Plenary Speech at the Forum on “Globalization?- The Challenges & Opportunities to Corporate Governance in China”

January 19, 2008
Beijing, China

A panel discussion titled “The Conditions and Solutions for Corporate Governance in China after the Share Ownership Reform” was held on January 19, 2008 in Beijing during the Forum on “Globalization – The Challenges & Opportunities to Corporate Governance in China”, organized by the Faculty of Business Administration at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. The five panelists were: Dr Asli Demirguc-Kunt from The World Bank, Mr Charles Wang from Deutsche Bank, Mr Michael Ipson from IFC, Professor T.J. Wong, Director of Center for Institutions and Governance at CUHK and Professor Joseph Fan, Director of Centre of Economics & Finance at CUHK. Professor Wong and Professor Fan talked about their recent governance research on the political connection of CEOs and post-IPO performance (“Politically Connected CEOs, Corporate Governance, and Post-IPO Performance of China’s Newly Partially Privatized Firms”, Journal of Financial Economics, Volume 84, Issue 2, May 2007, Pages 330-357, available online at www.sciencedirect.com), SOE corporate pyramids and operating efficiency, CEO pay and professionalism, corporate transparency and auditing quality of SOEs (audit paper and cross-listing paper), access to bank loans and corruption, and SOEs’ corporate governance and group structure (vertical integration paper). The event convened over 200 participants, including top scholars engaging in China economics, corporate finance and governance research, business elites and experts, to discuss important governance issues to China.

Forum on “Globalization – The Challenges & Opportunities to Corporate Governance in China”
Organized by Faculty of Business Administration, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Date : 19 January 2008 (Saturday)
Time : 2:00 – 6:00 pm
Venue : The Ritz-Carlton, Beijing, Financial Street
Medium of Language : Putonghua

Program Rundown:

2:10 – 3:00 pm	Keynote Speech by Prof. Liu Mingkang, Chairman China Banking Regulatory Commission Topic : “Corporate Governance of Banks : Opportunities & Challenges”
3:00 – 3:10 pm	Break
3:10 – 3:50 pm	Keynote Speech by Prof. Lawrence Lau, Vice-Chancellor The Chinese University of Hong Kong Topic : “Globalization & the Corporate Governance of Chinese Non-Financial Enterprises”
3 : 50 – 4 : 30 pm	Keynote Speech by Ms Asli Demirguc-Kunt, Senior Research Manager, Finance and Private Sector Development, Development Research Group The World Bank Topic : “Finance for All? Policies and Pitfalls in Expanding Access”
4 : 30 – 4 : 45 pm	Coffee Break
4 : 45 – 6 : 00 pm	Panel Discussions Title : “The Conditions and Solutions for Corporate Governance in China after the Share Ownership Reform” Chair : Mr. Jason Leow, Correspondent, The Wall Street Journal, Beijing, China Panelists: Ms. Asli Demirguc-Kunt Mr Charles Wang (Head of Global Banking, Deutsche Bank) Mr Michael Ipson (Country (China) Manager, IFC) Prof. T. J. Wong (Associate Dean (Research), Faculty of Business Administration, CUHK) Prof. Joseph Fan (Director, Center of Economics & Finance, CUHK)