Thought Leadership

Key Takeaways Net-zero portfolios (NZPs), managing over $130 trillion USD in assets, align financial performance with climate goals. These portfolios reward firms that actively reduce emissions while excluding those lagging behind, driving market incentives for decarbonization. The study introduces distance to exit (DTE), a forward-looking metric that measures a firm’s risk of exclusion from NZPs based on its carbon footprint and decarbonization efforts. Firms with higher DTEs—seen as safer from exclusion—tend to have higher valuations but lower expected returns, highlighting the market’s pricing of carbon-transition risks. DTE serves as both a risk measure and a catalyst for action, incentivizing firms to accelerate decarbonization to remain in NZPs, while enabling portfolios to achieve up to 95% reductions in carbon intensity without sacrificing sector diversification. Source Publication: 

Key Takeaways The agricultural export value of Brazil has quadrupled over the last two decades due to rising global demand. Brazil’s agricultural export boom drives deforestation: between 1997 and 2019, trade-induced agricultural expansion led to the loss of 3.6 million hectares of forest. Trade-induced deforestation causes severe health consequences: it results in over 700,000 premature deaths, primarily from cardio-respiratory diseases linked to pollution from deforestation in upwind areas. The economic cost of these deaths is estimated at $513 billion USD—about 18% of Brazil’s total agricultural export value during the same period. These findings highlight the negative health impacts of trade-induced deforestation and the resulting regional inequality, because mortality costs and economic benefits are not always shared by the same populations. Source Publication: 

Key Takeaways This study develops a theoretical framework to explore how carbon taxes and financial market tools (e.g., sustainability-linked loans and bonds) interact in reducing carbon emissions. Carbon taxes remain the most effective tool for achieving emission reductions and increasing welfare but are often politically constrained. Carbon-contingent financing provides an alternative incentive for standard agents to adopt green technologies, but its effectiveness depends on the financial resources of environmentally motivated agents who are funding the transition. Although carbon taxes and market-based solutions can coexist, carbon-contingent financing may undermine political support for taxes, potentially reducing their overall effectiveness in addressing emissions. The model’s predictions emphasize the need for a balanced climate strategy, whereby carbon taxes and financial market solutions complement each other by targeting different regions or sectors with distinct characteristics. Source Publication: 

While computer languages may sound alien to economics, I aim to showcase that good programming skills are conducive not limited to economic research, it can also open up endless career possibilities for you in the business world.

As a teacher, I will push myself to understand the expectations of local employers' and the market dynamics of Hong Kong.

As a science person, I am impressed by our students' strong business acumen. But as a teacher, other than teaching them how to use quantitative tools to make scientific claims, I also hope that I can encourage them to continue to stay inquisitive about the world and apply their classroom knowledge for the betterment of the society.

Gambling tax tends to return to the spotlight whenever public finances come under pressure. In this HKEJ column, the authors argue that gambling mainly transfers wealth rather than creating it. A HK$100 lottery ticket produces no new goods or services, and the money could otherwise have been spent on dining or retail. The Hong Kong Jockey Club returned HK$39.3 billion to society in 2025/26, yet research suggests that lower-income groups spend a larger share of their income on betting. The authors conclude that gambling policy should be judged by its net social benefit, not the size of its tax revenue.

Whenever the topic of semiconductors comes up at academic banquets, someone always asks me: Japan was so strong back then, so why didn’t it produce a company like Samsung or TSMC? That’s a very good question, but upon closer reflection, it’s somewhat misplaced.

On November 26, 2025, an unprecedented fire broke out at Hong Fu Court in Tai Po, drawing widespread attention from all sectors of society. In addition to the full-scale rescue efforts by various government departments, including the Fire Services Department, and social welfare organizations, companies also quickly mobilized as an important force in disaster relief.

When “Colleague.skill” went viral in April 2026, it showed how a departing employee’s chats, documents and emails could be distilled into an AI “digital double”. In an article for FT Chinese, Prof. Ping Yu, Associate Professor in Economics, and Dr. Yifei Zhang, Senior Lecturer in Economics at HKU Business School, argue that this overturns a core assumption of labour economics: that human capital leaves with the worker. Once codifiable skills can be copied at near-zero cost, wages will reflect only the tacit judgement that cannot be distilled, and bargaining power weakens. Their advice: work out how much of your pay rewards each, and invest in the latter.

People hope that AI can make organizational decision-making more democratic and rational. In reality, while AI makes high-quality judgments accessible to everyone, it also provides new leverage for unchecked power. More equal information does not necessarily mean more equal power.

US-China Economic and Trade Negotiations Help Manage Disagreements, but Industry-Level Trade Disputes Will Not Automatically Disappear. Since last year's Busan summit and President Trump's visit to China in May this year, both sides have continued to advance dialogue.

The APEC Finance Ministers’ Meeting was held in Hong Kong for the first time, while Shenzhen will host the Economic Leaders’ Meeting next month. Prof. Heiwai Tang, Associate Dean of the HKU Business School and Director of the APEC Study Centre, said in interviews with various media outlets that this year’s APEC arrangement clearly demonstrates the collaborative strengths of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. As an international financial centre, Hong Kong not only serves as a global financing platform but can also export its expertise in professional services. Coupled with Shenzhen’s strong innovation and technology capabilities, the two cities complement one another, creating a synergy where “1 + 1 is greater than 2” and further enhancing China’s overall economic competitiveness. Prof. Tang pointed out that many economies are currently experiencing a “K-shaped economy,” in which sectors such as finance and artificial intelligence continue to grow, while traditional industries face mounting challenges. Through the Finance Ministers’ Meeting, participating economies can engage in in-depth discussions on how to leverage “Finance+” initiatives to empower the real economy and advance inclusive finance to satisfy a broader set of companies and individuals’ financing needs. He concluded that the Finance Ministers’ Meeting lays important groundwork for the Economic Leaders’ Meeting to be held in Shenzhen next month, helping to advance cooperation among economies across the Asia-Pacific region.

Hong Kong is the premier offshore RMB hub for trade and settlement. Speaking at a forum of Hong Kong Economic Journal, Prof. Edward K Y Chen, Honorary Professor at HKU Business School, highlighted that Hong Kong should transform from a "super-connector" into an "innovator" to anchor capital locally and foster economic growth. The key to this transition lies in product innovation and liquidity. Prof. Chen noted that the market currently lacks long-term RMB bond liquidity instruments to establish a complete yield curve and provide a more accurate benchmark for RMB pricing. On products, he recommended that Hong Kong develop RMB-denominated green bonds, commodity trading such as gold, and asset trusts. Green bonds, in particular, would not only reduce interest expenses and save currency conversion costs, but also facilitate green project cooperation between China and ASEAN countries. To further consolidate Hong Kong's position as a wealth management hub, he stressed that capital sources should extend beyond the Chinese Mainland to "middle powers" across Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Central Asia, as well as the global Chinese community. He also believed that extending Cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect 3.0 to core cities beyond the Greater Bay Area, with higher quotas and simpler administration, would help Hong Kong maintain its lead. By capitalising on its professional expertise, coupled with asset management-related tax concessions and a proactive talent strategy, Hong Kong is poised to become a financial centre serving the entire ASEAN region.

For generations of children, Pokemon cards were something to collect, trade and play with. Today they are serious business, with the rarest cards fetching millions of dollars. Especially in Hong Kong, the hobby is attracting growing interest, with card trading events becoming increasingly frequent. Prof. Yang YOU at HKU Business School said to CNA that collectors may also be drawn to rare cards because of the status associated with owning something others do not have. Furthermore, obtaining the card—whether by buying it or trading it on the secondary market—creates social interaction that drives demand for these collectables. But the surge in prices for some cards has raised questions about whether the boom can last.