In the Media

In this latest interview in the Open Questions series, Prof. Mao analyses China’s struggling property sector, reflects on US-China tensions, surveys the results of the highly anticipated third plenum and examines the changing nature of Hong Kong’s role in the broader economy.

Traditional public procurement policies mainly consider cost, quality, and user needs. In order to effectively support sustainable development and promote environmental protection in the public sector, the concept of "sustainable public procurement" has gradually become mainstream internationally. This concept emphasizes a balance of environmental, social, and economic benefits, and aims to promote sustainable development through government procurement activities.

2024大湾区首席经济学家论坛于7月27日在深圳举办，主题为“经济提质增效与大湾区发展新前景”。港大经管学院教授、中诚信国际首席经济学家毛振华出席并演讲。 毛振华谈到，现在跟老百姓有关的就是资产价格下行，资产价格下行如果不扭转过来，对居民的资产负债表不能做改善，整个消费和经济的运行都会有问题。他表示，最大的问题是房价，因为中国差不多90%的户籍人口都有自己的住房，房价下降过快，或者说房价下行的趋势还没有完全扭转，是当前经济工作的重中之重。

The 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China adopted a resolution on further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernization at its third plenary session. In an interview with Southern Finance 南方财经全媒体, Prof. Heiwai Tang, Associate Dean of HKU Business School and Director of Asia Global Institute, believes that the resolution charted a clear course for Hong Kong's development.

观察近年来全球气温变化情况，相对于上世纪五、六十年代，赤道周围的温度上升幅度不大，温度上升幅度大的反而是像北极这样的高纬度地区。而这些高纬度地区长期冰雪覆盖，所以温度上升导致冰雪融化，从而导致海平面急剧上升。2017年发表在Science上的一篇文章表明，地表平均温度上升超过2度以后，超额死亡造成的社会经济成本是最主要的一部分，随着温度持续升高，死亡人数就会大幅度上升。

Decentralized finance (DeFi) and the virtual asset market are important sectors of the Web 3.0 ecosystem and a must-win battle for global financial cities. They bring changes to traditional investment methods, but also give rise to concerns of network security and regulations. DeFi-related investment activities often involve market participants from multiple jurisdictions, resulting in varying regulatory standards. While operators and service providers can take advantage of regulatory loopholes, regulators also find it difficult to collect relevant information. There is also a lacking of unified definitions and classification standards for cryptocurrencies, making it challenging for financial regulators in different countries to analyze and identify the authenticity of various cryptocurrency products. Global financial regulators are advocating for the principle of "same activity, same risk, same regulation" to ensure fair competition among all market participants.

从去年开始，在意识到传统的金融市场发展会遇到一定瓶颈的情况下，香港便提出了发展Web3.0的战略。Web3.0与Web2.0的主要区别之一在于用户规模：目前Web3.0的用户数量大约为1-2亿，远小于Web2. 0的用户体量。 要实现Web3.0作为第三代互联网的全面普及，用户规模需起码需要达到10亿体量。但是要从1-2亿增长到10亿，中间还有很大的一个Gap。要解决这个Gap，一是传统投资人能直接投Web3.0的资产；二是让Web3.0上的投资人可以投资传统资产；三是推动Web2.0与Web3.0的结合。

港大經管學院中國經濟研究所（ICE）聯同中國人民大學中國宏觀經濟論壇（CMF）日前舉辦論壇，港大經管學院實務教授及中國宏觀經濟論壇聯席主席毛振華分析中國經濟築底回升的六項重要政策選擇，當中強調應以政策協助穩住房地產價格、調整消費需求和消費能力、妥善應對及化解債務問題、激發市場與民間投資與創新，以及透過改革開放進一步提升生產量和產品質素，並認為開放是中國經濟增長與發展的源泉之一，除了全面深化改革開放，更要充分發揮香港與大灣區的優勢，透過「引進來、走出去」，加快構建經濟雙循環新格局。

WSJ talked about the current trend of corporate dictatorships, where companies are run by founder-chief executives who hold on to special voting shares or run boards as their own personal fief. The article highlights a study by Prof. Roni Michaely of the University of Hong Kong, Hyunseob Kim of the Chicago Federal Reserve, and Doron Levit of University of Washington, which found that the benefits of a benign corporate dictatorship wane over time. The research, which examined 920 companies with both voting and non-voting shares, revealed an intriguing pattern. During the initial years following an IPO, companies with founder control tended to perform on par with their more democratically governed counterparts. However, after a decade or so, a significant premium emerged for shares with full voting rights. The article argues that granting full voting rights to all stakeholders is still the best form of governance for companies in the long run.