Press Releases
CEIBS MBAs' Hong Kong Finance Trip
January 19, 2012
The finance trip to Hong Kong for the 2011 MBA class officially kicked off on Dec 13th. This year, 10 students from the finance club were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to learn about the banking industry in Hong Kong and interact with leading experts in the field. The trip lasted four days and included visits to a large variety of firms, from international bulge bracket investment banks like Morgan Stanley and Citibank to local home grown Chinese brokerages and funds such as HuaAn Asset Management and Guosen Securities, which are growing fast and developing their international footprint.
Students received a good overview of the various job functions that are available within the finance industry. During our first meeting at Morgan Stanley, we were joined by students from other international business schools such as LBS, Cornell, Kellogg and UCLA. We were given a half-hour formal presentation by the head of the fixed income division, Christopher Jackson. Students were then divided into an investment banking group and sales and trading group to discuss further with representatives in each area.
During our visit on the second day to HuaAn Asset Management, we were addressed directly by the CEO, George Ding, and CIO, Graig Chen. Students had the opportunity to expand their knowledge on newly developed financial products such as “Dim Sum Bonds” and other offshore RMB products that are emerging due the growing RMB deposit base in Hong Kong.
On the last day, a different perspective was offered by the Hong Kong arm of a local Chinese brokerage firm, Guosen Securities. While most Western investment banks are shrinking their operations due to the poor economic environment, many Chinese brokerages such as Guosen are taking this as an opportunity to expand overseas and compete head on with their foreign peers. Guosen has just opened an international branch in Hong Kong, and expects to list its first client in Hong Kong in June 2012.
The overall mood in the financial industry is somber. As we continued our visits in Hong Kong, we found that friends and acquaintances both old and new were being laid off. However, as the Chinese word for crisis – wei ji – tells us, whenever there is a problem, there is an opportunity. The Chinese firms that are expanding under the current economic environment are good examples of that.
Written by: Weng Tao (MBA2011)
Editors: SG/CNC
Photos edited by: Chen Wang