IBSS hosts “China Banking and Corporate Finance” Youth Forum

On April 13, the spring edition of the 2024 China "Banking and Corporate Finance" Youth Forum was held at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, attracting over 60 distinguished experts, scholars, and PH.D. students. Professor Hefei Wang, Associate Dean for Academic Engagement in International Business School Suzhou (IBSS) at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), inaugurated the event with a welcoming address, while Professor Xuezhong He from the Department of Finance at IBSS chaired the opening session.

Professor Hefei Wang

Professor Wang extended a warm welcome to all attendees, expressing gratitude and emphasizing the forum's role as a premier platform for dialogue among researchers in the banking and corporate finance sectors.

Keynote Speeches

The forum began with a keynote speech from Professor Jun Qian, the Executive Dean of the Fudan International School of Finance and a member of the Shanghai Municipal People's Political Consultative Conference's standing committee. Under Professor Xuezhong He 's chairmanship, Professor Qian presented "Centralization or Decentralization? Evolution of State Ownership in China." His team's analysis of ownership network data from more than 40 million Chinese companies between 1990 and 2017 led to a novel set of metrics for measuring state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Their findings highlighted a dual trend in SOE ownership structure: a move towards decentralization, with reduced central government shareholding, alongside increased indirect control via local government stakes across multiple levels.

Professor Jun Qian

Following this, Professor Qingyuan Li, Distinguished Professor under the Ministry of Education's Major Talent Programme, from Wuhan University, delivered a keynote on "Spatial Distribution of Bank Branches and Corporate Pollution Emissions - Evidence from Large-Scale Industrial Enterprises in China," hosted by Professor Xiaofeng Quan from Soochow University. Professor Li's team discovered that an increase in the number of bank branches around companies leads to reduced pollution emissions, suggesting that bank competition plays a role in lowering levels of corporate pollution. This research not only adds depth to the understanding of the environmental outcomes of banking sector competition but also offers valuable insights for the development of financial market reforms and environmental policies in China.

Professor Qingyuan Li

Paper Presentation Sessions

In line with a commitment to in-depth discussion, six young scholars from top Universities in China presented their research. Each paper had two discussants.

The first session was chaired by Professor Yongqin Wang from Fudan University, who is also an honorary professor of Fudan International School of Finance and director of the Luting Emerging Financial Industry Research Center. The first paper, titled "Bank Technology Adoption and Productivity" by Dr. Gang Zhang from Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business. Dr. Zehao Liu from Renmin University of China and Dr. Fan Liu from IBSS discussed this paper. The second paper, titled "A Study on the Real Economic Effects of Innovative Monetary Policy from the Perspective of Common Prosperity" by Professor Xiaoran Ni from Xiamen University, was discussed by Professor Yongqin Wang from Fudan University and Dr. Liang Fu from IBSS.

Professor Xiaoxing Liu, a National Talents Programme distinguished professor, chief professor of Southeast University, and head of the Finance Department, chaired the second session. Dr. Yu Yi from Nankai University presented "Uninsured Deposit, Held-to-Maturity Accounting, and Bank Runs," discussed by Dr. Yan Liu from Wuhan University and Dr. Bo Jiang from IBSS. Dr. Difang Huang from the University of Hong Kong explored "Managerial Incentives and Consumer Lending: Evidence from a Natural Field Experiment," discussed by Dr. Su Wang and Dr. Jiafeng Yu from IBSS.

The third session was chaired by Professor Honghai Yu, Dean of the School of Management and Engineering at Nanjing University and chief expert of a major project of the National Social Science Fund. The first paper, titled "The Externalities of ESG Disclosure" by Dr. Yi Jiang from Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), was discussed by Dr. Chenyu Shan from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and Dr. Gong Zhaoran from IBSS. The second paper, titled "Pre-emptive IT Investment to Privacy Regulations: From the U.S. Small Bank Perspective" by Dr. Xiaomeng Shi from IBSS, was discussed by Dr. Conghui Hu from Beijing Normal University and Dr. Rouzhi Wang from IBSS.

Dr. Ye Bai, head of the department of economics in IBSS, delivered the concluding remarks for the conference. Highlighting the event's substantive richness, innovative perspectives, and analytical rigor, Dr. Bai underscored its academic significance in banking and corporate finance.

Dr. Ye Bai

The International Business School of Suzhou and the “China Banking and Corporate Finance" Young Scholars Forum co-organized this event.The conference's presentations were aligned with the core mission and values of IBSS, contributing new insights and methodologies for both theoretical exploration and practical implementation within these fields. The event provided a platform for researchers in IBSS to collaborate with other top researchers in China.