The financial services industry has for years been a pillar industry of Hong Kong and its share of Hong Kong’s GDP has increased over the years. Nonetheless, the financial services industry has been facing many challenges in recent years from multiple fronts, including competition from other financial centres in the region, geopolitical tensions, the rise of fintech, rising costs, increasing compliance burdens and ESG demands. In a world that is changing at an unprecedented pace, how could the financial services industry in Hong Kong respond through innovation and agility to the new opportunities and challenges? At this seminar co-organised by the HKU Business School and the Hong Kong Academy of Finance (AoF), four seasoned financial practitioners from banking, securities, and insurance sectors will share their first-hand experience on how to stay ahead of the game.

Speaker

Mr. KC Kwok
CEO, Hong Kong Academy of Finance 

Mr. Kwok has been an Honorary Senior Research Fellow in the HKU Business School since November 2008 and is now the CEO of the Hong Kong Academy of Finance. He was the Government Economist of the Hong Kong SAR Government (2004 – 2008) and the Regional Chief Economist of Standard Chartered Bank for East Asia (1991 – 2004).

Mr. Kwok has served on numerous committees and boards in Hong Kong, covering areas such as town planning, land & housing, building & construction, trade & industry, monetary system & financial services, competition, regional economic cooperation, technology & research, education & training, civil aviation, port and maritime services, transportation and environment.

Mr. Kwok was awarded the Bronze Bauhinia Star in 1999 and was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 2003 by the Hong Kong SAR government, in recognition of his long and dedicated public service. He also received a HKU Faculty of Social Sciences “40 Under 40 Distinguished Alumni Award” in 2007.
Mr. Kwok got his BSocSc degree from the University of Hong Kong, an MPhil (Econ) from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and an MSocSc in Public Administration from the University of Hong Kong.

Ms. Miranda Kwok
President and Executive Director, China Construction Bank (Asia)

Ms. Kwok has been serving the Bank for over 37 years. Prior to July 2013, when China Construction Bank reorganized its Hong Kong business by integrating CCB (Asia) and the Hong Kong Branch, she had been the president and chief executive officer of the Bank. Ms. Kwok is a member of the Bank’s senior management and Executive Committee that supports the overall bank management and corporate governance.

Ms. Kwok’s banking career began in 1984 when she joined Bank of America, Hong Kong as a management trainee and had worked in diversified capacities of various divisions. In 1996, she was transferred to Bank of America (Asia) (renamed CCB (Asia) in December 2006) from Bank of America, Hong Kong Branch, and was promoted to chief credit officer and senior vice president, responsible for credit approval and portfolio review, special assets management, collection, credit policies and procedures etc. She was appointed chief risk officer in 2005 to manage credit, market and operational risk. In addition, she assumed responsibilities over compliance, internal control and the corporate secretariat. From 2008 to 2010, she assumed the role of head of Consumer Banking in charge of retail business, credit card and wealth management in Hong Kong and Macau.

Ms. Kwok is the vice president of the Hong Kong Institute of Bankers, non-executive director of Financial Reporting Council, the member of the EFAC Financial Infrastructure and Market Development Sub-Committee, Hong Kong Export Credit Insurance Corporation Advisory Board, Air Transport Licensing Authority as well as the Standing Committee on Judicial Salaries and Condition of Services.

Ms. Kwok graduated with an Honourable Bachelor of Social Sciences Degree in Economics and Management from the University of Hong Kong in 1984, and graduated with honours from the Graduate School of Retail Bank Management of the Consumer Bankers Association in the United States in July 2001.

Ms. Ding Chen
CEO, CSOP Asset Management Limited

Ms. Ding is the Chief Executive Officer of CSOP Asset Management Limited, where she took up the position in 2010 and led the company into becoming the largest RQFII manager globally. Ms. Ding was also Assistant Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director of China Southern Asset Management Co. Ltd. (“CSAM”) from 2003 to 2013. During her tenor at CSAM, she successfully established its Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (“QDII”) business to issue China’s first public QDII fund which went on to become the largest in the nation. Ms. Ding was named “CEO of the Year in Asia” in the 2013 Best of Best Awards held by Asia Asset Management.

While serving as Permanent Honorary Chairperson of the Chinese Asset Management Association of Hong Kong, promoting communication and advocating for best practices among Chinese asset managers, she is Board Member and Convenor of the Mainland Opportunities Committee of Financial Services Development Council. She also is the Co-chairperson of the International Business Committee of the Asset Management Association of China.

Mr. Jingwei Jia
CEO Greater China, Swiss Re Corporate Solutions

Mr. Jingwei Jia is the Chief Executive Officer of Swiss Re Corporate Solutions Greater China covering mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau markets. He has been with Swiss Re for more than 15 years and has taken various senior positions in different markets.

In 2013, Mr. Jia took the role in Singapore as Head of Corporate Development Asia Pacific for Swiss Re Corporate Solutions managing acquisitions and strategy across the region. He was also the project leader to acquire the entity in China for Corporate Solutions China’s establishment in 2015.

Before joining Corporate Solutions, Mr. Jia worked across various functions including underwriting and business development for Swiss Re reinsurance business unit in Armonk (USA), Beijing and London.

Mr. Jia obtained his master degree in Management and Regulation of Risk at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in 2003. He has earned the Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation in 2006.

Moderator

Professor Yuk-fai Fong
Associate Dean (Taught Postgraduate)
Professor of Management and Strategy, Economics

Professor Yuk-fai Fong is a Professor of Management and Strategy, with joint appointment in Economics. Prior to HKU, he has taught at Kellogg School of Management and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Professor Fong received his BSSc and MPhil in Economics from Chinese University of Hong Kong, and PhD in Economics from Boston University.

His research interests include Industrial Organization, Competition Policy, Dynamic Games, and Applied Microeconomic Theory. He serves as an Editor for B.E. Journals of Theoretical Economics and Associate Editor for International Journal of Industrial Organization. His research has appeared at leading international journals such as Journal of Political Economy, Review of Economics Studies, RAND Journal of Economics, Journal of Economic Theory, International Economics Review, Games and Economic Behavior, Journal of Industrial Economics, and Journal of Economics and Management Strategy. He has consulted for companies such as Shell Oil Company and Platinum Guild International, and is an academic affiliate with Compass LexEcon. Professor Fong won the HKUST Franklin Prize for Teaching Excellent (MBA Required Courses) in 2017, and was a finalist for the award in 2013, 2014, and 2016.

HKU Business School strives to nurture first-class business leaders and foster academic and research endeavours in addressing the needs of Hong Kong, China and the rest of the world in the new digital economy. The Institute of Financial Technologists of Asia (IFTA), the first fintech certification body in Asia, is dedicated to accelerating fintech development, and leading the global development of fintech talent with the highest standards of ethics, education and professional conduct. The two institutes are co-organising this interactive webinar to contribute to the fintech and entrepreneurship ecosystem in Hong Kong. In this event, our speakers will share with us their experience, insight and tips about fintech startups and scale-up in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area with an aim towards aspiring fintech innovation and unleashing fintech companies’ potential.

Speaker – Mr. Benjamin Wong
Co-Founder & CEO, TranSwap
Convenor of Start-up Ecosystem Committee, IFTA

Benjamin Wong is the Co-Founder and CEO of Transwap Group of Companies.  Transwap is a global payment infrastructure facilitating payment & collection for businesses, enterprises, financial institutions and individual globally.  

Benjamin has a successful career in the corporate world, sitting as board member and CFO in global conglomerates. He has over 20-years of experience as in strategic planning, merger & acquisition and financial management. He is also a serial entrepreneur and has founded two previous businesses successfully.  Benjamin believes in contributing back to communities and is involved in many charities and communities’ projects both locally and internationally. He also held various directorships of Rotary club, including being a President of a local chartered Rotary club in Singapore.   

Benjamin is a fellow member of the Association Chartered Certified Accountants (UK), The Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants, Certified Public Accountants of Australia and Chartered Accountants of Malaysia Institute of Accountants.  He holds a MBA, DIC from the Imperial College of London.

Speaker – Mr. Albert Yip
Chairman, Syndicate Capital
Chairman of WealthTech Committee, IFTA

Albert Yip is the Chairman of Syndicate Capital and has been appointed as the Chief Strategy Officer at BOA International Financial Group in Jan 2020. Mr. Yip has over 30 years of banking and financial services experience leading corporate finance, internal audit, operations, risks management, compliance and regulatory functions in multi-national corporations.

During the past three decades, Mr. Yip was appointed as CEO, CFO, CAE and other C-Suite positions across Asia Pacific and the United States by Fortune 500 leaders in the banking and financial sectors. Mr. Yip was the Senior Vice President and Asia Pacific Regional Head of Corporate Audit at State Street Corporation (the world’s largest custodian bank responsible for USD 33.3 trillion of global assets). Mr. Yip was also the Asia Head of Audit Services at Manulife Financial (ranked #1 in best corporate governance financial institution in Canada). He served other senior management roles in Bitex, Online Credit and Westpac Bank.

Mr. Yip holds the MSc (Information System), and earned FCPA (Aust.), CRMA, FCMA and Forensic CPA designations. Among his public duties in professional bodies, he currently serves as the Chairman of WealthTech Committee and Convenor of Investment Committee at IFTA, promoting the development and investment in fintech. Mr. Yip is also appointed to the Task Forces of Banking & Finance of United Nations ESCAP, responsible for ESG investing, fintech development and responsible banking. Previously, Mr. Yip was the Governor and Chairman of Professional Development Committee of the Institute of Internal Auditors Hong Kong (2016-2019) and the Chairman of the Financial Services Committee of CPA Australia (2015-2018).

For community services, Mr. Yip is the first honoree in Asia to receive the WACE Award for his achievement and contribution to university students’ career developments on a global basis. In 2019, he was awarded with the Medal of Honour (MH) by the authority of Peru Government for his important contribution to the trade and cultural exchange.

Moderator – Dr. Kin Hang Chan
Associate Director, Centre for Asian Entrepreneurship and Business Values
HKU Business School

Dr. Chan was Corporate VP and Managing Director of DTS Inc. USA, a leading company in entertainment technology. At DTS, he had the overall responsibilities of the business in the Asia Pacific Region (excluding Japan). He also served as CEO of several technology companies. He was actively involved in open-source technology and had previously brought the start-up company to IPO in NASDAQ-NM, USA.

Dr. Chan is professor of practice in management at Hong Kong Baptist University, Associate Director and Adjunct Associate Professor in Management, Centre for Asian Entrepreneurship and Business Values, HKU Business School, The University of Hong Kong. He is an academic award winner in artificial intelligence (AI) research and a management scholar with strong interests in knowledge management and entrepreneurship development. He received Doctor of Business Administration from University of Newcastle, Australia, and Master of Laws at the University of Hong Kong. He earned his MBA from University of South Australia and holds a Master of Science in Computer Data Processing, and Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering from University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, UK.

HKU Business School collaborates with NWS Holdings Limited to organise the HKU-NWS Joint University Case Competition 2021 in April 2021. This competition is the annual signature event of HKU International Case Society (HICS), a student-run organisation supported by the School which aims to provide a platform for students to hone their case cracking, analytical and presentation skills.

The competition comprises preliminary round and final round. Before the competition, an industry talk will be offered by NWS where students will be able to gain better insight into specific business of NWS as well as the industry before case cracking. Participating students will also have the opportunity to chat with senior corporate management from NWS who will be on the judging panel at the final round presentation. Apart from HICS members from HKU Business School, undergraduate students from City University of Hong Kong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong and The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology will take part in this competition to compete for the Championship.

More details: https://ug.fbe.hku.hk/page/detail/253051

Amidst times of the COVID-19 pandemic and complex geopolitical landscape around the globe, how can the young generation steer through the difficulties and excel in their professional and personal development? How can business leaders steer through uncharted waters and bring their teams to new heights? What will be the upcoming trend of the global economy?

Two brilliant minds from academia and industry will collide virtually to exchange ideas and provide new insights for students and alumni.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has brought about inevitable challenges to the University’s activities and operations. In light of the current situation, the School is going to organise *“Investing in HKU Business School’s Global Talents – Empower & Match! (E-series)”. It is a series of recruitment talks featuring different sectors, from October to November 2020. Participating Employers: Lenovo AlphaSights Limited Standard Chartered Bank and more to be announced in due course. *The event will be exclusive for HKU Business School students only.

All teachers and Teaching Assistants/ Demonstrators of the Faculty are invited to attend an online teaching workshop taught by Dr Tawnya Means, a management faculty at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln who is an expert in online and technology assisted learning.

The interactive online workshop will take six hours spread over two three-hour sessions (see below):

6 Hour FBE Online Teaching workshop

Part 1: Tuesday 25 February, 9:00-12:00 on ZOOM

Part 2: Thursday 27 February, 9:00 -12:00 on ZOOM

Topics covered will include:

• Setting and communicating expectations
• Student/faculty and student/student interaction
• Student group work and presentations
• Organizing your online classroom
• Preparing for teaching online / converting materials
• Synchronous vs asynchronous online teaching
• Teaching cases
• Formative and summative assessment strategies
• Other topics as requested by FBE faculty

For further questions, please email Jeroen van den Berg at jeroen@hku.hk.