A group photo of the conference attendees
The world economy is going through a rough path and China's slowdown has raised new problems. In the context, Peking University HSBC Business School (PHBS) and the Risk Management Institute (RMI) of the National University of Singapore (NUS) hold the first PKU-NUS Annual International Conference on Quantitative Finance and Economics at PHBS, Shenzhen on May 7 and 8. It provided a platform for policy makers, practitioners, and researchers to enhance their risk management techniques, explore the latest investment strategies and manage the fundamental changes in the financial sector.
NUS Professor Steven Kou, Director of RMI, delivers opening remarks
The annual conference called for paper submissions on the theme of quantitative finance and economics. After review by an international panel of experts, 23 original and unpublished research papers have been selected for presentation and discussion at the two-day conference. The conference consisted of one plenary presentation and six sessions related to asset pricing, risk management, return prediction, corporate finance, quantitative finance, and macro finance. Each session featured presentations and discussions of relevant papers and Q&A sessions.
NUS Professor Deng Yongheng gives a plenary presentation
The conference kicked off at 9 a.m. May 7 with opening remarks delivered by PHBS Dean Wen Hai and Professor Steven Kou, director of RMI, National University of Singapore. It followed a plenary presentation given by NUS Professor Deng Yongheng on "Default Option Exercise over the Financial Crisis and beyond." As the Director of the Institute of Real Estate Studies (IRES), Professor Deng has been researching the real estate market and its related financial issues, and serves as an editorial board member of the Journal of Housing Economics, Real Estate Economics, and the Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics.
Russ Moro from Brunel University presents his paper in the corporate finance session
On the first day three sessions on asset pricing, macro finance and corporate finance were arranged. Chaired by NUS professor Steven Kou, the asset pricing session presented and discussed three papers. Discussants included Yulei Peng from Sun Yat-sen University and Xuchuan Yuan from Harbin Institute of Technology. The two sessions in the afternoon focused on macro finance and corporate finance and were chaired by PHBS professors Chia-Shang J. Chu and Ting Ren.
The second day began with a session on bank risk management, chaired by PHBS professor Heungju Park. Four papers on bank risk management were presented and discussed. After this session, NUS professor Robert Kimmel presided over the return predictability session. Jie Cao from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Liya Chu from Singapore Management University, Yingda Song from University of Science and Technology of China, and Heungju Park from Peking University shared their views on the subject. Four papers focusing on quantitative finance were presented and discussed in the quant finance session chaired by Steven Kou. The conference ended with closing remarks by associate professor Robert Kimmel, deputy director (Research) of RMI, NUS and associate professor Ting Ren, associate dean of PHBS.
HKUST associate professor Jialin Yu shares his views as a discussant
Participants have published research papers in top journals. PHBS Professor Chia-Shang J. Chu, who chaired the macro finance session, has published papers in a number of influential journals. His paper, "Panel Unit Root Test," published in the Journal of Econometrics, has been cited nearly 1,000 times and is regarded as one of the classic works on unit root test. Presenters and discussants of the papers are rising stars in academia. "The Chinese Warrants Bubble" by Jialin Yu, associate professor with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), was published in American Economic Review and awarded the Sun Yefang Financial Innovation Award. Assistant professor Yulei Peng has studied China's 4 trillion yuan stimulus package and published his paper in the Journal of Econometrics. Heungju Park, PHBS assistant professor, published a paper on stock return predictability in Journal of Monetary Economics.
The event is also part of PHBS' efforts to enhance PKU's involvement and presence in the global arena of economics, finance, and management research. The school is dedicated to cutting-edge academic research and cultivating business leaders with excellent leadership skills and global vision. Over the past year, PHBS professors have published papers on international academic journals, such as Journal of Monetary Economics, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, China Economic Review and Annals of Economics and Finance. Some papers also received attention from media and industry. The Financial Times interviewed assistant professor Chunyang Wang and quoted his research on corporate debts. Reuters, Harvard Business Review, and Forbes introduced assistant professor Kwangwon Ahn's paper published on Strategic Management Journal.
Splendid moments at the conference:
For the agenda and research papers, please click read more.
By Annie Jin & Sheryl Shao
Edited by Priscilla Young
