CUHK MBA Field Trip to Hong Kong and Singapore

A group of MBA students spent time in both Hong Kong and Singapore to investigate the latest trends in Fintech ventures, examined the impact of technology and innovation and its management. Field visits to Cyberport, Block 71, DBS Innovation Group and Finlab on top of lectures delivered by professors at SMU and NUS were extremely useful and informative.

A practical lecture, delivered by Mr. Raymond Cheng, COO of HSBC Group Asia Pacific on “Fintech Development in Hong Kong & Singapore”, kick-started the trip, followed by a visit to Cyberport with a detailed introduction from their Business Development Manager of Entrepreneurs Team, Ms. Flora Yeung.

Sharing from Dr. Cheney Choi on Blockchain ended Day 2 on a high note. The students were then off to Singapore.

Day 3 – The first stop after arrival in Singapore was Block 71, an incubator for start-ups where students, investors and financiers are put together under one roof. After the visit, our students attended a lecture delivered by Professor Wong Poh Kam on “Entrepreneurship Development & NUS Enterprise in Singapore” at The HANGAR by NUS Enterprise.

Professor Wong Poh Kam is one of the founders of Block 71. He is also the Senior Director of NUS Entrepreneurship Centre.

In the afternoon, Dr. Jeremy Loh. SVP, DBS Venture Debt Financing gave a useful overview on how traditional banks evaluate tech ventures.

Day 4 began with an exciting visit to the DBS Innovation Group, DBS Asia X. DBS Asia X (DAX) is a space where the bank collaborate with start-ups and the broader FinTech community to re-imagine, inspire and create the future of innovation. Mr. David Ding, AVP & Regional Head of FinTech, shared his valuable insights with our students.

Then a lecture by Ms. Robyn Tan where students are given an overview on the Institute of Innovation & Entrepreneurship at SMU.

Visit to The FinLab. Mr. Felix Tan, CEO of FinLab shared his insights in issues in developing fintech ventures.

Day 5 was yet another fulfilling day with 3 different lectures from Prof. Andrew Delios, Mr. Phillip Yoon and Ms. Maureen Nova Ledessma. Professor Andrew Delios shared a case study on the development of DBS (DBS Bank: Transformation Through Strategy Implementation). This lecture complemented with the one delivered by Dr. Jeremy Loh earlier in the trip plus the visit to DBS Asia X, provided students with a more comprehensive view in understanding the big picture.

Whilst Mr. Phillip Yoon, CIO of Scintilla Global Research Advisers and Ms. Maureen Nova Ledesma, Co-Founder & CEO, Vesl Trade Finance, gave our students invaluable briefs on their respective companies.

What does our student think?

Ben TAN (Full-time Student):

“That was such an inspiring trip! Well organized itineraries and outstanding speakers. The trip demonstrated some very good ideas to Hong Kong students about how Singaporeans set up their entrepreneurships and we saw how the Singapore government incentivizes people to do start-ups. I want to thank Professor Wilton and his TA Alan for their great job in making these absolutely wonderful arrangements!”