Postgraduate Courses

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Read and interpret central bank balance sheets.
• 2.
  Recognize central bank tools, decision making process and communication.
• 3.
  Diagnose current macroeconomic environment.
• 4.
  Assess the impact of central bank policy on the financial markets and the real economy.
• 5.
  Understand the fundamentals of treasury securities and rates pricing.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Identify and analyze the objective of the firm.
• 2.
  Apply the concept of time value of money and discounting cash flows to situations when the cash flows and the discount rate is known.
• 3.
  Analyze the pros and cons of the common methods used in firms to evaluate and pick investment projects, and explain why the net present value (NPV) rule is the only one that is consistent with maximizing firm value.
• 4.
  Define the principles for identifying the cash flows that need to be discounted to calculate the NPV of a project.
• 5.
  Calculate the weighed average cost of capital and apply this to a real company.
• 6.
  Apply the above tools to cases that involve deciding whether to take a project and to merger decisions.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Solve real world finance problems that are often encountered by corporate financial managers, bankers, and asset managers.
• 2.
  Work effectively in a team with people from different background.
• 3.
  Design financial strategy and present findings, insights, and advices in an accurate manner to future clients in the financial industry.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Describe the risks facing companies and the tools of corporate risk management (CRM).
• 2.
  Explain and illustrate the main theories relating corporate risk management to firm value.
• 3.
  Summarize the main empirical and survey results on the practice of corporate risk management.
• 4.
  Master the case studies covered and relate them to decision-making in today’s risk environment.
• 5.
  Conduct a structured CRM audit and make well-reasoned recommendations for improvement.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Summarize the fundamentals of family business including its definition, importance, complexity, and how it differs from non-family business.
• 2.
  Analyze the factors contributing to the longevity of family businesses, and the causes for the potential early demise, especially for ethnic Chinese family businesses.
• 3.
  Design suitable wealth management strategies, structure and governance systems for wealth creators to preserve family wealth, family legacy, and harmony across generations.
• 4.
  Prepare future leaders of family businesses.
• 5.
  Identify the similarities of and differences between Chinese family businesses and those from other ethnic groups around the world.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Analyze asset management through the lens of risk specific to asset owners.
• 2.
  Define relevant finance theories, quantitative methods, and economic intuitions.
• 3.
  Plan investment in long horizon return perspective.
• 4.
  Recognize the concepts of leverage, liquidity, agency issues and private information.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Apply Utility theory in finance, identifying the risk-return tradeoff, and derive the ‘correct’ price for financial assets using models such as the CAPM.
• 2.
  Practically apply CAPM and other models (e.g. Fama-French 3 factor model) in Excel-based applications.
• 3.
  Explain efficient markets, behavioral finance, and some trading strategies based on perceived violations of efficient market theory.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Apply the concepts of diversification, and adopt risk hedging, and optimal portfolio model to search for an optimal risk-return profile for a risky portfolio.
• 2.
  Apply multi-factor risk model in active equity investment management.
• 3.
  Analyze the effect of asymmetric information and liquidity on equity portfolio.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Analyze and comment on complex real-world financial problems.
• 2.
  Adapt investment strategies to meet business needs.
• 3.
  Propose asset/risk-management solutions that maximize stakeholder value.
• 4.
  Apply the principles, skills, methods, techniques, and knowledge of modern finance to the process of investment management and securities valuation.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Demonstrate functional proficiency in Python programming.
• 2.
  Apply the control and data structures to solve computational problems.
• 3.
  Perform data input/output and simulations, and produce high quality graphics/plots.
• 4.
  Use packages of relevance to quantitative finance.
• 5.
  Apply the programming techniques in financial context.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Apply econometric techniques for financial data analysis.
• 2.
  Analyze important facts and puzzles in asset pricing and corporate finance.
• 3.
  Use R programming language for data analysis.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Identify the FinTech, InsurTech and RegTech landscape, its segment, regulations and ecosystem.
• 2.
  Confidently drive FinTech project developments as part of the executive team and deal with arising issues from various stakeholders, i.e. IT, legal, audit, compliance and regulations.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Explain the fundamentals of portfolio management with FinTech applications.
• 2.
  Recognize the FinTech landscape within the Portfolio Management space.
• 3.
  Use Artificial Intelligence in Portfolio Management to solve applied Business Problems.
• 4.
  Present the future trends that are coming to Portfolio Management.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Understand what is Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) / Blockchain that supports the disruptive business strategies/models in banking and finance.
• 2.
  Explore and critically examine the deployment of any one or more of the DLTs, i.e. Blockchain, Ethereum, Hyperledger, R3 Corda and Stella in different environments.
• 3.
  Design the FinTech/InsurTech/RegTech business using BIDT and LoNG PESTEL model.
• 4.
  Analyze the socio-economic impact in the deployment of DLT instead of the traditional model.
• 5.
  Acquire the fundamental and practical knowledge to be entrepreneur or project management in the FinTech and Innovation industry.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Define the mechanics of the derivatives markets including futures, options and swaps.
• 2.
  Use derivatives for hedging risks.
• 3.
  Use derivatives for trading various views on direction and volatility.
• 4.
  Explain price derivatives and how prices change with respect to different factors.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Describe and apply advanced techniques in option pricing and derivatives risk management.
• 2.
  Define and apply the No Arbitrage principle to price derivatives in an efficient financial market.
• 3.
  Price derivative securities using the binomial model, risk-neutral valuation, and the Black-Scholes model.
• 4.
  Implement various hedging techniques based on option Greeks.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  To compare different kinds of financial structures in the Chinese and Asian contexts.
• 2.
  To analyze new situations to identify which techniques and contextual factors are the most critical.
• 3.
  To design and implement strategies using financial techniques in order to structure, negotiate and close deals in a variety of Chinese and Asian contexts.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Identify basic valuation techniques of the traditional fixed-income securities, based on concepts such as price-yield relationship, alternative definitions of yields, price sensitivity measures (durations and convexities).
• 2.
  Calculate spot rates, discount factors, forward rates, par-bond yields, holding period returns, and identify classical theories of the term structure of interest rate.
• 3.
  Implement yield-curve fitting techniques and some simple portfolio strategies.
• 4.
  Recognize more advanced concepts like repos and floating rate, and develop the necessary economic intuition and quantitative skills.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Use standard equity valuation models, like discounted cash flow (DCF) , to assess the value of a firm or a project.
• 2.
  Understand the value driving factors, for example, management team, market monopolistic power, and technological barrier, from the angle of a private equity manager.
• 3.
  Understand the difference in the equity pricing/valuation practice between the western world and the Greater China region.
• 4.
  Use certain models to detect the potential frauds in financial statements.
• 5.
  Use real options in assessing the value of firm or project when facing high uncertainty.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Explain the world of VCPE investments.
• 2.
  Analyze challenges associated with each cycle of the VCPE process from pre-investment to post-investment.
• 3.
  Implement VCPE key screening criteria to identify and screen prospective investee companies.
• 4.
  Develop skills and understanding necessary to perform VCPE due diligence for prospective investee firms.
• 5.
  Evaluate term sheet structure, key terms and understand their limitations and challenges.
• 6.
  Apply VCPE fund governance, management, and return measures in practice.
• 7.
  Apply valuation techniques to value private firms, including market, income, and asset-based approaches.
• 8.
  Describe practical limitations of various valuation techniques and the importance of understanding assumptions of the underlying business valuations.
• 9.
  Administer the highly practical approach to mitigating, adjusting VCPE risks.
• 10.
  Draft investment memo to address investment rationale, risks, and rewards in practice.
• 11.
  Evaluate routes of VCPE exits, including trade sale, secondary buyout, IPO, among others.
• 12.
  “Experience” the realm of being a VCPE professional by engaging in a “hackathon” way of negotiation between the buyer (VCPE) and the seller (investee firm) that aims to mimic the real world environment.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Broaden and deepen their understanding of finance, explain how financial markets actually work and minimize trading costs when they trade for themselves or their employers.
• 2.
  Apply practical skills to explain real-time quotes and analyze the costs of trading.
• 3.
  Demonstrate effective communication in oral English through group presentations.
• 4.
  Develop creative and critical thinking through the group project of developing their original trading strategy or analysis of a brewing trading controversy.
• 5.
  Work effectively in multi-cultural settings.
• 6.
  Recognize ethical and professional responsibility of finance professionals; in particular through the discussions of the dark side of trading.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Understand how a bank organizes itself to manage different types of risks.
• 2.
  Critically review structures and proposals to identify key risks and think about potential mitigants.
• 3.
  Understand the latest concepts in risk management.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Understand what hedge funds are and how they are structured.
• 2.
  Understand the major hedge fund strategies, their potential risks and expected rewards.
• 3.
  Understand how to analyze hedge funds qualitatively and quantitatively.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Measure the value created by M&A/Restructuring.
• 2.
  Evaluate the tactics and the effect of management opposition to M&A.
• 3.
  Understand the role of Private Equity, activists/raiders in corporate restructuring.
• 4.
  Implement merger arbitrage tactics.
• 5.
  Understand the role of corporate governance in M&A/Restructuring decisions.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Identify and explain the types and nature of commodities in general, their pricing mechanisms and the methods by which these commodities are traded.
• 2.
  Implement commodity trades and size them appropriately.
• 3.
  Explain the contractual principles underpinning trade finance.
• 4.
  Describe and explain infrastructure investing.
• 5.
  Present a research topic about these alternative investments.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Use venture capital (VC) investing fundamentals in the real world.
• 2.
  Interact with investee companies.
• 3.
  Select investee companies and enhance themselves using advanced evaluation matrices.
• 4.
  Generate due diligence list and explain the rationale behind it.
• 5.
  Conduct due diligence on investee companies and explain how Investment Committee (IC) members approve investment deals.
• 6.
  Value investee companies using methods recommended by International Private Equity Valuation
  Guidelines (IPEVG), including option pricing.
• 7.
  Negotiate term sheets and explore deal structures with investee companies.
• 8.
  Close deals (or not) with investee companies, draft closing reports, and conduct post-deal analyses.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Understand the latest industry best practices to launch and manage a VC fund
• 2.
  Construct a VC fund portfolio
• 3.
  Decide the most appropriate valuation method for a startup
• 4.
  Conduct a due diligence process on a startup company
• 5.
  Construct a best-practice term sheet that reflects considerations to all parties
• 6.
  Determine the most appropriate exit strategy for an investment
• 7.
  Answer the question: is venture capital the right career choice for me?

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Examine the nature of main financial institutions (i.e., banks, insurance companies, mutual funds, and hedge funds)
• 2.
  Examine the incentives of decision makers in main financial institutions
• 3.
  Understand the role of main financial institutions in the economy
• 4.
  Understand the effects of informational problems in main financial institutions
• 5.
  Understand the effects of agency costs on behavior of agents in main financial institutions
• 6.
  Critically evaluate the incentives of different economic actors in development of financial crises

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Explain the connections between the financial statements.
• 2.
  Demonstrate key accounting concepts such as cash vs. accruals, revenue recognition, and cost structure.
• 3.
  Build pro-forma financials and convert them to discounted cash flow projections.
• 4.
  Cite relevant case studies to show how and why appealing investments can go wrong.
• 5.
  Integrate micro-foundations, macro-conditions, and market sentiment in formulating an investment case.
• 6.
  Compare and contrast the pros and cons of various valuation methods.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Trace the history of green finance, situate its current state, and project likely future trajectories.
• 2.
  Differentiate among financial instruments, green and traditional, and critique their shortcomings.
• 3.
  Review the changing disclosure environment and the reliability of key carbon emissions disclosure items.
• 4.
  Describe and critique the various institutions and methods for green certification and verification.
• 5.
  Describe the rating harmonization challenges and the role of technology in green data collection.
• 6.
  Narrate the green experience in emerging Asia and Japan and the case of China in particular.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Describe the overall Alternative Investment (AI) ecosystem, including the various market participants and investment strategies.
• 2.
  Develop an Investment Policy Statement from the perspective of the different Asset Owners.
• 3.
  Compare and contrast across the different AI strategies in terms of the relative risk and return profiles, strengths and weaknesses, and relevance for different market participants.
• 4.
  Describe the different methods for accessing, evaluating, and selecting different AI strategies and investment opportunities.
• 5.
  Develop, prepare, and present marketing materials for different investment strategy and products.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Understand the climate change risks and impacts.
• 2.
  Understand the financial institutions’ roles in net zero transition.
• 3.
  Master the practical skills of carbon measurement and climate reporting.
• 4.
  Develop the climate finance products.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Use a mindmap and implied probabilities to reach a trading decision.
• 2.
  Identify the different roles on the trading floor.
• 3.
  Understand how a trading floor works to service clients needs.
• 4.
  Understand the role of trading, program trading and prime brokerage in the functioning of equity markets.
• 5.
  Understand the relationship between credit, equity, bond and FX markets.
• 6.
  Understand the impact of derivatives on equity and other markets.
• 7.
  Understand the importance of the global financial crisis and how it continues to impact the modern world.
• 8.
  Understand the impact of the actions of Global Central Banks on equity and other markets.
• 9.
  Put together an investment case for investment into a market.
• 10.
  Gain a deeper understanding into how markets work and how market practitioners try to reach investment decisions.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Describe the typical deal life-cycle of a financing transaction and how they differ for different type of clients, situations and products.
• 2.
  Undertake due diligence of a real estate transaction.
• 3.
  Write a credit approval memo for internal bank discussions.
• 4.
  Negotiate a term sheet.
• 5.
  Evaluate financing proposals from a borrower's perspective.
• 6.
  Identify the different financing situations and markets available to borrowers.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Students will have a solid foundation on theories of exchange rate determination.
• 2.
  Demonstrate the ability to manage foreign exchange risks using different hedging strategies.
• 3.
  Understand the market mechanism of onshore and offshore RMB markets.
• 4.
  Students will be well prepared for some of the FX topics in the CFA level I, II, III exams.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Apply personal profiling and risk profiling techniques to comprehend the unique situation and preferences of the client.
• 2.
  Prioritize goals for client given their unique situations and determine the feasibility of achieving these goals.
• 3.
  Construct personal financial statements and use ratios and other techniques to analyze the client's financial situation.
• 4.
  Construct optimal portfolios and make asset allocation decisions which match goals, risk tolerance and other client characteristics.
• 5.
  Clearly discuss and justify recommendations.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Describe the differences in composition and architecture of the major Asian stock markets.
• 2.
  Explain “top-down” (macro) and “bottom-up” drivers of the major Asian stock markets.
• 3.
  Narrate recent dynamics in Asian equities and map these to a concrete investment plan.
• 4.
  Formulate an Asian stock market outlook.
• 5.
  Adapt an existing Asian market outlook to reflect changes in investment views.
• 6.
  Present a complex investment view in a concise and clear format.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Manage the wealth and achieve greater meaning of the wealth.
• 2.
  Understand fundamentals and wealth management role of family office.
• 3.
  Understand the impact investing and risk management of family office.
• 4.
  Understand the concepts of family trust and family governance.
• 5.
  Understand the family philanthropy and the family office development in China.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Describe the fundamental driving forces of responsible finance.
• 2.
  Compare and contrast responsible finance and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) in relation to corporate objectives.
• 3.
  Explain how investors may engage with firms in effective manners.
• 4.
  Work in teams on cases to apply responsible finance theory to practice.
• 5.
  Utilize the tools and data sets used in evaluating ESG performance.
• 6.
  Propose a novel corporate project that grows the pie.
• 7.
  Broaden firm performance evaluation encompassing ESG methods.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Compare and contrast various green finance and capital market products.
• 2.
  Describe and quantify the costs and benefits of green finance as it impacts credit ratings.
• 3.
  Explain and critique the green bond assessment process performed by credit rating agencies.
• 4.
  Apply the green certification approaches to the green bonds performed by certification service providers.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Understand industry standard risk management models and their advantages and limitations.
• 2.
  Calibrate these models using real-world finance data.
• 3.
  Employ Monte Carlo simulation to quantify risk measures.
• 4.
  Efficiently use R for handling financial data, calibration of models, and quantification of risk.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Use Excel formulas, functions and commands in finance-related applications.
• 2.
  Implement in spreadsheet format concepts from finance theory, with emphasis on portfolio choice and valuation of derivatives and fixed income securities.
• 3.
  Gain hands-on experience in designing finance models.
• 4.
  Critically evaluate the strengths and limitations of the output of various financial models in principle, and those implemented in a spreadsheet in particular.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Define what big data is and how it relates to finance.
• 2.
  Work with Python.
• 3.
  Use Python to produce basic statistics and visualize data.
• 4.
  Describe the basic mathematical rationale for state-of-the-art machine learning models.
• 5.
  Use Python to estimate machine learning models on real-world data.
• 6.
  Explain how cloud computing technologies can be employed to facilitate quick estimation of complex.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Apply the financial knowledge to real-world investment management and securities valuation.
• 2.
  Develop sophisticated financial models to support decision making.
• 3.
  Propose asset/risk-management solutions that maximize firm value.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Have up-to-date and in-depth knowledge of finance, leading to independent substantive scholarly research.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Demonstrate a broad based knowledge of core business functions.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Present their discipline knowledge clearly to laymen.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Have up-to-date and in-depth knowledge of finance, leading to independent substantive scholarly research.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• 1.
  Apply their specialized knowledge to solve related business problems in an innovative fashion.