上周在本栏分析自保公司在风险管理、成本控制方面具有优势，但并非所有企业都适合设立自保公司。究竟须具备什么条件，才能实现预期的风险分散目标，而避免对企业构成新风险源？
12 Nov 2025
教学人员
Prof. Hong ZOU
金融学
Professor
IMBA Programme Director
3917 7785
KK 835
Biography
Joe Hong Zou is a professor of finance at University of Hong Kong. He graduated in Statistics from Fudan University, completed a Master degree in insurance & accounting with distinction (sponsored by UK insurer Aviva) and received a PhD in Finance from University of Wales (UK). He had six-year industry experience (four years in a local government and two years in an investment bank) and qualified the CPA and investment analyst exam. He previously taught at Cardiff University (UK) and City University of Hong Kong, and received the Faculty of Business and Economics (FBE) 2017/2018 IMBA teaching award, the 2019/2020 HKU-PKU EMBA Teaching Award, and the 2021, 2022, 2023, & 2024 FBE Faculty UG Teaching Reward in the University of Hong Kong. He was ranked as one of the HKU Scholars in the world’s Top 1% based on Thomson Clarivate Analytics’ Essential Science Indicators in the 10-year period (2008-2018) (2008-2018 湯森路透科睿唯安世界排名前1%的學者) (http://hub.hku.hk/local/top1pc/top1pc.jsp?year=2018). He is consistently ranked in the top 10% of Authors on SSRN by all-time downloads.
His research interests include corporate finance, corporate governance, risk management, financial services, and the Chinese financial market. He published 46 peer-reviewed journal articles in English and his research works appear in top finance journals (Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Management Science), top accounting journals (e.g., Journal of Accounting and Economics), top international business journals (e.g., Journal of International and Business Studies), top insurance journals (e.g., Journal of Risk and Insurance), and economics journals (e.g., Journal of Law and Economics). He won 9 international research awards (including the 2002 & 2003 Shin Insurance Research Awards at New York-based International Insurance Society (IIS), the 2012 Patrick Brockett and Arnold Shapiro research award given by the American Risk and Insurance Association (ARIA), the 2012 China International Conference in Finance (CICF) best paper award, the semifinalist for the best paper award at the 2017 FMA Annual Meeting in Boston, the best paper award at the 2022 China International Conference on Insurance and Risk Management (CICIRM) hosted by Tsinghua University and the 2024 Asian Finance Association Annual Conference). He also published 17 journal articles in Chinese (e.g., Economic Research). His research works are featured in the Handbook of Insurance, the CFA Digest, the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, the Columbia Law School’s blog on corporations and capital markets (Blue Sky), the NBER Working Paper series, the European Corporate Governance Institute – Finance Working Paper series, and two finance textbooks. He also coauthored FinTech cases Ping An OneConnect Virtual Bank (平安一賬通虛擬銀行 Data driven banking business) and Micro Connect (滴灌通 Solution to Micro and Small Business financing).
He once gave a lecture in the Lloyd’s of London, and received media interviews (e.g., Reactions, Forbes, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, the Financial Management magazine of AICPA-CIMA). He was a finance paper examiner of the professional qualification exams at the Hong Kong Institute of Bankers (HKIB) and Hong Kong Institute of Chartered Secretaries (HKICS). He is a research fellow at the Center of China Insurance and Social Security Research, and is an associate editor for British Accounting Review – a flagship journal of the British Accounting and Finance Association (2023 CiteScore 8.6), an associate editor for China Financial Review International, and a former associated editor of Journal of Insurance Issues – the official journal of Western Risk and Insurance Association in the U.S., and was on the editorial board of China Journal of Accounting Studies, and Frontiers of Business Research in China (published by Springer) between 2010 and 2016. He was a former independent director of the cross-listed Chong Qing Bank.
Specific research interests
- Corporate governance, novel investor protection, boards, directors’ and officers’ liabilities, litigation risk
- Corporate risk management, hedging, and interactions with other corporate financial policies; emerging risk (e.g., ESG risk; cyber risk)
- Loan contracts, cost of debt and equity, IPO
- M&As, innovation
- Financial institutions (including insurance companies)
- Household finance, behavioral finance
- Financial reporting, disclosure, tax avoidance
- FinTech
- Chinese financial markets
Selected Publications
(For a full list of publications, please refer to http://www.hkubs.hku.hk/~hongzou/)
- Ethnicity diversity and interstate investments. 2025. Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis (with Mao, Y., Wang, Z.), Conditionally accepted.
- Stakeholder orientation, product market competition, and the cost of equity: Evidence from a natural experiment. 2024. Review of Corporate Finance Studies (with Chen, Z., Shen, S.), forthcoming.
- Quid pro quo in IPO auctions (with He, Jingbin, Liu, Bo). 2024. Journal of Business Ethics, forthcoming.
- Director liability protection and the quality of independent directors (with Masulis, Ronald, Shen, Sichen). 2024. Management Science, forthcoming.
- Governance by one-lot shares (with Cao, Feng, Yuhai Xuan, Rongli Yuan). 2023. Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, forthcoming.
- Liquidity effects of litigation risk: Evidence from a legal shock (with Oliviero, Tommaso, Park, Min). 2023. Journal of Law and Economics, 67(1).
- Featured in Columbia Law School Blue Sky Blog on corporations and capital markets.
- Do financial regulations shape the functioning of financial institutions’ risk management in ABS investment? 2020. Review of Financial Studies (with Chen, X.J., Higgins, E., and Xia, H.), 33(6), 2506-2553.
- Is Skin in the game a game changer? Evidence from mandatory changes to D&O insurance policies. 2019. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 68(1), 101225 (with Lin, C., Officer, M., Schmid, T.)
- Covenants, creditors’ simultaneous equity holdings, and firm investment policies. 2019. Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis 54(2), 481-512. (with Chava, S., Wang, R.)
- Directors’ and officers’ liability insurance and the cost of equity. 2016. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 61(1), 100-120. (with Chen, Z., Li, Z.)
- Directors’ and officers’ liability insurance and loan spreads. 2013. Journal of Financial Economics 110(1), 37-60. (with Lin, C., Officer, M., Wang, R.)
- The real and financial implications of corporate hedging. 2011. Journal of Finance 66(5), 1615-1647. (NBER 16622 Working Paper) (with Campello, M., Lin, C., Ma, Y.)
- Summarized by Keith Black of CFA Institute in CFA Digest 42(1), 2012, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2469/dig.v42.n1.38)
- Referenced in FINANCE FOR EXECUTIVES: A practical guide for managers. By Nuno Fernandes, 2014, NPV Publishing; ISBN-10: 9899885401; ISBN-13: 978-9899885400
- Cited in INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, by Bekaert, Geert, and Robert Hodrick. Cambridge University Press, 2017.
- Chief executive officer incentives, monitoring, and corporate risk management: Evidence from insurance use. 2011. Journal of Risk and Insurance 78(3), 551-582. (with Adams, M.B., Lin, C.)
- Referenced in Dionne, G. (Ed.). (2013). Handbook of Insurance. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
- Directors’ and officers’ liability insurance and acquisition outcomes. 2011. Journal of Financial Economics 102(3), 507-525. (with Lin, C., Officer, M.)
- Friend or foe? The role of state and mutual fund ownership in the split share structure reform in China. 2010. Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis 45(3), 685-706. (with Firth, M., Lin, C.).
- The effectiveness of using a basis hedging strategy to mitigate the financial consequences of weather-related risks. 2010. North American Actuarial Journal 14(2), 157-175. (with Golden, L.L., Yang, C.)
- 2012 American Risk and Insurance Association (ARIA) Patrick Brockett and Arnold Shapiro best paper award.
- Corporate ownership and equity risks and returns in China. 2008. Journal of International Business Studies 39(7), 1149-1168. (with Adams, M.)
- Best paper award, Chinese Economic Association (UK) Conference, London, 2002
- Debt capacity, cost of debt and corporate insurance. 2008. Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis 43(2), 433-466. (with Adams, M.B.)
- Referenced in Dionne, G. (Ed.). (2013). Handbook of Insurance. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
- Corporate purchase of property insurance: Chinese evidence. 2006. Journal of Financial Intermediation 15(2), 165-196. (with Adams, M.B.) (lead article)
- Corporate risk and property insurance: Evidence from China. 2003. Journal of Risk and Insurance 70(2), 289-314. (with Adams, M.B., Buckle, M.J.)
- 2002 Shin Research Award (US$3,000) at the International Insurance Society (New York-based) annual conference
- 2002 Shin Research Award (US$3,000) at the International Insurance Society (New York-based) annual conference
Selected Revise & Resubmits
- Review of Financial Studies
- Management Science
- Journal of Risk and Insurance
- Journal of Corporate Finance (x2)
- Journal of Business, Finance and Accounting
Selected Publications in Chinese
- Wei, G., Xiao, Z., Travlos, N., and Zou, H. 2007. Independent directors’ background and corporate performance in China, Economic Research (经济研究), 52(3), 92-105.
- Xiao, Z. and Zou, H. 2008. Capital sturucture determinants and equity issuance preference of Chinese listed companies, Economic Research (经济研究), 53(6), 119-144.
Recent Publications
12Nov
5Nov
当今企业在风险管理与保险方面经常遇到两难。一、企业面临的风险愈来愈多和愈发复杂，包括日益频繁的自然灾害、环境责任、网路安全事件和供应链中断，无时不威胁企业的运营和财务稳定性。企业试图购买商业保险加以应对，却面临保费高、保额低、甚至无法投保等诸多限制。二、很多企业投保商业保险，每年缴付高昂保费，但出险率较低，获得赔偿款额有限，现金流受到显著影响。
5 Nov 2025
教学人员
1Aug
We study whether legal liability protection helps companies to recruit and retain high-quality independent directors. We conduct difference-in-differences analyses exploiting the 1999 Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Ruling on the Silicon Graphics case, which substantially raised the bar for filing securities class action (SCA) lawsuits as a shock. We document supporting evidence for the talent attraction hypothesis by showing improvements in newly recruited independent director quality following the ruling, but only for candidates who are previously not exposed to SCA litigation risk. The effects are stronger for firms facing greater litigation risk ex ante or smaller local supplies of director candidates. Results are more evident for experience-based quality dimensions. We also analyze a sample of voluntary independent director departures and find little support for the talent retention hypothesis, suggesting that more complex factors enter into a director’s continuation decision once a director is already exposed to SCA litigation risk. A policy implication is that liability protection can be useful in attracting more unexposed high-quality candidates to the pool of public boards but does little to attract high-quality candidates who are already in the pool of public firms.
1 Aug 2025
Management Science
1Mar
We use a novel experiment in China to examine the effects of having a quasi-official investor own a small number of shares on specific firm outcomes. We find that, relative to control firms, pilot firms experience an increase in dissenting votes from independent directors, a reduction in tunneling and earnings management activities, and an improvement in merger performance. Independent directors questioned by the quasi-official shareholder in activism events subsequently lose board seats in the director market. Overall, our results shed light on a new mechanism for enhancing the protection of minority shareholders.
1 Mar 2025
Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis
3Jul
A股上市公司逐渐形成现金分红的氛围，相关监管和税务政策亦成为投资者关注的议题。近年，中国证监会发布了多项措施，强化对上市公司现金分红的监管，并推动上市公司提高分红比率，这体现了监管者致力保障个人投资者利益。
3 Jul 2024
教学人员
3Jul
A股上市公司逐渐形成现金分红的氛围，相关监管和税务政策亦成为投资者关注的议题。近年，中国证监会发布了多项措施，强化对上市公司现金分红的监管，并推动上市公司提高分红比率，这体现了监管者致力保障个人投资者利益。
3 Jul 2024
教学人员
26Jun
在成熟的股票市场，不少上市公司进行现金分红，为投资者带来经常性收益并增强其信心。去年拟进行分红的A股上市公司共有3859家，较前两年增加565家，现金分红总额达2.24万亿元人民币，较前年增加5.16%。这趋势与中国证监会长期以来通过政策引领的努力密不可分。
26 Jun 2024
教学人员
26Jun
在成熟的股票市场，不少上市公司进行现金分红，为投资者带来经常性收益并增强其信心。去年拟进行分红的A股上市公司共有3859家，较前两年增加565家，现金分红总额达2.24万亿元人民币，较前年增加5.16%。这趋势与中国证监会长期以来通过政策引领的努力密不可分。
26 Jun 2024
教学人员
1Feb
Theory offers two diverging views on the effects of ex ante litigation risk on corporate liquidity proxied by cash holdings. Ex ante litigation risk, however, is difficult to measure. We test the liquidity effects of ex ante litigation risk by exploiting the phase-by-phase introduction of securities class actions (SCAs) in Korea. Following the increase in litigation risk, firms significantly increase their internal liquidity, especially those without directors’ and officers’ liability insurance and those that are financially constrained. The results hold robustly in difference-in-differences and regression discontinuity designs. We also find that the increase in ex ante SCA risk improves firms’ stock market liquidity and valuation, especially for firms that do not carry liability insurance. Taken together, the results are consistent with the arguments that SCAs increase firms’ liability risk and lower investors’ risk.
1 Feb 2024
Journal of Law and Economics
31May
继笔者上周在本栏撰写的〈内地股票发行制度改革跃登新台阶〉，本文将聚焦于全面实行股票发行注册制（以下简称注册制）之后，对内地A股市场和香港股票市场的潜在影响扼要分析如下。
31 May 2023
教学人员