On 31 March 2023, the Department of Logistics and Maritime Studies (LMS) held a signing ceremony for a new agreement between China Merchants Energy Shipping Co., Ltd. (CMES) and PolyU. Witnessed by Captain Xie Chunlin, Chairman of CMES, and Dr Miranda Lou, Executive Vice President of PolyU, the agreement was signed by Captain Hu Bin, Vice-President of CMES, and Ir Prof. Edwin Cheng, Dean of Faculty of Business. During the ceremony, Captain Hu Bin and Prof. Andy Yeung, Head of LMS, expressed their hope that the agreement marked the beginning of an extensive and long-term collaboration between CMES and PolyU. Mrs Ding Jun, CDO of CMES, Prof. Mike Lai, Associate Dean of Faculty of Business, other senior leaders of CMES, and around 50 LMS academic staff and students attended the ceremony.

(From left) Captain Hu Bin, Captain Xie Chunlin, Dr Miranda Lou and Ir Prof. Edwin Cheng

On 5 May 2023, Sing Tao News Corporation and PolyU signed a memorandum of understanding to work together to raise industry and public awareness of ESG. As a result of this agreement, Sing Tao will use its media resources, while the PolyU School of Accounting and Finance will offer professional academic knowledge through the Center for Economic Sustainability and Entrepreneurial Finance (CESEF).

Together, the two parties plan to organise a series of activities, seminars, and training courses to promote knowledge transfer and the application of ESG. They are also developing an ESG certification scheme to evaluate companies’ ESG performance and recognise those that have made significant contributions in this field. The scheme will also provide guidance and suggest improvements on ESG-related issues.

(From left) Prof. Nancy Su, Head of PolyU School of Accounting and Finance and Dr Cai Jin, Co-chief Executive of Sing Tao News Corporation

FB members have always strived to transform our research breakthroughs into real-world solutions. In a bid to inspire more collaboration between the business community and academia, the Faculty is developing a series of videos to showcase how our research can be applied to everyday life. The featured projects include:

The Production and Operations Management Society, Hong Kong (POMS-HK) Chapter International Conference was established in 2009 to promote the sharing of knowledge, insights, and experiences among academics and practitioners in the fields of Production, Operations, and Management Science.

The Department of Logistics and Maritime Studies hosted this prominent conference for the third time on January 7th and 8th this year with the theme POM for a Better World: Accountable, Adaptive, and Agile. The two-day hybrid conference attracted more than 400 physical and online participants from around the world and 365 talks were delivered in 90 parallel sessions. During the conference, 77 students competed for the Best Student Paper awards.

The Asian Centre for Branding and Marketing (ACBM) of the Department of Management and Marketing (MM) seeks to promote excellence and professionalism in areas including consumer behaviour, digital marketing, social media communication, and B2B marketing. By building on the knowledge and experience of MM academic staff in marketing, the ACBM advocates for an integrated approach to advancing research, executive training, and management consulting. Through its mission to establish a leading research centre in branding and marketing in Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area, and the Asia Pacific region, the ACBM seeks to promote best-in-class practices in the field. With a vision to nurture, inspire, and empower ethical leaders, the ACBM is committed to developing collaborative networks and making a positive impact in wider society. Marketing professionals, business communities, and academia can benefit from the ACBM, which serves as a knowledge-sharing platform enabling the exchange of innovative ideas and best practices.

Head of MM Prof. Wu Liu, Centre Director Prof. Flora Gu, and Centre Assistant Director Dr Celine Ho, welcomed six honorary advisors to the Advisory Board in the April meeting. The six advisors are Mr Kevin Huang, COO of The South China Morning Post; Mr Terry Iu, Head of Industries Greater China Region of Meta; Ms Dionne Kung, Deputy CEO of the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation; Mr Gabriel Lee, Executive Director & Group General Manager of Hong Kong Ferry (Holdings) Limited; Mr James Tong, Director Public Affairs, John Swire & Sons (HK) Limited; and Ms Olivia Wong, General Manager Environmental & Social Responsibility of MTR Corporation Limited.

(From left) Dr Celine Ho, Mr James Tong, Mr Gabriel Lee, Mr Terry Iu, Ms Olivia Wong, Prof. Flora Gu, Prof. Wu Liu, and, Ms Dionne Kung

PolyU Outstanding Student Awards

Mr Zhou Zhuoting of the School of Accounting and Finance was selected as the Faculty’s Outstanding Student of 2022. Zhuoting has excelled in his studies and has received multiple scholarships, including the HKSAR Government Scholarship on Outstanding Performance, the President Emeritus Professor Poon Chung-kwong Scholarship, and the Patrick Wong C.P.A. Limited Scholarship. He was inspired by the warm-hearted companionship of the freshmen orientation programme and decided to serve as a group leader the following year to provide the same warmth and support to new students. During his exchange study in Italy, he had the opportunity to make friends from around the world and travel around Europe to experience different cultures and traditions. The experience was eye-opening for him and helped him develop a global outlook.

Mr Zhou Zhuoting (right)

Ms Li Pik Kei, Tiffanie, and Ms Lo Ka Lam were awarded Outstanding Student of the Department of Logistics and Maritime Studies, and the Department of Management and Marketing respectively.

Ms Li Pik Kei, Tiffanie (right)	Ms Lo Ka Lam (right)

The Outstanding Student Award recognises students who excel in both academic and non-academic pursuits during their studies.

Presidential Student Leadership Awards

Ms Jiang Ruixuan of the Department of Logistics and Maritime Studies was awarded the Presidential Student Leadership Award of the Faculty of Business 2022 in recognition of her exemplary leadership qualities and skills.

Ms Gong Zihan and Ms Lo Ka Lam won the Presidential Student Leadership Award of the School of Accounting and Finance, and Department of Management and Marketing respectively.

Ms Gong Zihan (right)	Ms Jiang Ruixuan (right)	Ms Lo Ka Lam (right)

The Presidential Student Leadership Award was established in the 2022/23 academic year to recognise students who have demonstrated exceptional leadership experiences and qualities both in the university and in the community.

Students received the honours at the Presentation Ceremony for PolyU Outstanding Student Award and Presidential Student Leadership Award on 20 March 2023.

Ms Li Pik Kei, Tiffanie, a BBA (Hons) student in International Shipping and Transport Logistics and a winner of the PolyU Outstanding Student Award of Department 2022, was awarded the HKSTPC Technopreneur Silver Award for the 2021/2022 year. She received the award for her participation in the YDC Dare To Change Business Pitch Competition organised by the Young Entrepreneurs Development Council (YDC).

The YDC Dare To Change Business Pitch Competition offers all tertiary students in Hong Kong a chance to step out of their comfort zone and deliver a five-minute pitch of their business ideas in front of seasoned executives. Participants compete for one-to-one guidance from business professionals, as well as subsidies to use as a start-up fund. Winners not only have an opportunity to execute their business ideas in an office offered rent-free by the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTPC), but they are also recommended to regional contests.

Ms Li Pik Kei, Tiffanie (right)

Four BBA (Hons) students from the School of Accounting and Finance teamed up to enter the HKICPA Business Case Competition 2022, and won. The team members were Ms Zhang Hanqi, Ms Zhao Yue, Ms Zhou Yingjun, and Ms Tan Jing.

The annual HKICPA Business Case Competition provides an opportunity for tertiary students to demonstrate their academic competencies and business knowhow to solve real-life challenges, exercise their current skillsets, and simultaneously cultivate their professional judgement and enhance their global perspectives. This year’s competition, which focused on the pharmaceutical industry, attracted around 1,700 students and 423 business proposals from 70 institutions.

(From left) Ms Zhang Hanqi, Ms Zhou Yingjun. Ms Zhao Yue and Ms Tan Jing

Ms Chan Yung Ting, Kelsey, a BBA (Hons) student in Global Supply Chain Management, won the Best Paper Prize in the Bachelor/Master category at the 19th GARS (German Aviation Research Society) Junior Workshop.

The annual GARS Junior Workshop invites Bachelor, Master and PhD students to present their work and receive valuable feedback from senior scientists. All submissions to the workshop compete for the Best Paper Prizes in two categories: Bachelor/Master and PhD. The papers are assessed by an independent jury of distinguished scholars in the field of aviation economics and aviation management from around the globe, and the prizes are awarded by the members of the Scientific Committee of the European Aviation Conference.

The jury was impressed by Kelsey’s analysis and excellent presentation of her work on Sustainable Aviation Fuel, a topic that the jury highlighted as crucial for the future of aviation.

On 25 April, PolyU’s School of Accounting and Finance, in collaboration with AI stock investment app Asklora, released its semi-annual Fintech Adoption Index (FAI) report for the first half of 2023. The FAI measures the latest conditions for and barriers to consumer fintech adoption and provides recommendations to fintech suppliers and policymakers to improve financial inclusion in Hong Kong.

Ir Prof. Edwin Cheng, Dean of PolyU Business School, and Mr King Leung, Head of Fintech at InvestHK, attended an event to mark the release of the FAI report, together with several fintech leaders and representatives from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Consumer Council.

The FAI surveyed over 2,000 Hong Kong residents on their adoption of key fintech applications in five fintech categories: digital payment (DP), virtual bank (VB), virtual insurance (VI), virtual wealth (VW), and virtual assets (VA).

The survey found that 74% of all respondents used fintech applications in at least two categories, with digital payment leading the way with a 91% adoption rate. The three most commonly adopted fintech applications are digital payment, virtual banks, and virtual wealth.

Further analysis showed that fintech adoption in Hong Kong was higher among people in their 30s to 50s than among younger Gen Z users. The survey also showed that fintech adoption was skewed toward males, and towards people 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, Bowtie will further improve our online insurance platform to offer a convenient yet reliable online insurance experience to citizens.”

The FAI data offers practical marketing strategies for other fintech startups, such as Asklora, an AI-based stock investment platform that collaborates with and supports the FAI. 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 fintech services to address a potentially underserved population.

Although fintech adoption in Hong Kong has seen significant success, the average adoption rate for all applications stands at 54%, indicating a split: certain applications, such as digital payments, are a resounding success. Others, such as virtual assets, have yet to gain widespread acceptance. The FAI survey asked non-adopters why they chose not to use fintech services. The top two answers were satisfaction with existing services and distrust of new technology. However, with the upcoming SFC licensing regime on virtual assets, it is possible that virtual assets will experience high growth in adoption in the coming months.

Looking ahead, the PolyU-Asklora FAI survey plans to incorporate several areas in future research. These include behavioural 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.

The PolyU-Asklora FAI project is led by Dr Jingran Zhao and Prof. Jack Poon from PolyU, and Mr Stephen Joon Choi from Asklora.

For more information on the PolyU-Asklora FAI, please visit www.polyufai.org.

(From left) Prof. Jack Poon (Professor of Practice, PolyU), Mr Joseph Chang (CEO & Co-founder, Asklora), Mr Marcos Chow (Group CIO, HKT), Mr Gabriel Kung (COO, Bowtie), Dr Jinggran Zhao (Associate Professor, PolyU), Ir Prof. Edwin Cheng (Dean, PolyU Business School), Mr King Leung (Head of FinTech, InvestHK), Dr Anthony Ng (CEO, HKVAX), Prof. Kai Lim (Chair Professor of Information Technology Innovation and Management, PolyU), and Dr Steven Wei (Deputy Director, AMTD FinTech Centre of PolyU Faculty of Business)