Elective Courses

This course consists of three parts. Part I covers financing needs and capital structure. Part II develops tools needed for valuing investment projects and companies. Part III deals with the concepts of options and derivatives and their applications in corporate finance and risk management. The topics to be covered include: Capital Structure: Theory and Practice, Cost of Capital, Valuation: WACC versus APV, Dividend Policy, Convertible Debt, Options, Risk Management, Real Options for Valuation, and Strategic Decisions.

This course looks to introduce students to the various methods and strategies to make sense of data. We will cover topics including advanced and Big Data predictive analytics, machine and deep learning, text mining and analysis, image and video analysis, and geospatial and mobility analytics. Students will have real hands-on practice exercises with these methods, learn how to generate insights from large and unstructured data, and build an understanding of its strategic relevance in creating sustainable competitive advantage. The course will also bridge these technical methods with social sciences and consumer behaviour. We will cover a number of case studies, with an emphasis on Asia, in sundry industries including retailing and e-commerce, advertising, FinTech and retail financial sectors, telecommunication, and transportation and smart nations. Finally, we will discuss the interwoven dependencies on the legal frameworks with Big Data, including issues relating to privacy, regulations, rights, consumer reactions and adherence to data legislation in different markets.

This course examines the challenges and opportunities that a rising and rapidly changing China has provided for various business corporations, i.e. Chinese state-owned enterprises, China’s private enterprises, and foreign invested or foreign multinational enterprises. It focuses on distinct aspects of the Chinese business environment that companies must address if they are to succeed in one of the world’s most important and misunderstood markets. The course will focus on the Chinese political / governmental system that influences the economy, the major initiatives that might provide opportunities for business, and the international relations that may complicate business for both Chinese and non-Chinese companies. In addition to a range of background documents on China and its economy, we will also use cases on China’s state-owned enterprises, China’s private enterprises, and foreign enterprises operating in China to identify the distinct challenges and opportunities that different types of firms face in China.

The major objective of this course is to promote an in-depth understanding of basic derivative products and structured finance instruments. This course provides students with a framework (1) to understand the fundamental concepts of derivative products (forward and futures, options, swaps) and structured finance instruments (CDOs, CDS, ELNs and other structured products), (2) to develop the necessary skills used in valuing derivative contracts, and (3) to understand a wide variety of issues related to risk management and investment decisions using derivatives and structured products.

With shifting global economic patterns, the knowledge and field experience in different countries and economic regions is inevitable to be successful on an international and local scale. The international field project is a practical course, which proceeds by visiting companies and institutions to learn about businesses and public services and collect data which serves as a basis for course work. It also gives a cultural perspective and encourages observing international differences in markets, objectives, and operations. Classroom teaching, prereading literature and reviewing current events lay the foundation, but the main pedagogic concept is to analyze companies and institutions visited and extract lessons learned. This can mean the application of best practices back home, the assessment of opportunities for Chinese companies in the visited counties and how to build closer professional and personal ties. Ideally, students already have a sound knowledge of professional practices and some core MBA curriculum subjects, so they can apply and calibrate this in a new context and realities outside the classroom. Further, global contexts will be discussed and the relation to trade agreements and initiatives such as the “One Belt, one Road Initiative”. *International Field Project is an elective course for Part-time students

This course aims to help business leaders and policy makers to improve their decision making under extreme uncertainty. It synthesizes the recent research on Black Swan events and develops ideas and tools for managing them. It will deal with the following questions. What are Black Swan events? How do they affect investment, business and society? What can we do to make better decisions in the world full of Black Swan events?

This course is designed to allow students of all levels to become familiar with the fundamental role of technological advancements in today’s business environments. As technology becomes increasingly integrated into business processes, managers and leaders alike must be able to understand and communicate the enabling potential of these tools. This course provides an introductory training for such purposes. Topics of this course cover the fundamental challenges faced by businesses operating in the online environment, new opportunities and threats arising from social media, and strategic considerations in offering web-based services and information goods.

The goal of this course is to provide students an introduction to the topic of renewable energy finance and develop the concepts and practical tools that are essential in this field. The course contains lectures, problem solving exercises, cases, and academic paper reading. Lectures and exercises are used to develop the basic skills, academic paper reading deepens the understanding, and case analyses improves the decision-making ability under complex real-world situations. The course will be case intensive and requires a substantial amount of reading and discussions. The course assumes that students already have a good knowledge and understanding about basic finance concepts, such as net present value and investment valuation.

This course is designed to train you to design and execute turn around initiatives for companies in crisis and bring them back to a sustainable economic path. It covers all aspects of rescue and restructuring in a practical and hands on approach. The course has the main objective to gain the ability to design and execute turn around initiatives for companies in crisis. It is targeting executives and their advisors who are in charge of major corporate restructurings.