The Newsletter of the Faculty of Business and Economics
June 2015 Events
The Faculty Mentorship Programme held its Mentees who participated in the 2014 programme also Inauguration Ceremony on January 23, 2015. Now in joined the Inauguration Ceremony. Miss Emerald its second year, the programme matched 41 pairs of Yip, a Year 2 BBA (IBGM) student, spoke on mentors and mentees, up from 35 pairs last year. behalf of the 2014 mentees, sharing her intriguing Over 90% of the mentors from diverse mentorship experience and lessons learnt professions in business, finance, economics, through the programme. All 2014 mentees then management, etc. participated in last year’s took the opportunity to express their heartfelt programme continued to serve as mentors this thanks by presenting a gift to their mentors. The year. Through the programme, students are ceremony was followed by a reception, giving empowered to connect with the real business world mentors and mentees the chance to meet each and develop their core competencies, soft skills as other and exchange contact information. well as business and personal networks to prepare for their future careers.
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June 2015 The 2014-2015 HKU-Citibank University Banking Course, which ran from January to April 2015, kicked off at HKU on January 27, 2015. Professor Peter Mathieson, President and Vice-Chancellor of HKU; Professor Eric Chang, Dean of Business and Economics; and Mr. Weber Lo, Citi Country Officer & Chief Executive Officer, Hong Kong and Macau, joined second- and third-year students in the ceremony. 45 students were selected to attend the courses taught by seasoned bankers from Citibank, who provided students with an overview of the opportunities and challenges in a banking career.
The course has provided over 400 students with a thorough understanding of bank operations and practices since its launch in 2004. This year’s graduation ceremony, held on April 21, was officiated by Mr. Douglas So, Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Institutional Advancement); Dean Eric Chang; and Mr. Weber Lo. After this four-month course, four students were awarded Outstanding Achievement Awards and given summer internship opportunities in Citi in Hong Kong:
Miss CHEN Qian (BEcon&Fin, Year 2) Mr. CHENG Tak Wai (BBA (IBGM), Year 2) Miss KOU Xinmeng (BEcon&Fin, Year2) Mr. LAM Leung Man Calvin (BSc (QFin), Year 3)
P.4 The University of Hong Kong − New World Group The BEST Programme 2014-2015 was held from January to April Business Elite Students (“BEST”) Programme is a 2015, and 48 non-final year students joined this year’s P.5 collaboration between HKU and New World Group which programme. In addition to participating in classroom lectures and helps students understand the overall strategic management discussions facilitated by senior executives from the New World of a conglomerate through interactions with highly Group, students were also given the opportunity to explore experienced executives of the New World Group and real-life applications of management models and theories through corporate visits. The programme offers an unparalleled corporate visits, study trips and corporate sustainability events. opportunity for students to gain insight into real-world management skills and techniques, and to equip themselves Miss HUI Yuet (BBA (Law), Year 3), Mr. Sundararaja N. with knowledge of best practices essential to their future VALIYAPAN (BEcon and BEng (EngSc), Year 3) and Miss career development in the commercial world. YEUNG Christy Ashley (BEcon&Fin, Year 1) received Outstanding Achievement Awards at the graduation ceremony. Sixty-nine students and two chapter honorees were inducted as BGS members in the Beta Gamma Sigma HKU Chapter Induction Ceremony 2015 held in the Convocation Room on April 22, 2015. After a warm welcome speech by Chapter President Professor Eric Chang, he presented chapter honoree certificates to two successful business leaders - Ms. May Tan, Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited, and Mr. Edwin Morris, Chief Financial Officer of Asia Miles Limited.
With over 30 years of extensive experience in the financial industry, Ms. Tan has been instrumental in enhancing Standard Chartered Bank’s business. In her acceptance speech, Ms. Tan raised several insightful points about gender diversity in the workforce. Despite growing awareness, women held only 9.6% of directorships in the world’s top 15 companies in 2014. Ms. Tan stressed that gender diversity was vital to creating an outstanding workforce and contributing to the long-term sustainability of society. As a proponent of diversity across other areas including skill sets, cultures and educational backgrounds, she highlighted that companies with greater diversity perform better in terms of profitability, share price and market awareness. Closing her remarks, Ms. Tan encouraged the younger generation to drive real change, to think internationally, and to enjoy every step of life’s journey.
Mr. Morris is a seasoned senior executive in banking, accounting and finance. In his speech, Mr. Morris shared his insights on life rewards, identifying three elements to a rewarding life: self-reflection, goals and risks. Self-reflection is about understanding ourselves, and the values that guide us. After understanding our strengths and weaknesses, we can then create goals. Finally, to reach our objectives, we must face risks – and although it may seem daunting, we learn to manage risks by weighing respective costs and benefits. Mr. Morris applauded the talent and capabilities of BGS members, while reminding them of their responsibility to society and to be humble to others while remaining truthful to themselves. Mr. Morris concluded his speech with a few final words of wisdom: “Dream that dream, create that goal, take that risk and make that dream come true.”
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Mr. Edwin Morris CFO of Asia Miles Limited
On April 18, 2015, members of the Beta Gamma Sigma HKU Ms. May Tan CEO of Standard Chartered Bank (HK) Limited Chapter enjoyed an educational lunch at La Parole, a French fine dining restaurant and a social enterprise. The 18 participants were there to attend a workshop on formal table etiquette – or as the French say, “the art of the table.”
Over a pleasant 3-course meal, Ms. Irene Wu, a professional trainer from Keep Training, discussed place setting, napkin etiquette, eating styles for various occasions, rule of toasting and more. The workshop provided a valuable opportunity for BGS members to hone their table manners, giving them helpful pointers to carry them through their next business luncheon or dinner with confidence and ease.
June 2015 LAI Qimei May, BEcon&Fin, Year 3
An inspirational leadership learning experience, laughter and friendship with awesome students from around the world as well as beautiful sunshine and nice beaches of California… the Beta Gamma Sigma Student Leadership Forum in San Diego gave me much more than I expected. Since its debut in 2001, the Beta Gamma Sigma Student Leadership Forum has brought together The forum’s workshops were both fun and enlightening. Reflecting student members from colleges and universities on the interesting games and team projects, I gained a new around the globe to improve their leadership skills. A understanding and perspective on leadership. The “hunting game” hands-on experience, the Student Leadership Forum made a deep impression, as it presented a classic game theory challenges participants to examine questions scenario – in which our scores depended not only on our own regarding personal development through decisions, but the decisions of the other hunters as well. team-building exercises, social activities, networking and other activities. In February 2015, two HKU After two rounds of being trapped in a “prisoner’s dilemma” of students participated in the four-day forum. They losing together, we were given the opportunity to discuss and plan share their experiences with us: with the other participants before the third round. Although we agreed on a strategy that would enable everyone to make a small profit, one participant chose to break the agreement for the chance to make a large profit in the third round. By failing to build trust and camaraderie, we all ended up losing together. The game really made me think about how communication breaks down without mutual trust. To lead a team and encourage every teammate to work for collective benefit, we need to establish trust, facilitate communication and encourage collaboration.
After the game, we held a group discussion about what we could have done differently to achieve a more harmonious result. Our group concluded that we needed a leader who could reflect how our decisions affected each other, build relations within the team and guide us to work together as a team – instead of individuals competing against each other. The game highlighted important qualities of leadership that I aim to develop in myself, like proactivity, foresight, strong communication skills and the ability to think from others’ standpoints. If I had the chance to play the “hunting game” again, I would volunteer to lead the group and unite my teammates by building consensus and formulating a solid strategy for success.
I valued the opportunity to meet outstanding students from universities around the world. It was great fun to explore downtown San Diego with other forum participants, completing interesting tasks like composing a song at the rooftop bar of a hotel, or taking photos with three mustached statues. It was wonderful to connect with students from around the world, enjoying the shared experience of exploring San Diego together.
In another activity, we were asked to draw a picture about our current goals, challenges and our plan to achieve them. All participants were very open in sharing their own experiences and feelings, and it was encouraging to see that many of us share similar ambitions and life challenges, including choosing career paths and preparing to balance work and family lives. The friendships we made, the ideas we discussed and the laughter we shared are wonderful memories that will last a lifetime.
I would like to express my gratitude to our Faculty and the Beta Gamma Sigma Committee for giving me this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The forum workshops pushed me to think about what kind of leader I can be and to improve my leadership skills. Although four days passed very quickly, the forum helped us achieve significant progress in our leadership development.
P.8 LI Jian, BEcon, Year 3
“I have always considered my twenties to be a period of time for me P.9 to explore as much as possible, to meet as many interesting people as possible; and participating in the BGS student leadership forum was a great step in accomplishing this goal. It reshaped my perception of leadership and showed me how a truly strong leader should be.”
In the sunshine of San Diego, we had an enjoyable yet intensive weekend at the Beta Gamma Sigma Student Leadership Forum. Questions were asked, insights were shared, friends were made and more importantly, we were given the chance to learn about ourselves from a unique perspective. The forum offered an opportunity for us to bond with peers who share the same dreams and core values.
My favourite part of the forum was the two-hour “meeting-yourself” session where we learnt how to interpret our MBTI personality analysis results. Grouped into small teams according to our personality type, we shared past experiences that demonstrated our personality characteristics. Through the process, I realised subtle insights about my working style that had great influence on the results I can achieve. We witnessed the drastic differences between “intuitive” and “sensible” people; and also learnt to motivate introverted people by giving them more personal space and letting them generate energy from their inner heart. By understanding the basic personality types, we learnt how to collaborate more intuitively – realising that each person is unique and every situation is different. Mutual understanding is always the first step.
The most intriguing experience for me was the self-inquiry session, where we uncovered the values driving our professional choices and other life decisions. The process was like nothing I’ve experienced before. The process was based on the belief that being able to lead oneself firmly and truthfully is a pre-requisite for successful leadership. In order to achieve this, one must understand what his or her heart calls for, something most of us lack. Too often, we chase success before we know what success means for us on a personal level. Deep questions such as “what do you value most?” and “what are your bottom lines?” made us dig deep down into our hearts to discover our own truths.
There are many types of leaders, and each of them is different from one another; but the one thing they have in common – and have been able to inspire others through – is finding a cause they see value in and firmly believing in it. The process also includes identifying the healthy relationships in one’s life and pulling away from those that are not. It was amazing how open and honest the participants were in sharing their own problems, fears, dreams and goals in life, making it easy to resonate with them. Some of the stories others shared have provided deep insight for my decision making process when facing my own problems.
Bonding with all the other participants was an exciting part of the journey. The student group included both undergraduate and postgraduate students from very diverse backgrounds, each with their own achievements and struggles. I had the chance to explore the city of San Diego with an analyst working at one of the largest rating companies, an entrepreneur trying to secure funding for a startup, and a socially-minded student working for a charity. Meeting all these interesting people made this conference so colorful and memorable; and it opened my eyes to many different possibilities I never thought June to look for. Although the forum has finished, the friendships I got will last a lifetime. 2015 On March 26, 2015, Faculty of Business and Economics “It’s very important to adapt to your environment and change the welcomed Dr. Allan Zeman to the Wang Gungwu Lecture Hall. way you do business according to the local culture,” he said. Dr. Co-organised by the Faculty and the Business Association BEA Zeman also believes that maintaining a positive and HKUSU, the hall was packed with aspiring entrepreneurs and forward-thinking focus is essential to achieving success. “Leave existing business owners flocking to listen to Dr. Zeman share his your mind clear for the future and tomorrow,” he explained, “the lifetime of experience: from how he came to Hong Kong to past is already gone and you can’t change it. Learn from the past, becoming an iconic business magnate and international advocate but don’t dwell on any past failures.” for business interests in Hong Kong and China. Widely known as the “Godfather of Lan Kwai Fong”, Dr. Zeman The theme of the talk was “Brewing Success – Innovation and shared how he visited Tokyo and adopted the strategy of Change” and as Dr. Zeman shared anecdotes from his converting upstairs office space into retail businesses - thereby entrepreneurial pursuits at an early age, the audience was led on a multiplying the value of his first buildings in the then-barren Lan journey of how his current success sprouted from a lifetime of Kwai Fong district to create Hong Kong’s answer to New York’s business experimentation. As a schoolboy brought up in Montreal, Soho and London’s West End districts. “By surrounding yourself Canada, he had his own newspaper route by age 10. By age 16, he with creative people and ideas, great things can happen,” he was making more than his teachers and owned that most coveted imparted. “The key is to always listen.” prize of teenage boys: his own car – and a convertible no less! Dr. Zeman credits his experience in the fashion business for However, it was Dr. Zeman’s jump into women’s fashion that training his obsession with looking to the future. “People are very would change the course of his life. At the age of 17, he started gullible,” he said with a wink. “If you keep changing and coming working as a salesman for a dress company. There, he not only up with new ideas, people will follow you.” He also mentioned learnt to become a great salesman, but also discovered the core to that he is a fan of Apple and its designs, crediting the late Steve a successful business: without good products, no amount of Jobs with bringing the ‘cool’ to the mobile phone. His advice to salesmanship can keep a business going. By the time he was 19, future startup founders: “Set your goals very high, and whatever Dr. Zeman had started his own business importing ladies’ you do: stand out. Make sure it’s different.” sweaters from Hong Kong. “My late mother had no idea where Hong Kong was and thought I was moving to Japan!” he recalled. One of Dr. Zeman’s crowning achievements was transforming “When I told her it was actually China, it didn’t reassure her at Ocean Park from a decrepit local park into an international all.” Upon arriving at the old Kai Tak airport, he fell in love with attraction and the pride of Hong Kong. “When [then-Chief the then-colonial city and was quickly swept up by its can-do Executive] Tung Chee Hwa asked me to take it over, I thought he spirit and energy. During his first year in Hong Kong, Dr. Zeman was crazy!” he exclaimed. “Not only had I never run a theme made US$1 million in profit. However with the higher Canadian park, he wanted me to compete with the incoming Disneyland!” tax rates, he only took home a not-insignificant US$425,000. But after assessing Ocean Park’s grounds and seeing the beauty Upon learning of the 15% tax rate in Hong Kong, he became a amongst the cracking pavement and ailing rides, Dr. Zeman permanent resident and has not looked back since. “This city is jumped at the chance to turn around the fortunes of this Hong where you can make your dreams come true,” he enthused. “What Kong icon. I remember was very different from the defeatist attitudes that you sometimes experience here nowadays.” “To be a successful entrepreneur, you can’t think too much,” he advised. “Once you overthink something, you’ll never follow As Dr. Zeman expanded his fashion business into other countries, through with it.” Following his instincts, he focused on Ocean he swiftly learnt the nuances of doing business in other cultures. Park’s niche appeal of live animal and natural attractions, which
P.10 differs greatly from the more fantastical and manufactured Citing innovation and technology as drivers of change, experience promised by Disneyland. Through the addition of Dr. Zeman noted that one of the biggest problems he sees crowd-pleasers such as the panda exhibit and the surprisingly is the divide between older and younger generations. popular jellyfish gallery, Ocean Park’s annual attendance has “The older generation finds the adoption of new outpaced Disneyland’s numbers ever since. “There’s no need to technology difficult,” Dr. Zeman explained, pointing to P.11 fear others being better resourced or smarter,” Dr. Zeman urged. his smartphone as an example. “We need to bridge this “Have confidence in yourself, put in the work and keep on divide. Every industry is changing and everyone needs to trying.” accept change and work within the system. The people of Hong Kong need to pull together and stop criticising each Personal health and discipline are integral components of Dr. other. Our future is in our own hands.” Zeman’s success. “I’ve kept up an 80-minute exercise session every morning for the last 38 years,” he shared, asserting that eating right and living right are the bedrock for achieving stability and staying power. Dr. Zeman also advised that personal character and the way we treat others are of the utmost importance. “Keep your feet grounded,” he asserted. “Life is “To stand still would be a crime to Hong Kong and everyone in this room, Hong Kong needs a paradigm shift.” just a journey, and death is the great equaliser. Whether you are a tycoon or a driver to a tycoon, you will end up in the same place. Don’t be arrogant, and remember to stay grounded.”
On the future of Hong Kong, Dr. Zeman stressed the importance of the 2017 vote and that political progress was necessary. “To stand still would be a crime to Hong Kong and everyone in this room,” he explained to the audience. “Hong Kong needs a paradigm shift.” Seeing a greater need for development in the creative and technology industries, he advised that it would take a holistic effort from both the public and private sectors – as challenges such as real estate prices and political impasses would continue to impede business development and growth.
Dr. Allan Zeman
June 2015 He cited a case in Shaanxi where the local government confiscated oil fields worth RMB 7 billion from 60,000 private owners without compensation in 2003.
On March 5, 2015, Professor Zhiwu Chen shared his insights on Wrapping up, Professor Chen turned to challenges that arise in China’s National People’s Congress, the country’s economic the face of economic slowdown – especially in relation to the structure and legal reform prospects in a public lecture titled real estate market. Although local governments benefit from the “Economic and Legal Development Prospects of China” real estate market through land sales revenue and related co-presented by the Faculty of Business and Economics and the taxation, Professor Chen explained how it was in local Institute for China and Global Development of the University of governments’ interests to offer a limited supply of land for sale Hong Kong. as scarcity helped maintain higher prices. Assessing their land banks according to these higher valuations allows local Professor Chen is currently a Professor of Financial Economics governments to apply for greater loans and capital from banks at Yale University, and a Visiting Professor and HKU-AXA and investors. Now, in the face of unprecedentedly high debt Distinguished Fellow on Chinese Market Reform at the levels, average local government revenue is shrinking from 24% University of Hong Kong. He is an expert on financial theory, growth per annum between 2009 and 2013 to only 2% last year emerging markets, China's economy and capital markets. (and a forecasted -2% in 2015), leading Professor Chen to believe severe financial challenges lie ahead for China’s Following welcoming remarks by Professor Larry Qiu, economy. Associate Dean (Knowledge Exchange), Professor Chen began his lecture by explaining how the Communist Party of China “It is to believe severe (CPC) has allowed market forces to play a decisive economic role since 2013. In line with this goal, the CPC has focused financial challenges lie efforts on policy reform – for example, mobilising Provincial Party chiefs from Heilongjiang, Hebei and Guangdong to launch ahead for China’s economy.” new investment and other initiatives to encourage economic growth. Members of the audience enthusiastically participated in the He then described how political reform and privatisation reform Q&A session facilitated by Professor Zhigang Tao, Professor of are working to ensure the rights and freedoms of markets and Economics, Strategy and International Business, rounding out individuals. Political reform is creating checks and balances on Professor Chen’s lecture with a lively and enthralling discussion. the power of the government and party officials, while privatisation reform is modernising the management of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and other state assets. However, the pace of reform – especially for privatisation initiatives – is expected to gain momentum at a measured tempo.
Moving on, Professor Chen noted the negative impact of SOE dominance on China’s economic structure. As privatisation of state-owned assets only began in 1978, the government still retains direct or indirect control over major portions of the economy, which has resulted in artificial concentration of resources and investment.
Professor Chen also analysed how SOE dominance impacts the rule of law and legal reforms, describing an inverse correlation Professor Zhiwu Chen between SOE investment and the prevalence of the rule of law.
June 2015
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The University of Hong Kong Faculty of Business and Speaking positively about Hong Kong’s role as the gateway Economics collaborated with the Financial Services between China and the international financial community, Mr. Development Council to host the inaugural forum of the Ngai said the city’s financial services sector was a “shining “Practitioner Lecturers Series”: A Financial Career in Hong sector” with numerous future prospects. “As the world grows and Kong: The Past, The Present and The Future on April 23, 2015. economic activity in the world increases, there will be growth in financial services,” said Mr. Ngai. “Generically, the industry will Some 300 students, professors and staff joined the discussion not die, it just transforms.” held at the Rayson Huang Theatre. Four distinguished speakers from Hong Kong’s financial sector were invited to share their Sharing findings from the FSDC’s Report on “Developing Hong experience and provide insight on nurturing the talent base for Kong’s Human Capital in Financial Services,” Mr. Ngai said the Hong Kong’s sustainable development as an international growth rate and prospects of future careers in the financial financial centre. industry for young people were very bright. Nevertheless, in order for Hong Kong to succeed as a global financial centre, The honourable guests consisted of seasoned business leaders human capital must constantly improve and adapt to maintain including Mr. Joe Ngai, Convenor of FSDC’s Human Capital global standards. Committee, and Director and Managing Partner of McKinsey & Company, Inc. Hong Kong; Mr. Antony Leung, Group CEO of Mr. Ngai highlighted that financial services covered many Nan Fung Group and Former Financial Secretary of the Hong sectors and job natures - including front, middle and back office Kong SAR Government; Ms. Wendy Yuen, Head of Commercial positions – and that growth was evident in all three areas. Banking, Wealth and Sales Management of Hang Seng Bank However, he also pointed out that despite overall industry Limited; and Professor Frederick Ma, Honorary Professor of the growth, there was a distinct rise in the need to develop the talent School of Economics and Finance, The University of Hong pools for middle and back office roles. Based on the results of a Kong, and Former Secretary for Financial Services and the survey of over 90 financial institutions conducted by the FSDC, Treasury of the Hong Kong SAR Government – who served as the forum’s moderator.
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Professor Fred Ma
Ms. Wendy Yuen
Mr. Antony Leung June 2015 Mr. Joe Ngai
Mr. Ngai said most companies expected between 5% to 15% level, as the sector requires employees to effectively growth in head count growth over the next few years. communicate with colleagues and clients from around the world.
With an overall exceptional performance rate at senior level As veterans of Hong Kong’s financial services industry, both Mr. positions and the growing awareness that front office jobs are Leung and Ms. Yuen agreed upon the importance of becoming more challenging, Mr. Ngai said it was necessary to communication skills. “In the day-to-day business world, we enrich bench strength at the junior and middle management need to negotiate and liaise with other people, other teams or levels as well. “Mid and back office positions are very well even within your own teams every day,” said Ms. Yuen. “How paying and very secure jobs,” said Mr. Ngai. “I think the world is you use your words or how you use your resources to influence moving towards an area where every single discipline is others is really important.” Ms. Yuen also drew attention to the becoming professionalised.” fact that there were gaps in the communication skills of new graduates and new recruits to the industry. As the discussion progressed, the panellists shifted the focus towards challenges young employees may face when selecting Mr. Leung said another characteristic financial services entry level career opportunities in the financial sector. According employers seek in fresh recruits is trainability. “We don’t really to the FSDC’s survey, most middle management employers are expect you [fresh graduates] to understand the technical aspects looking for candidates with strong English language skills above of banking or insurance, but we do hope you are willing to learn all else. Putonghua skills were seen as a secondary area for and are able to take on new skills quickly,” he said. improvement, with communication and teamwork skills rounding out the top three. Continuing with the topic of what employers look for when hiring graduates, Ms. Yuen mentioned that personal drive and a According to Mr. Ngai, “We talked to 90 companies in the sincere interest in the field are crucial for success in the finance financial sector and the first thing that came to mind was English industry. Due to the fast-paced and at times stressful nature of the proficiency.” He added that English ability is one of the key finance world, Ms. Yuen explained that financial institutions are components for Hong Kong’s continuing success as an looking for recruits with the ambition and self-motivation to look international financial centre. Mr. Ngai also said employers were beyond short-term obstacles in order to reach long-term goals. interested in graduates who could converse at an international She also noted that personal interest in the finance world June 2015
provided a distinct advantage in making it through the Kong is so attractive and competitive. For everyone who wants recruitment process. “We believe if you have interest, you will to join the industry, we should have confidence, embrace change have the energy to move on,” Ms. Yuen commented. and welcome competition because if we cannot grow the market here, how can we create even more senior positions?” Mr. Leung added that aside from personal interest in finance, successful employees should also have the correct personality Taking on a similar view, Mr. Leung said there was plenty of and skillset match for their chosen field. He noted, “Many a time opportunity for Hong Kong people to enter the industry and students will apply for jobs because either the pay is high or thrive. However, in order to move upwards, Mr. Leung said because their parents or friends said it was good choice. I think in people would have to work hard and be mobile. order for graduates to find the right job and employers to find the right employee, we have to find out whether candidates have “I saw from surveys that most students in Hong Kong would not qualities in all three areas.” like to work abroad. That to me is alarming because financial services, among all industries, is probably the most global,” said Quality of work is also another aspect employees need to pay Mr. Leung. “When financial institutions seek future leaders they attention to. Mr Leung continued, “We do not hire people who want them to have a global perspective, which can only be make a lot of English and Chinese mistakes, as we will have to achieved if one has worked around the world.” spend time correcting them. We [employers] do not expect you [graduates] to make mistakes. We expect 100 per cent accuracy.” “Mainland China is the number one market in the world, so be prepared to work there. Spend some time to understand the As the panel fielded questions from the audience, a female market and if needed, go work in other places –because it is only student studying economics at HKU raised the issue of how to through working in other markets that you really understand the choose an appropriate job from the broad range of sectors the industry,” noted Mr. Leung. financial service industry has to offer. Answering her query, Mr. Leung advised her to be prepared for change and to build a broad He also advised students in the audience to be prepared to work base of knowledge. “Today’s world requires multiple skills, a in the front, middle and back office of large corporations as this broad knowledge base and real-world experience,” he said. “To is often the route leaders have to take to build the appropriate just specialise in just one [area] does not really fit with the world breadth and depth of experience. “You should wish that you can of the future.” work in multiple disciplines, because it is only through that experience that you will become a leader of any financial Drawing the discussion to an end with a final topic, Professor Ma institution,” he said. asked the speakers to comment on upward mobility within the financial industry. Rounding off the discussion, Mr. Leung mentioned that having a background in financial services would benefit any career. Citing “In terms of upward mobility, I don’t see any problems at all,” as examples the CEOs of Alibaba and Tencent – who both commented Ms. Yuen, drawing attention to the fact that upward previously worked in finance – he concluded, “Financial services mobility was linked to the development of the industry. “The can lead to many things. Look at financial services as something career ladders are so steep because the financial market in Hong that you can learn from and have a great foundation to build on, that can lead to all kinds of careers later on in your life.”
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Personal blogs are important to businesses WordPress estimates that over 409 million people view more It’s no secret that private bloggers tend to speak freely in than 19.1 billion blog pages each month. And personal blogs their conversations about firms and their products. But far outnumber corporate blogs. Corporate blogs do provide how can firms tap into blogs and build their Business firms with the ability to deliver publicity, promotions and Intelligence? communications activities in a more personal way than via a website. However, personal blogs are unique in the sense that Blogs are becoming more integrated into the digital people tend to freely express their emotions and their opinions marketing activities of firms. in consumer-based discussions. Personal bloggers can therefore become involved in deeper discussions about their consumer experiences relating to a firm’s products or services, and also the touch points relating to purchase interactions. Bloggers’ comments have also been found to provide insights into the effectiveness of a firm’s competitive positioning, its media relations, and even how it might better build the brand.
With these factors in mind, Dr. Michael Chau, a business analytics expert from HKU’s Faculty of Business and Economics explains another important point. “As blogger interactions develop, bloggers tend to see each other as potential collaborators or as friends, forming a type of ‘collective intelligence’, arriving at deeper knowledge about a topic”. Indeed, that Nielsen finds 92% of consumers place recommendations from friends and family ahead of all forms of advertising, reputable personal bloggers have the potential to become powerful opinion leaders within the blogosphere. The challenge for firms, however, relates to how to acquire relevant information from personal blogs. “I would be surprised if Navigating the blogosphere to acquire business intelligence (BI) Apple would not want to The unique characteristics of blogs can present major know more about why these challenges for collecting blog data, evaluating blog content, and analysing the underlying social networks. As Dr. Chau consumers feel the way they highlights, “blogs are very dynamic in that content can be do about the iPod!” frequently updated or removed. Bloggers also apply their own styles when linking or interacting with each other. The sheer In 2013 Technorati found blogs to be the third most volume of blog data also presents a challenge”. influential digital resource, after retail and brand websites, for consumers making purchase decisions. In 2014, the Bloggers interact through subscribing to other blogs, posting Social Media Marketing Industry Report identified blogging comments, and citing other blogs and bloggers within their to be the 5th most commonly used social media platform. It own blog posts. These social interactions take place in blogger was also the 4th most important social platform for communities. Blogrings form through explicit interactions marketers, after Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Indeed, where bloggers with a similar interest or background join each 68% of these marketers indicated they planned to increase other to form groups. On the other hand, implicit or informal their blogging activities as part of their social media groups tend to form organically through ongoing interactions marketing mix. between bloggers. As interactions amongst bloggers develop, relationships tend to form and manifest themselves into virtual Like other social media tools, blogs can bring firms closer to networks of bloggers. As Dr. Chau explains, “relationships in their consumers. They provide channels for feedback and blogger communities tend to be characterised by memberships, comments about their products, user experiences, and a sense of belonging, shared values, and self-regulation”. In promotional campaigns. As part of the overall social media particular, the hidden or implicit structures that manifest mix, McKinsey’s identify that they also assist firms in from the blogger interactions need to be identified creating high levels of positive marketing buzz when and studied to locate key players in the networks. launching their products and services – without significant These bloggers can serve as important opinion expense! leaders and/or communication channels or
P.18 bridges between different blogger communities. Navigating Analyse the posted content, identify the networks, and the through the complexity of blogger interactions requires the central bloggers P.19 application of automated BI techniques. Written text from the blog pages were classified and clustered. Sentences containing How to gather BI in key words were the blogosphere extracted, and topics and opinions were Dr. Chau and his analysed. For example, colleague Dr. Jennifer neutral comments Xu from Bentley about how users University set out to interact with their tackle some of the issues iPods were identified, related to gathering BI such as “I downloaded from blogs. Specifically, some new songs on my they designed a iPod”. Positive and framework for generating negative comments BI from blog data. The tended to relate to framework was then blogger’s opinions of applied to gather and iPods, such as, “iPods analyse data from two are awesome”, and “I Major Clusters in the Comment Network in the iPod Dataset sets of consumer-based hate iPods”. blog discussions; one relating to iPods, and the other to consumer experiences at Starbucks. The following discussion Three networks were identified; a subscription network, focuses on Blog BI conducted for iPods; information about where bloggers subscribed to another’s blog; a comment Blog BI on consumer experiences at Starbucks can be found network, where bloggers leave comments on another’s blog; in the paper by Dr. Chau and Dr. Xu: “Business Intelligence and a combined network, where the links from both the in Blogs”. subscription network and the comment network are included.
Identify the explicit communities of interest within the Central bloggers, or small numbers of bloggers involved in blogosphere larger numbers of interactions were also identified. Their Blog communities talking about iPods were identified from direct interactions, including incoming links and outgoing Xanga, which was the second most popular blog hosting site links within the networks were examined. A high degree of after Google’s Blogger. Specifically, web crawler software incoming subscription links indicates the blogger is popular or was applied to retrieve information about blog memberships. authoritative. Their comments are interesting and people like Blogrings that contained the word iPod in their titles or keeping track of their updates, so they tend to be liked or descriptions were identified. After removing blogs with single endorsed by other bloggers. Bloggers who are high out-degree members, 204 valid groups were identified and groups were subscribers tend to act as ‘hubs’ directing visitors to other classified as positive, neutral, or negative towards iPods. The interesting blogs they are connected to. Bloggers with a high data set included 3,493 bloggers, and 75,445 blog entries. in-degree of comments from many bloggers and high Blog communities were categorised based on the attitude of out-degree of posting comments on many blogs are the most the group the blogger belonged to. The data identified 2,377 powerful communicators within the blogosphere. To test the bloggers with a positive attitude toward the iPod, 225 with a capability of the central bloggers to disseminate information, a negative attitude, and 891 were neutral. simulated marketing message was ‘seeded’ 100 times through the networks. The tests confirmed that the top ten central Collect information about the characteristics of bloggers bloggers identified, on average, achieved higher effectiveness in the explicit communities in disseminating the message within their blogger networks. The member lists from the explicit communities provided a massive amount of data. Blog crawler software was therefore Identify the implicit blogger communities designed to extract specific information from bloggers’ Implicit blogger communities within the networks were profiles, blog entries and comments pages. After re-examining identified through extracting and matching traces of links the blogs’ contents for their relevancy to the iPod, the from bloggers’ subscription and comment interactions. frequency with which the word iPod was mentioned in each Clusters of positive (red), negative (blue), and neutral (grey) blog was identified. ‘Splogs’ or spam blogs were filtered out bloggers were identified. For example, the analysis identified and of the remaining legitimate blogs the one with the highest the existence of 292 clusters in the comment network; the frequency mentioned iPods 115 times. Interestingly, it was largest cluster contained 124 members – 11.2 % of the total found that only a small percentage (less than 2%) of bloggers members in the network. Within the clusters of negative used the name iPod frequently. 1,920 of the bloggers never bloggers (indicated by the blue circles), the lead blogger was mentioned the word iPod in their blogs! As Dr. Chau identified. This blogger had left comments on many of the expressed, “the important point here is that these bloggers other negative bloggers’ sites. cannot be identified through a standard keyword search; they are only identifiable through their group memberships or Dr. Chau’s final comment ‘appears to say it all’: “I would be June blogrings”. surprised if Apple would not want to know more about why 2015 these consumers feel the way they do about the iPod!”
The paper by Dr. Chau and Dr. Xu is available at: http://www.business.hku.hk/~mchau/papers/BusinessIntelligenceInBlogs_MISQ.pdf Around 200 IMBA 2014 students threw a “Shine Hong Kong, Embrace the Future” themed New Year’s Party on December 27, 2014 in Shanghai. Professor Zhiwen Yin, Associate Dean of Fudan University’s School of Management, delivered the welcome remarks and celebrated with students. Celebrating the glitz and glamour of this year’s Bling Bing dress code, all guests were welcomed by a red carpet and bright spot lights worthy of the Oscars. Professor Yin’s welcoming remarks were followed by a fantastic talent shows featuring IMBA students, including classic Cantonese songs, dance, and comedy. The night was filled with excitement, laughter, memories, and friendships.
The Meng Foundation, a charity fund initiated by IMBA Alumni in 2005, celebrated its 10th Anniversary this year. The musical performances at the annual charity concert attracted over 200 IMBA students, alumni, professors and staff on March 14, 2015 in Shanghai. Ms. HONG Lu, Chairman of the 2013 Executive Committee, introduced the Foundation’s educational programmes in impoverished areas and volunteer service activities – explaining how better facilities greatly improved the quality of education. In Qinghai, the Foundation has expanded its scope of support beyond students to include teachers lacking sufficient resources.
This three-day leadership development programme was successfully held at the Cyberport from March 24 to 27, 2015. Twenty-three executives from Hai Nan Airline Group participated in the customised training programme, which included lectures on the topics including Leadership, Organisational Behaviour and Performance Management, and Project Management as well as site visits to the Civil Aviation Department and Hong Kong Airport Authority.
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June 2015
With the aim of expanding students’ global perspectives, Dr. Clement Wong led 17 BSc (QFin) Year 2 students on a field trip to New York from June 1 to 8, 2014.
They visited three top Wall Street investment banks - namely BlackRock, JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs - and met more than 20 finance professionals including risk managers, quantitative analysts, fund managers, traders, management consultants and asset allocation managers. They also attended seminars on risk management, securitisation, and IPO / M&A analysis in investment banking. The trip offered a valuable opportunity for students to interact with various industry professionals as they enhanced their understanding of the finance profession. Forty HKU students, together with 20 students from Sun Yat-sen We also experienced traditional Chinese culture as well as more University and seven students from other universities in Hong recent cultural developments. One of the most impressive cultural Kong participated in the HKU-Sun Hung Kai China Economic programmes was the Kunqu Opera by top performers in the Development Study Tour from December 23 to 30, 2014. The Hunan Kunqu Theatre who illustrated famous Chinese literary study tour aimed to enhance students’ understanding of the social, works in a distinctive way. I hope to visit other cities in China to political and economic development of Mainland China, giving watch their local operas - for example, to watch the Peking Opera students an all-rounded perspective on business culture and in Beijing - and then interpret the unique local culture through the practices in China through a series of workshops and site visits. perspective of opera.
TSE Ho-ying Coco, BBA (Acc&Fin), Year 2 The tour featured numerous company visits, lectures and site The eight-day study tour ended in the blink of an eye – but it visits, providing us with a more comprehensive view of China’s provided us with a unique insight into China’s politics, economics recent development. We also discussed hot topics including rural and culture, and gave us a comprehensive overview of China’s reconstruction and e-commerce. Although the on-going expansion current state of affairs. In addition, our interactions with students of Taobao and Alibaba have generated active interest and attention from Sun Yat-sen University allowed a firsthand view to worldwide, our professors reminded us to stay alert to the risks experience their mindset and understand how the education behind the seemingly unlimited business opportunities, and that system plays a role in shaping its citizens. e-commerce may not be as profitable as it appears to be.
The tour was a rare opportunity to explore China’s political All in all, these few days were an impressive and rewarding structure and environment. Through lectures and class experience. The tour provided me with an opportunity to witness discussions, I came to realise the complexity of China’s China’s development through my own eyes, and to exchange administrative structure. It was exciting to learn about recent ideas with brilliant students from around the region. changes in appointment criteria for government officials. The PRC government is now attempting to promote younger officials to the core authority, which could mean the introduction of new and innovative initiatives for China’s future development.
P.22 LIU Teng, BEcon&Fin, Year 3 development resonated with my major studies in Economics As I sat down to write this report, touching memories from and Finance, and I learnt a great deal from the lecture. P.23 this programme are still fresh on my mind. The lessons I have learnt will have a profound impact on my life. In addition to lectures, the tour gave us the opportunity to witness China’s ongoing development. A meeting with a As part of the programme, we attended lectures covering senior official of the National Committee of the Chinese Chinese culture, politics and economy. The speakers shared People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in their in-depth knowledge of modern China, impressing even a Foshan gave us an invaluable opportunity to exchange ideas Mainland student like me who should have a deeper on important issues regarding China’s future. We also visited understanding of the country! The Politics lectures explained technology companies and research institutions, giving us a aspects of promotion and organisational structure inside the snapshot of the technology industry’s expansion in China. Chinese government, which perfectly complemented one of Other trips to a temple in Foshan, as well as Anling College in my previous HKU courses, “Economic Development of Hunan Province, deepened our knowledge of China’s history. China” by Professor Chenggang Xu. I was surprised that the speaker mentioned Professor Xu’s theories in the lecture, Thanks to the programme, I met some of my newest but demonstrating comprehensive knowledge of the subject closest friends from HKU and SYSU. I will never forget matter and highlighting the close exchange of ideas between meeting them for the first time at the ferry terminal and HKU and SYSU. SYSU. They were the ones who spent one of my most unforgettable Christmas Eve parties with me, they were the The Economics lectures presented an intriguingly objective ones who supported me and won the tug of war together with view of the Chinese economy, challenging me to explore me, and they were the ones who made the entire study tour future possibilities for the country’s development. The Culture such a meaningful experience. I nearly burst into tears when I and History lectures were my favourites, especially Professor said goodbye to them. It was an honour to join this Xie Xiaoyang’s presentation on Southern China’s political, programme - not only to learn and deepen my understanding June cultural and economic history through the perspective of a of modern China’s development, but also to create new, deep 2015 small city in Hunan. His references to currency and trade and lasting friendships. TMA Challenge 2015 The TMA Challenge 2015 aims to enrich students’ financial knowledge of offshore RMB products. Each participating team was required to submit on November 16, 2014 a report of their predicted spot USD/CNH. Twenty-seven submissions were received and eight teams were shortlisted for the final stage of the competition which was held on January 16, 2015 at the Hong Kong Monetary Authority premises in IFC Two, Central.
The HKU team were 1st runners-up and the awardees are: Mr. CHEUNG Hung Leuk, BSc (QFin) Year 3 Mr. YUEN Man Hin, BEcon&Fin, Year 3
Scotiabank International Case Competition (SICC) 2015 Fifteen teams from 11 different countries participated in this year’s Scotiabank International Case Competition, including Canada, China, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and the United States. In the first round of the competition, teams were divided into sections to give a 15-minute PowerPoint presentation on doing business in their own country. The winning team in each section entered the final round and presented again to the judges.
The HKU team came in 1st runners-up in the competition.
The team includes: Mr. CHANG Yui Cheong Richards, BEcon&Fin, Year 2 Mr. CHENG Tak Wai, BBA (IBGM), Year 2 Mr. LAM Leung Man Calvin, BSc (QFin), Year 3 Miss LAM Lok Hei Evelyn, BBA (Law), Year 3
P.24 Welcoming the berry season, alumni and friends gathered in February 2015 to track down the elusive “milk strawberries”. Fortified with fresh milk and/or milk formula twice a week, these special strawberries are larger and sweeter than conventionally cultivated berries. During the tour, the farm owner also taught alumni how to make additive-free strawberry jam and each alumnus took home one big jar they made themselves. It was a perfect day to relax and escape June from the hustle and bustle of the city. 2015
On April 17, FBE alumni gathered together in Central to spend a cozy Friday night mixing and mingling with old and new friends in the FBE Alumni Family. More than 50 alumni from different programmes and working in different professions attended the event to catch up with each other. With an amazing view of the Central skyline against the backdrop of Victoria Harbour, fabulous live jazz, and mouth-watering canapés and wines, everyone enjoyed a fun and relaxing evening.
P.25P.21 June On March 25, 2015, Economics and Finance alumnus Mr. Sam Ng took time out from his busy schedule to come back 2015 to his alma mater for a career sharing session on investment banking with current FBE students. Sean Zhuang (BEcon&Fin, Year 3) and Michael Yau (BBA (Acc&Fin), Year 2) were student moderators for the event.
Sam started the talk by sharing his working experiences at J.P.Morgan. He then moved on to give some tips on resume writing and recruitment interviews. During the session, he asked students to search for some resume samples online, and emphasised the “dos” and “don’ts” of producing an effective resume. Participants also brought along their own resumes and asked Sam for improvement tips in an intensive interactive session. The highlight of the talk was a mock interview between Sam and Dr. Sammy Fung, Assistant Dean of the Faculty – and the informative session was rounded out by a lively Q&A.
P.26 In recent years, environmental issues have been attracting greater government and public attention across China as people realise we are fighting a war against environmental pollution. It is the responsibility of every citizen to do whatever they can to create a better environment for the next generation.
Working as a technician in a MNE research centre for many years, I realised that technology could help combat air pollution, one of China’s greatest environmental threats. This is why I joined Powerful Sky, a startup company based in Shanghai, as a technical partner in 2014. The company is dedicated to creating advanced sensors to help monitor the environment. After a year of research and development, we are proud to announce our high performance PM2.5 Dust Sensor is now available on the market.
During the development of the product, I received great support from IMBA alumni, who provided our team with valuable technical and marketing advice. Working together as a society, I am confident we can protect the environment and restore our planet’s natural beauty for future generations.
Night at the Museum!
I moved to London last Christmas and, out of curiosity and affection for the “Night at the Museum” film trilogy, attended a “Dino Snores” sleepover for grown-ups at the Natural History Museum shortly after the move.
After setting up my sleeping bag in the spectacular Central Hall amongst the dinosaur skeletons and making my first trip to the always-open cash bar, I heard music and turned to see a dinosaur playing a harp in the middle of the hall! And another dinosaur was taking photos of the first with its iPhone! As my eyes cleared, I realised these living dinosaurs were in fact other guests wearing full-body costumes… and that I was totally under dressed.
After a three-course dinner, during which staff encouraged us to drink heavily, all the guests were divided into groups for a lecture on insect sex, a live comedy show, a midnight insect feast (more “adventure” than “fun”), a lecture on gin making, and an all-night horror film marathon. In addition to the official activities, we were also given free run of the normally packed museum until 3AM.
I woke up slightly hungover the next morning to enjoy a hot English breakfast before the museum opened to the public. It will be hard to enjoy “normal” museum visits after this all-night adventure!
P.27 Copywriter/Editor: Wordsmith Design: Do-Good-Creative.com