Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being used in the financial services industry worldwide. Financial institutions and Financial Technologies (FinTech) start-ups are using AI methods to assess credit quality, to price and market insurance contracts, and to automate client interaction. Some of these companies are optimising scarce capital with AI and machine learning techniques, as well as back-testing models and analysing the market impact of trading large positions. Hedge funds, broker-dealers, and other firms are using AI to find signals for higher (and uncorrelated) returns and optimise trading execution. These companies are using these technologies for regulatory compliance, surveillance, data quality assessment, and fraud detection.

Making decisions, from the trivial to the fundamental, is part of the everyday life of every manager and investor. For the last 30 years, psychologists — and more recently also economists — have studied how people process information and make decisions. This research program has provided an insightful understanding of how people’s decisions deviate from “optimal” ones, and the consequences of such biases in financial and personal terms. This course is devoted to understanding the nature, causes and managerial implications of these limitations. It will help the students discover a series of serious yet often overlooked mistakes that most people would commit in a variety of decision contexts, including investment decisions, hiring decisions, purchase decisions and even marital decisions. At the same time, this course will also teach them how to correct these mistakes and how to reach optimal solutions. Instead of overwhelming the students with mathematic models or academic theories, this course will use many in-class exercises and questionnaires to convey the concepts.

This course introduces current research and thought on the negotiation process, and provides opportunities for students to apply the concepts and skills in simulations of actual negotiations. Strategic lessons are learned from different actual cases. The objective is to enable students to appreciate the art and science of negotiation, to understand how to resolve conflicts and derive the most out of bargaining.

This course provides an opportunity for the MBA students to apply what they have learned in the classroom to solving real-world business problems. A minimum of three and a maximum of five students are required to form a project team, under the supervision of a BA faculty member. A project proposal outlining the work to be undertaken by the project team must be approved by the supervising faculty member and endorsed by the Director of MBA Programmes or his/her representative within 10 calendar days from the start of the term. The project must be sponsored by a company in Hong Kong and approved by the Director. The sponsorship includes joint supervision of the project by an appointed senior staff of the company, pledge of assistance and support to ensure the successful completion of the project, and possible remuneration to members of the project team, other than the supervising faculty member, for the work undertaken. Students are expected to spend, on the average, one day a week throughout the duration of the project. The project duration must cover the term time as published by the University calendar, but should not exceed four months in duration. A final report of the project to be submitted to the supervising faculty member and an oral presentation of the results to the management of the sponsor is part of the requirements of the course. The final grades of the students will be determined by the supervising faculty member, in which the evaluation of the project by the sponsoring body should be reflected.

(Open to all full-time and part-time Year 2 MBA students)

This course introduces a framework for business valuation analysis using corporate disclosure and financial statement data. The framework identifies four key components of valuation: business strategy analysis, accounting analysis, financial analysis, and prospective analysis. Employing a case methodology, applications of this framework in a variety of decision-making contexts including securities analysis, credit analysis, and merger and acquisition decisions are examined.

Effective communication and strong personal branding are keys to compelling leadership. In this practiceoriented course, participants will learn how to build confidence and develop a personal brand that will enable them to communicate effectively like a business leader. In addition, you will learn how to deliver messages clearly, both written and verbal, to a high-profile business audience. A few panel discussions featuring executives from several industries will be conducted, where students have the opportunity to observe and interact directly with senior business executives.

To fulfil the major assessment requirement of this course, students will form panel discussion teams themselves, and speak on important business topics in a simulated conference environment.

This course is designed to help students understand the role of China in the Global Economy. We will review the reforms and the current state of the Chinese economy and its financial markets. Major topics such as the Belt and Road Initiative, The Bay Area, Sino-US trade war, China and ASEAN, Islamic Finance will be covered. We will also study the development of e-payment the green economy in China.

This course provides a graduate-level overview of the principles and concepts that underlie corporate financial reporting and the economic consequences of accounting choices. The course focus is on developing the skills required to interpret the information contained in financial statements and its use in decision-making rather than on the skills required to prepare financial statements. Topics include the use of accounting information in evaluating firm performance, and corporate reporting policies.

This course delves into the major issues surrounding equity fund-raising in China. The principal focus is on initial public offerings (IPOs) and seasoned issues in Chinese stocks (including H- share, ‘red-chip’, private Chinese and ‘China-concept’ issuers) listed in Hong Kong. The characteristics of the various corporate entities and the nature of the funding methods utilized are critically explored. Case analysis of major IPO and seasoned equity issues (rights issues and private placings) features to amplify these objectives. Shanghai A- share listings are also considered as well as the various reforms to its constituent issuers. These include the transformation of non-tradable stock holdings into tradable form, the development of QFII and QDII schemes and the key reforms to China’s leading state-owned commercial banks. Finally, dual listings, such as American depositary receipts, and alternative routes to listing (‘reverse takeovers’) are also assessed. Upon completion of the course, students will have developed key insights into a major global funding activity.

Theories will stay on paper forever if they are not applied in practice. To become a successful business leader in the future, you need to master the skills of effective communication and be able to communicate with impact. This course will help you acquire the necessary skills of a great communicator and break your psychological barrier when you present in front of audience(s).