellectual discussion on the future development pathways of and policy facilitation for Hong Kong’s manufacturing sector, with regard to national industrial strategy, regional advancement, nurturing of local talent pool and status of advanced manufacturing sectors.
Photo Caption: Scholars and industry leaders gathered to discuss the future development of Hong Kong’s manufacturing sector.
According to the Research, ever since Hong Kong manufacturers moved northward in the 1980s, the production activities of Hong Kong-invested manufacturers in the Mainland have driven the demand of local producer services, shifting Hong Kong towards a service industry-oriented economy. It is estimated that in 2019, Hong Kong-invested manufacturers generated HK$680.1 billion worth of profit in the Mainland China, equivalent to nearly one-fourth (23.7%) of Hong Kong’s GDP. If the service industry is split into sub-categories, producer services in Hong Kong is on a continuous rise to reach 42.2% of GDP in 2019, which provides evidence for the economic contribution of offshore manufacturing activities to Hong Kong.
Based on the current conditions and business strategies of Hong Kong-invested manufacturers and global trends, FHKI summarised three major advocacies to the Government for formulating specific and long-term industrial policy with Hong Kong’s advantages and industrial foundation to create more diverse economy and employment in Hong Kong. They are: 1) Developing local “re-industrialisation” of selected industries to build core technological competence, 2) Strengthening Producer Services to Become the Hub of Regional Manufacturing Development and 3) Review Economic Data to Reflect Industrial Development.
Dr. Daniel Yip, Chairman of FHKI, said “Under the transformation in manufacturing activities and Hong Kong’s shift towards producer services, the traditionally ‘Made in Hong Kong’, which represents products manufacturers locally, should now be more broadly understood as ‘Made by Hong Kong’ covering diverse products that are researched and developed, designed and produced by Hong Kong-invested manufacturers with the intellectual and quality excellence originated from Hong Kong. We hope that the Government will look into how Hong Kong industries can reach new heights riding on the booming development in Asia and advancement of manufacturing sector, especially through the ‘re-industrialisation’ of selected industries to groom core technology and talents, as well as sustaining the growth of ‘Made by Hong Kong’.”
Special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) – the shell companies whose sole purpose is to identify a private firm to merge with – have become an increasingly important channel for firms to raise money. In 2020, for instance, in the U.S. alone, 248 SPAC IPOS raised $83.4 billion, much more than that raised by traditional IPOs. However, SPACs are also known for underperforming after the acquisition. Since the identity of the merged firm is not known prior to the IPO, and there is little other advance information, investors must place their trust in SPAC sponsors. A recent research by the scholars from the University of Hong Kong (HKU) shows there are discernible factors that can indicate the relative success of a SPAC.
The research was conducted by Professor Chen Lin, Chair of Finance and Stelux Professor in Finance, Professor Roni Michaely, Professor in Finance, Dr. Fangzhou Lu, Assistant Professor in Finance, and Ms. Shihua Qin, Research Postgraduate Student from HKU Business School.
SPAC sponsors are more important than in traditional IPOs because, similar to VC’s general partners, investors rely on them to select the right firm to merge with later. The sponsors are also subject to few checks and balances, and a large part of their compensation is not tied to long-term performance, hence increasing the likelihood of less successful deals. All this means that the credentials, reputation, and quality of SPAC sponsors, which the research measures using their network centrality, can be essential to a SPAC IPO’s eventual success. Network centrality measures how connected managers are, the extent to which they can exert influence in a social network, and the ability to obtain information. These features make network centrality a good proxy for the reputation, experience, and quality of SPACs sponsors. This research shows that the strength and extent of sponsors’ network connections in the private equity and venture capital industries is a major predictor of their performance. Sponsors with high network centrality are associated with better IPO fundraising, better acquisition targets, and better long-run stock returns, as well as the significantly higher operational performance of the target firm post-merger.
The research used data from 390 SPACs that had their IPOs between 2003 and June 2020, including information on sponsors’ work experience and network connections in relation to private equities (PEs) and venture capitals (VCs). The decision to focus on PE/VC network centrality to indicate sponsor quality was based on other evidence that having strong networks of social and professional relationships is important when picking and sourcing good merger targets. Better networks also usually mean access to more potential funding during IPOs, as well as better access to institutional investors (or PIPE, for private investment in public equity), which is usually needed for a business combination to be successfully completed. Finally, network centrality also signals to investors that the sponsors have some recognition of success and are regarded as trustworthy by others.
The research finds that fund-raising was significantly enhanced by sponsors with high PE/VC network centrality over those with low centrality. A one standard deviation increase in centrality translated into a $44.67 million increase in IPO proceeds and a $53.87 million increase in PIPE investors. These results are substantial given the average IPO in the research sample had proceeds totaling $198 million, and the average PIPE investment was $79 million.
Well-connected sponsors were also able to more quickly identify target firms to merge with, taking two months less to complete the business combination. The average, in comparison, was 20.5 months. And they revealed more information about their target based on the word count of their Form S-4 filings. A one standard deviation increase in network centrality was associated with a 12% increase in the quantity of information disclosed. Considering the general paucity of information on SPAC IPOs, this is something that investors should welcome as more information can potentially lead to greater business combination success and operational performance. In fact, this is what the team saw in further investigations. A one standard deviation in network centrality led to a 3.7% greater probability that the merger and acquisition would succeed. Most importantly, it was also associated with better long-term performance: revenue was 15.2% higher before the merge, and Tobin’s Q was 17.4% higher after the merge. And a one standard deviation increase in PE network centrality leads to a 2.1% higher post-merger monthly Fama-French three-factor alpha during the 2-year period after the business combination. All of these support the notion that sponsors with higher network centrality are better at sourcing and picking target firms to work with, and they also to some extent have a positive impact on the firms after the merge.
One implication of the result is that regulators might want to consider implementing some pre-requisite qualifications of SPAC sponsors, and put some restrictions on how they are being compensated. By improving the quality of SPAC sponsors and limiting the dilution structure, SPACs can possibly become a viable channel for firms to go public. Given SPACs’ poor long-term performance, implementing these policy recommendations is also likely to reduce SPACs overall underperformance and better protect investors when they invest in these instruments.
Professor Anthony Yeh (middle in left grid), Professor Zhigang Tao (left in left grid) and Professor George Lin (right in left grid) invited nine distinguished panellists representing leaders of trade, industry and academia to share their insights into Hong Kong’s new economic roles and economic cooperation models in the Greater Bay Area. The distinguished panelists are Mr. C.M. Chan, Vice-President, The Law Society of Hong Kong; Mr. Ka-mun Chang, Managing Director, Li & Fung Development (China) Ltd and Secretary General, 2022 Foundation; Mr. David Graham, Executive Director, The British Chamber of Commerce; Mr. Nicholas Kwan, Director of Research, Hong Kong Trade Development Council; Mr. Thomas Lee, President, Hong Kong Institute of Planners; Mr. George Siu-kay Leung, CEO, The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce; Ir Prof. Paul Hon-yan Tsui, Vice-President, The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in Hong Kong; Professor Lap-Chee Tsui, President, Hong Kong Academy of Sciences; and Dr. Daniel Yip, Chairman, Federation of Hong Kong Industries
The University of Hong Kong has a long history of active research on the Pearl River Delta after China’s economic reform and Open-Door Policy in 1978. Since the early 2000s, the University has been conducting policy-oriented and academic research relating to Hong Kong and Pearl River Delta (now known as the Greater Bay Area, GBA) development in a bid to inform business leaders and policymakers about the opportunities and challenges in the GBA.
On Friday, July 9, a webinar with over 200 registered participants was held to present and discuss the findings of a latest strategic public policy research project “In Search of New Economic Cooperation Models between Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area” funded by the Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office (PICO) of the HKSAR Government.
The webinar began with welcoming remarks by Professor Richard Y.C. Wong, Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong and Mr. Benjamin Mok, Deputy Commissioner for the Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area of the Hong Kong SAR Government.
Professor Richard Y.C. Wong, Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong delivered a pre-recorded opening speech.
Mr. Benjamin Mok Kwan-yu, Deputy Commissioner for the Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area of the Hong Kong SAR Government was invited to give opening remarks.
Following the presentations on major findings of the studies and possible new economic cooperation models, nine panellists representing both the private and public sectors joined a panel discussion to exchange their views on how Hong Kong can capitalise on the opportunities brought about by the development of the GBA and proactively develop innovative policies to implement new economic cooperation models between Hong Kong and the GBA.
This interdisciplinary research project was led by Professor Anthony Yeh of HKU Department of Urban Planning and Design, with Professor Zhigang Tao of HKU Business School, Professor George Lin of HKU Department of Geography, Dr. Xingjian Liu of HKU Department of Urban Planning and Design, and Dr. Fiona Yang of the School of Geography and Urban Planning of Sun Yat-Sen University as co-investigators. It aims to search for new economic cooperation models between Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area in a knowledge-based high-tech economy.
A Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area Information Net that provides a one-stop portal about the 9+2 cities in the Greater Bay Area has been produced by the research project. Find out more: http://www.dupad.hku.hk/hkprd/greaterbay/english/index.htm
The Bachelor of Finance in Asset Management and Private Banking programme was founded in 2017, the first cohort of 23 students will be graduating, most of them this summer and a few (who have taken gap term) next semester/year.
Five of them have decided to pursue a Master degree joining King’s College London, Imperial London College, Carnegie Mellon University, Waseda University and the University of Hong Kong. One student is returning to his home country in Europe.
Of the remaining 17 students, all of them have secured their graduate job or internship (for those who graduate next semester/year). Six (35% out of the 17) of them are joining Private Banking/Retail Wealth Management, five (29%) of them are joining Investment Banks/Securities Firms, four (24%) of them are joining Asset Management, one (6%) of them is joining Consulting. Interestingly, one student (6%) decided to start his own “start-up”.
Asset Management and Private Banking First Cohort of 23 Students going into…
Recruiting firms include BNP Paribas, BOC International, Bretteville Consulting, China Asset Management, CCB International, Fidelity, Goldman Sachs, Guotai Junan International, HSBC, Julius Baer, Millennium Management, Pictet, Societe Generale, Standard Chartered and UBS.
Congratulations to the first graduating cohort and we look forward to your sharing with your junior AMPBers in the years to come. Stay connected. CONGRATULATIONS!
Congratulations to Dr. Bonnie Hayden Cheng, Associate Professor of Management and Strategy, on winning the Faculty Knowledge Exchange (KE) Award 2021 in recognition of her commitment to transforming corporate wellness into business strategy during COVID-19.
Due to the global pandemic arising in 2020, companies were suddenly faced with a crisis surrounding the mental health of their workforce: How do companies prioritize workplace wellness to support their key assets?
To address these challenges surrounding mental health and workplace wellness, Dr. Cheng designed a series of KE activities to enhance corporate wellness in companies during the pandemic, “Corporate Wellness 2.0: Enhancing Workplace Wellness during COVID-19“. These KE activities achieved significant impact in the following areas:
– Promoting corporate wellness by designing and assessing mental health and wellness initiatives
– Providing organisations with customised programmes to promote mental health and wellness, build resilience, and harness work anxiety to enhance productivity
– Championing workplace wellness during COVID-19 at the corporate (top-down) and employee (bottom-up) levels
– Advancing awareness and understanding of mental health at all levels of the corporate hierarchy, normalising conversations on mental health at work and reducing stigma
Introduced in 2011, the Faculty KE Award was established to recognise Faculty’s outstanding KE accomplishments that have made demonstrable economic, social, or cultural impacts to benefit the community, business/industry, or partner organisations.
The webinar on How to build and scale up fintech projects & startups in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area, co-hosted by HKU Business School and Institute of Financial Technologists of Asia (IFTA), was successfully held on June 16, with more than 100 participants joining us on such a fruitful evening.
In the opening remarks, Mr. Joseph Chan, Associate Director of the Centre of Asian Entrepreneurship and Business Values of HKU Business School, laid out the School’s vision to become a catalyst in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Community in Hong Kong, China and overseas. He highlighted the exciting news about the opening of the School’s Beijing Centre and the Shenzhen Centre, which aims to better support the entrepreneurs to explore the market outside Hong Kong and to build the community with the change makers. This interactive webinar co-organised with IFTA is a good example to demonstrate the School’s dedication to contributing to the fintech and entrepreneurship ecosystem in Hong Kong with an aim towards aspiring fintech innovation and unleashing fintech companies’ potential.
Our honourable guests from IFTA shared with us their experience, insight and tips about fintech startups and scale-up in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area (GBA). While many believe that opening a startup is a privilege to young people with minimal liabilities, Mr. Benjamin Wong, Co-Founder & CEO of TranSwap, proved that those with rich work experience can excel on the path of entrepreneurship. “An entrepreneur must be resolute, resourceful, and resilient, as there is no standard operating procedure to follow when you are pushing at the frontiers of unknown territory,” said Mr. Wong. He believed that locals with the aspiration to disrupt and make the change, should take a leap of faith and run a startup. It is never too late to start a business.
Mr. Albert Yip, Chairman of Syndicate Capital, posited that funders look for scalable startups that can achieve sustainable market leadership and growth to invest in. “For a startup to scale up, strong cash flow, a workable IT system, and an all-rounded team are the prerequisites. A scalable startup must also keep on redefining its business model, seeking new funders, and conducting research and development to catch up with the global trends,” said Mr. Yip.
He recommended the startup companies expand into the GBA market and play a birding role in co-creating an ecosystem conducive to business. While most local startups have concerns over the institutional differences between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland, Mr. Yip believed that local fintech entrepreneurs can find strategic partners, community builders and professional bodies to cover their shortcomings, and leverage the GBA talents for applications development. Mr. Benjamin Wong also agreed that no one can ignore the rise of China and the big GBA market, in the course of building a good ecosystem for startups in Singapore.
When the Chinese government is actively promoting the idea of E-RMB and e-payment technologies, Mr. Yip advocated that Hong Kong should strive to be a research hub on blockchain and digital currency, as well as start cultivating a talent pool together with talents from both the GBA and overseas countries. By doing so, Hong Kong can be the perfect testing ground to test run E-RMB or even E-HKD, further enriching our fintech ecosystem.
Yet, while digital currency could solve the liquidity issue in cross-border trade, making transactions almost instant, Mr. Wong agreed that there is a long road of cross-country compliance issues to be resolved and a complex regulatory regime to be made for digital currency to go mainstream in international trades. However, he was still very positive about the future and believed that the development of machine learning and 5G would greatly speed up innovation, logistics, and lead to more breakthroughs.
At the end of the webinar, Dr. Kin Hang Chan, Associate Director of Centre for Asian Entrepreneurship and Business Values of HKU Business School and an academic award winner in artificial intelligence (AI) research, concluded that entrepreneurship is about evaluating, finding opportunities, and turning them into marketable products and services. All speakers looked forward that local startups can continue to look out for opportunities in the GBA and thrive. The key to success is to have a functional business model and an ecosystem that can facilitate fundraising.
The global credit default swaps (CDS) market has experienced rapid growth in recent years. While CDS can be used to hedge risk or speculate, they are also widely used as a type of credit derivative for banks to get allowance on credit relief and hence, reduce the required capital to meet the regulatory requirements. A research by Professor Dragon Youngjun Tang, Professor in Finance at HKU Business School and other co-authors discovers that banks using CDS for capital relief have effectively freed up extra capital for businesses, but at the same time are more likely to extend loans and build up riskier loan portfolios.
The research is done by Professor Dragon Youngjun Tang and co-authors Dr. Chenyu Shan of Shanghai University of Finance & Economic, Professor Hong Yan of Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance and Dr. Xing Zhou of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. It studied 105 large US banks on their CDS trades, required capital, loan transactions, and other financial information from 2001 to 2014. The paper was also published on “Review of Finance” early this year, which is one of the Top 5 journals for Finance academic researches.
Comparing with banks that trade CDS for speculation, banks using CDS for capital relief do perform better in terms of profit, Return-on-Assets and Return-on-Equity. “The profit margin in the banking industry is not very high, and therefore it is rational for banks to expand their total asset base to earn more,” said Professor Tang. “In general, banks can free up 10 – 15% of their required capital after using CDS, allowing them to conduct more businesses.”
However, as using CDS on outstanding loans makes institutions appear safer to regulators and shareholders, its real consequence to the market is also worth studying. During financial crisis, the cost for CDS protection will inevitably be driven up and the role of CDS in risk transfer and capital relief will shrink. As banks relying on CDS for capital relief may have built up riskier loan portfolios, they are more likely to face liquidity shortages and are unable to maintain their regulatory capital ratio during financial crisis. Even if they can use CDS to achieve capital relief, the amount of capital they save via CDS can be much less than the amount of liquidity they need. As a result, they are more likely to request government bailouts than banks that trades CDS for speculation. “In order words, by buying CDS, banks have transferred their risks to the tax payers in times of financial crisis.” said Professor Tang.
Nevertheless, Professor Tang still believes that the existence of CDS is still conducive to the financial market. He remarks that the CDS market was very active prior to the Coronavirus pandemic. Hedge funds and institutional investors alike had managed to hedge most of their risks thanks to CDS. As CDS does increase the performance of banks, this financial innovation can deliver better welfare to shareholders. Moreover, the more liquidity available, the easier it is for businesses to finance themselves and propel economic growth. As the CDS market is taking off in the mainland, Professor Tang believes that the key is to have an effective regulatory regime to guide the market. “We can learn from past mistakes and try to achieve better results in the future.”
Congratulations to Geraldi Harlan, a year 1 BBA(Acc&Fin) student and Aurell Sulaiman, a year 1 BSc(QFin) student, who have won the Championship at the Hong Kong Semi-Final of CGMA Global Business Challenge. The team, comprised of two students from our School and two other members from the Faculty of Engineering, competed in the GBC 2021 North Asia Final with the winning teams from Mainland China, Macau, Japan, Taiwan and Mongolia. They have won the Awards of Commendations and Geraldi has received the Future Business Leader Award in the North Asia Final.
The competition adopted an actual case scenario under the CIMA professional qualification and required student teams to apply and integrate their business knowledge to help solve practical problems.
The team believed that team cohesion was essential for them in winning the competition. “Teamwork is one of the essential building blocks of success in a case competition. Without it, no matter how good the content of the presentation is, the overall delivery would be adversely affected and leave a bad impression to the judges.” They also thought it’s crucial to have a strong sense of self-belief. “Although our team comprises of freshmen from the Business and Engineering Faculties, we are able to make it to the final round and stand out from the competitors who are senior students with more experiences and advanced knowledge.”
CGMA Global Business Challenge (GBC) 2021, initiated by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), is an international business competition designed to bring out the best in the young business leaders of tomorrow.
Photo Caption: Professor Richard Wong sharing his views on the transformation of Hong Kong’s industrial structure.
