Day two of the China Immersion Programme started with a session called ‘What can history tell us about business today’ which was hosted by Professor Chen Zhi Wu. Professor Chen used examples from the challenges the Chinese faced when they conducted business along the ancient silk road. The Professor then showed the importance of history and culture and their effects on modern society’s business models.

The session was followed by a seminar titled ‘HKU MBA China conference: insights into alternative investments – a view on China and beyond’ which was hosted by Mr. Stuart Mercier (Class of 2011), Managing Director, Head of Real Estate (Asia), and Country Head for China at Brookfield Asset Management. Stuart introduced Brookfield’s developments in China and shared his expertise in investment strategy and processes by highlighting investment principles and introducing the distinctive investment approaches he uses to target attractive long-term risk-adjusted returns.

The programme then continued with the topic of Fintech hosted by Mr. Ernest Leung, Group COO at WeLab. The interactive seminar focused on the potential of Fintech within the Greater Bay Area [GBA]. Ernest used case studies such as ‘applications of technology in GBA despite Covid-19’ to simplify complex topics to the students. Interesting topics included the new consumption markets in China which were introduced by Miss Sophia (Yao) Huang (Class of 2015), Associate Director of Fosun RZ Capital. Sophia outlined China’s new consumption market from a macro-environmental perspective and explained the differences between the generations and cities that make up consumers in China today. Sophia highlighted successful business examples such as Heytea and Popmart to represent the new normal for a business in China.

Ms. Jen Mercier’s (Class of 2011) presentation about quality management in China followed next. Jen is the Associate Vice President at Canadian Tire Corporation and is based in Shanghai. She introduced the Canadian Tire Corporation and highlighted the biggest challenges the company will face over the next five years and their strategies to overcome these challenges.

The China Immersion Programme concluded with a panel discussion titled ‘Operating in China: experiences from the field. This panel was hosted by a number of our alumni and students, each of who was an expert in their own area. The panel consisted of:

• Mr. Syed Musheer Ahmed (Class of 2015), the Founder and Managing Director of FinStep Asia
• Ms. Helena Xu (Class of 2017), Head of Cross Border Transactions of JD Technology
• Ms. Mia Song (Class of 2020) Operations Management and Senior Manager of SF Express
• Mr. Albert Yu (Class of 2021), a Shenzhen based Venture Capital Specialist
• Mr. Tianyang Long (Class of 2022) the Marketing Manager of 3M

The panellists discussed a number of issues including the development of their industries and business cultures and the key aspects of operating a business in China. They also touched upon the important topic of remuneration packages in China.

We are so thankful to have all the wonderful speakers who offered us their expertise, insights, and knowledge of working in China. It was an impactful programme that was rewarding for our students.