School News

HKU Business School (or the “School”) has always been at the forefront of knowledge creation and achieved remarkable results. The theme-based research project coordinated by Professor Chen Lin, Associate Dean of the School, together with 30 other proposals submitted to the Research Grants Council (RGC), have been awarded a total funding of HK$37 million. The funding amount marks a record high of the School over the past decade and the success rate in Business Studies Panel topped the rank among seven local institutes.

Professor Hongbin Cai, Dean of the School, mentioned, “We are committed to becoming the leading powerhouse of research and knowledge creation in Asia with global impact. The multiple RGC funding awards represent the recognition of our achievement and excellence in economics and international business research. We have strengthened our research team by recruiting 45 outstanding scholars around the world in the last three years. We are dedicated continue to recruiting more talents and to conduct impactful researches for economic and business development”.

Research Proposal from HKU Scholar Awarded Theme-based Research Scheme

Professor Chen Lin has been awarded HK$22,000,000 in the RGC Theme-based Research Scheme 2020/21 (Tenth Round) for the proposal titled “Financial Technology, Stability, and Inclusion”. The research project aims to enhance Hong Kong’s strategic position as a Regional and International Business Centre by developing a scientific framework on credit risk assessment and management for small businesses and consumers.

Dean Cai revealed that Professor Lin has been focusing on FinTech research in recent years and has ample experience in the field. He has already worked with a large-scale financial institute and leading FinTech companies on similar risk management model with impressive results. The research project coordinated by Professor Lin is the only business and economics themed project awarded RGC funding this year. The research findings will certainly bring positive impact to the future development of Hong Kong. “I am grateful to Professor Lin and his team’s efforts. The research proposal, being recognised by the evaluation panel, is a proof to the outstanding research quality of HKU Business School,” said Dean Cai.

Professor Lin said, “We are honored to receive the Theme-based Research Scheme funding this year, which enhances the development of HKU Business School. This research project is closely related to our daily lives, and will significantly and positively affecting the societal and economic development of Hong Kong in the future. We will convene a team of experts in finance, economics, law, data science and engineering from top schools and institutes in Hong Kong and Mainland China, including The Chinese University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Lingnan University, Peking University, Tsinghua University and Chinese Academy of Sciences. We will also collaborate with world-leading FinTech companies and form an advisory board comprising Nobel Laureates in economics, as well as policy-making experts like IMF. The deliverables will help Hong Kong transit from a traditional International Financial Centre to a FinTech hub.”

4 Main Points of The Project “Financial Technology, Stability, and Inclusion”

1. Small businesses and consumers are key forces of economic growth worldwide, yet they are traditionally underfinanced due to lack of readily measurable information to assess their risks. The project aims to address this grand challenge question: How to assess risks of small business and consumers and provide adequate financing for them?
2. The project will develop a scientific framework for dynamic credit risk assessment and management for small businesses and consumers, which provides guidance and toolkit for firms and policy makers in credit solutions and risk management.
3. The project will develop macro models with FinTech features to understand the risk transmission channels and provide policy guidance on financial stability.
4. The project will conduct analysis on other legal and regulatory aspects of the FinTech industry, such as FinTech industry competition, data protection and sharing.

The RGC has recently announced the funding results of General Research Fund (GRF) and Early Career Scheme (ECS) in 2020/2021. HKU Business School has submitted a total of 61 research proposals.  Nearly half of them (49%) i.e. 30 research proposals have been awarded RGC funding. In regard to GRF, 26 out of the 53 submitted proposals (49%) have been awarded a total funding of HK$12.4 million. The result of HKU Business School in ECS is also outstanding, with 4 out of the 8 submitted proposals (50%) awarded a total funding of HK$1.9 million.