Pacific-Basin Finance Journal (PBFJ) Special Issue Conference

To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the landmark seminal paper “Returns to Buying Winners and Selling Losers: Implications for Stock Market Efficiency” by Prof. Sheridan Titman and Prof. Narasimhan Jegadeesh, the Pacific-Basin Finance Journal (PBFJ) Special Issue Conference will be held at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) on 18 and 19 May 2023.

大咖聊經濟與香港金融就業論壇

會計及金融學院將舉辦大咖聊經濟與香港金融就業論壇，深入探討經濟狀況。是次論壇邀得思睿集團首席經濟學家洪灝先生...

PolyU’s School of Accounting and Finance releases 2023 semi-annual Fintech Adoption Index survey result

(10 May 2023) The Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s (PolyU) School of Accounting and Finance, in collaboration with AI stock investment app Asklora, released the 2023 first-half Fintech Adoption Index (FAI) report. It aims to measure the latest condition and barriers of consumer fintech adoption and provide recommendations to fintech suppliers and policymakers to improve financial inclusion in Hong Kong. On 25 Apr, The FAI released its 2023 semi-annual report. Ir. Prof. T.C. Edwin Cheng, Dean of PolyU Business School and King Leung, Head of Fintech at InvestHK, attended the FAI release event with several fintech leaders and representatives from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and Consumer Council.  The FAI surveyed over 2,000 Hong Kong residents on their adoption of key fintech applications divided into five fintech segments: digital payment (DP), virtual bank (VB), virtual insurance (VI), virtual wealth (VW), and virtual assets (VA).   The survey found that 74% of all respondents were users of at least two fintech segments, with digital payment leading the way with a 91% adoption rate. The three most commonly adopted fintech segments are digital payment, virtual banks, and virtual wealth.   Further analysis showed that fintech adoption in Hong Kong was higher among users between their 30s and 50s than younger Gen Z users. Additionally, our survey showed that fintech adoption was skewed toward males and users with higher education and higher income. Property ownership was positively correlated to fintech adoption. Gabriel Kung, Chief Commercial Officer of Bowtie, a virtual insurance company, said, “Data from the FAI report provided insightful information for the virtual insurance industry. looking ahead to the future, Bowtie will further improve our online insurance platform in order to offer a convenient yet reliable online insuring experience to citizens.” In fact, the FAI data provides pragmatic marketing strategies for other fintech startups, such as Asklora, an AI-based stock investment platform that is an FAI collaborator and supporter. Stephen Joon CHOI, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Asklora, said, “Asklora has shifted its focus from younger, inexperienced investors to a slightly older and wealthier target audience based on the FAI report.” The survey also revealed a need for Chinese language educational services on fintech to address a potentially underserved population. While there is a great success in Hong Kong fintech adoption, the average fintech adoption across all segments is 54%, which indicates a bifurcation: certain segments, such as digital payments, are a resounding success, but others, such as virtual assets, have yet to take true acceptance.  The FAI survey asked non-adopting participants why they chose not to use the fintech services. The top two answers were satisfaction with existing services and distrust of new technology. With the upcoming SFC licensing regime on virtual assets, virtual assets may exhibit the highest user growth in the coming months.  In the future, the PolyU-Asklora FAI survey plans to incorporate areas related to behavioral finance, investment and retirement options for consumers, enablers for small-medium enterprises, aspects of fintech usage, and the challenges and opportunities for fintech providers from a user perspective in future research.  The PolyU-Asklora FAI project is led by Dr. Jingran ZHAO, Associate Professor of the School of Accounting and Finance of PolyU, Jack POON, Professor of Practice from the same school, and Stephen Joon CHOI, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Asklora. For more information on the PolyU-Asklora FAI, please visit https://www.polyufai.org.  

PolyU Builds Strategic Partnership with Sing Tao News Corporation

PolyU signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Sing Tao News Corporation at PolyU on 5 May 2023. Center for Economic Sustainability and Entrepreneurial Finance (CESEF) and Sing Tao endeavour to raise industry and public awareness of ESG through CESEF. The CESEF team will also form a panel of judges to choose winners of Sing Tao’s ESG awards.  To further promote knowledge transfer and ESG application, a series of activities, such as seminars and workshops, will be launched this year through the collaboration between CESEF and Sing Tao. The activities are expected to generate considerable interest in ESG and attract a significant number of participants.    Event Photos   Media Coverage   Sing Tao signs memorandum of understanding with PolyU on ESG cooperation (The Standard, 5 May 2023) Sing Tao and PolyU join hands to promote ESG (The Standard, 8 May 2023) 星島夥理大擬推首個ESG認證計劃 評估企業相關表現 (星島頭條, 5 May 2023) (in Chinese only) 星島理大擬推首個認證計劃 評估企業ESG相關表現 (星島頭條, 5 May 2023) (in Chinese only) 星島理大簽備忘錄 合作推廣ESG (星島日報, 6 May 2023) (in Chinese only) 攜手推動ESG發展 共建更美好香港 (頭條日報, 8 May 2023) (in Chinese only)  

Web3 與香港金融就業論壇

近年Web3急速發展，會計及金融學院特意舉辦Web3與香港金融就業論壇，加深同學認識Web3及把握未來機遇。是次論壇...

Call for Nominations: Outstanding Alumni Award of PolyU School of Accounting and Finance 2023

The enhanced three-level Outstanding PolyU Alumni Award (OPAA) introduced last year has achieved a great success. The School of Accounting and Finance (AF) is pleased to announce that the new round of departmental OPAA 2023 is now calling for nominations until 31 March 2023 (Friday). The departmental OPAA aims to publicly recognise outstanding graduates of AF for their professional achievements and significant contributions to the community and their alma mater. The departmental awardees will be nominated for the Faculty Awards or above. Eligibility The nominated candidate must be a bona fide graduate who has successfully completed the full-time or part-time programme offered by PolyU (or its forerunners: Hong Kong Government Trade School, Hong Kong Technical College, Hong Kong Polytechnic; and its constituent units: School of Professional Education & Executive Development and Hong Kong Community College) which led to academic award accredited by the respective Institution. The proposer can be a PolyU graduate, Honorary Graduate, University Fellow, PolyU staff, current PolyU Council and Court member and current Advisory Committee member. There is no limit to the number of nominations to be submitted by each proposer. However, the proposer cannot be the candidate himself/ herself or a direct relative of the candidate. Award Categories and Selection Criteria In addition to honouring distinguished graduates for their distinction in their chosen fields, the Award recognises the alumni’s active support to their alma mater. Support and Contribution to PolyU is one of the key selection criteria at all levels. Four specific areas of achievement would be given recognition, they include Professional Achievement, Entrepreneurial Achievement, Scholarly Achievement and Community Service Achievement. Outstanding Young Alumni Award is introduced for alumni at/under the age of 40. Award Category Description Professional Achievement This category recognises alumni who have attained distinguished achievements, demonstrated exemplary leadership, and made a strong impact on their profession/ industry/ society. Entrepreneurial Achievement This category recognises alumni who have demonstrated outstanding innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as founded or advanced business or technology ventures with impact. Scholarly Achievement This category recognises alumni scholars who have made notable scholarly or research contributions in their disciplines, with proven track record and excellent reputation in the field. Community Service Achievement This category recognises alumni who have made impactful contributions to the communities, or demonstrated an extraordinary level of commitment, volunteerism and/or philanthropy for promoting the wellbeing of the communities. Notes: The bestowal of the award shall subject to individual merits of the candidates.  No award shall be given out in a certain category if no suitable candidate is identified. Nomination and Selection Schedule The nomination form could be downloaded here. Please return the completed form to afmail@polyu.edu.hk with all required supplementary documents (such as a current curriculum vitae of the nominee and two written references) on or before 31 March 2023. Selection Committee and Result Announcement Selection Committee will examine the nominations and assess candidates’ qualifications and performance for the awards. The result will be announced in early May. Confidentiality All information submitted on this nomination form will be kept strictly confidential and will only be used by the Selection Committee for the purpose of the selection process.  The candidate will not be contacted by the OPAA Secretariat until he/she is selected as the awardee of the Outstanding PolyU Alumni Award.   Enquiries School of Accounting and Finance The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Email: afmail@polyu.edu.hk

PolyU Accounting and Finance Rank Top 2 and Top 3 in Hong Kong

PolyU School of Accounting and Finance achieved impressive results in the latest world university rankings.  According to EduRank, PolyU ranked 2nd in accounting and 3rd in finance in Hong Kong. Both subjects are ranked 4th in Asia. The rankings were based on research performance, non-academic prominence, and alumni impact, using data collected from more than 14,000 universities around the globe. The results bear testimony to the continued success of PolyU School of Accounting and Finance, as we continually strive for excellence in education and research. Moving forward, the School endeavours to support the university in reaching new heights in other similar rankings.

PolyU Launches New BBA (Hons) in Digital Finance and Investment for 2023/24 Intake Cohort

PolyU School of Accounting and Finance will launch a new BBA (Hons) in Digital Finance and Investment for the 2023/24 intake cohort. This programme aims to nurture Fintech talents for Hong Kong and provides students with an opportunity to specialise in digital finance and investment management. Notable subjects include “Investments and Portfolio Management”, “Business Valuation” and “Python Programming for Accounting and Finance”.  Related News Articles: 理大推跨學科中史課程 工商管理增數碼金融 [頭條日報(Headline Daily)] 理大推跨學科中史課程 工商管理增數碼金融 [巴士的報(Bastille Post)]

Two AF Graduates Receive CPA Australia Distinction Award

Congratulations to the 2011/2022 CPA Australia Distinction Award winners! Ms Yu Sze Man, Sherry graduated from Bachelor of Business Administration (Hons) in Accountancy and Mr Cheung Wan Fung, Eddie graduated from Master of Professional Accounting have won the CPA Australia Distinction Award in 2011/2022 cohort. CPA Australia Distinction Award is an annual scholarship that recognises top graduates from local undergraduate and master programs. This year, our winners demonstrated their academic intelligence and inspiration to pursue a career as CPAs.

AF faculty member is recognised as a 'Visionary Educator 2022'

Professor Brian Kei, Professor of Practice in the School of Accounting and Finance, was recently recognised as a Visionary Educator 2022 by the UiPath Academic Alliance, the educational partnership arm of UiPath, a global software company. UiPath is the global leader in making software robots using Robotic Process Automation (RPA), a software technology that makes it easy to build, deploy, and manage software robots that emulate human actions. By automating some of their business services, companies can improve their operational efficiency. The Visionary Educator award is awarded every year to distinguished educators who have demonstrated exceptional initiative to grow the adoption of automation skills and improve the employability of students. Professor Kei was recognised for his successful efforts to build a RPA talents community in Hong Kong, thus providing the tools for his Capstone project students to explore career opportunities through project engagement with diverse companies using automation technologies. For example, his students developed a software robot that enabled a company to replace the demanding manual process of producing 400 customised monthly financial statements with an automated process that took just 20 minutes. PolyU was the first university in the region to offer doctoral programmes in business administration and fintech. The Faculty of Business continues to maintain a strong reputation for innovation and original thinking in these crucial areas.