• Public lecture

Course Descriptions

All courses in the programme carry 3 credits.

 

Seven Core Courses (42 Hours Each)

FIN 520                Corporate Finance
This course covers the theories and practice of corporate finance. The topics addressed in this course include risk and return, capital budgeting, bond valuation, equity valuation, capital structure theories and decisions, payout policy, and raising debt and equity, and working capital management.

FIN 521                Financial Markets and Investment Analysis
The course provides the students with a strong foundation for the understanding of various securities that are traded in financial markets. These securities include bonds, stocks, futures/forward and options. Emphasis will be put on the introduction to the features of these securities and the valuation methodologies. Some other assets, including securities market indices and alternative investment products will also be introduced. The course will also address some important topics of investing in the financial markets, including investment-related ethics, professional conduct and regulatory issues, technical and fundamental analysis, and efficient market hypothesis.

FIN 522                Management of Financial Institutions in Hong Kong and Mainland China
This course provides students with the insight into the services, goals and objectives, internal problems, risk exposure, and regulatory requirements of various financial institutions. The course accomplishes this insight by (i) profiling the financial, operating, and organizational characteristics of each type of financial institution, (ii) examining the services offered by these firms to the public, (iii) identifying major risks faced by different types of financial institutions, (iv) introducing various tools and methods for measuring and controlling various financial risks, and (v) recognising the regulatory requirements and understanding compliance procedures. The emphasis of the course is placed on the management of depository institutions.

FIN 523                Quantitative Methods for Finance
This spreadsheet-based course surveys the principles of probability theory and mathematical finance for solving a diverse set of risk management problems related to the valuation and measurement of operational and financial risk exposures of the firm. The course is designed for all students interested in quantitative method applications in finance.

FIN 524                Principles of Risk Management
This course is designed to give students a holistic/integrated view of risk management. Covered topics include the concept of risk, risk theory, risk measurement, corporate risks and the rationales of corporate risk management, risk management organization and process, and some major tools of risk management. The course content will reflect the latest developments and industry practices in the discipline of risk management. Ethical aspect of risk management is also emphasized.

FIN 525                Fixed Income Securities
The course covers the valuation of a wide variety of fixed income securities and derivatives including pure discount bonds, coupon bonds, forwards and options on fixed income securities, interest-rate swaps, floating-rate notes, and mortgages. Other related topics include interest rate risk management and monetary policy.

FIN 530                Principles of Financial Analysis and Valuation
This course is designed to introduce standard methods for financial statement analysis from users’ and managers’ perspective in order to assess the “economic reality” of firms’ financial status, operational results, risks and equity value. Spreadsheet modeling will be used to value and forecast cash flows under different business scenarios. Case analysis will be used extensively.

 

Any Three Elective Courses (42 Hours Each)

FIN 531                Derivative Securities
The course focuses on the main types of financial derivatives, including futures, swaps and options and their use for hedging financial risks. There will be an extensive analysis of the most widely used option pricing models, including the Black-Scholes-Merton model, the binomial tree model, and other numerical procedures for pricing financial derivatives. The topics addressed also include the key concepts and important features of various derivatives securities, the trading mechanisms, and the concepts of volatility and volatility trading.

FIN 532                Financial Planning and Services in Hong Kong and Mainland China
The course introduces students to the various concepts associated with financial planning and financial services. The course aims to provide practical knowledge that is necessary for financial decision making in everyday life. Topics include basic concepts of personal financial planning, investment planning, estate planning, life insurance strategies, saving for retirement, and tax issues. The course also covers the financial planning strategy that suits the risk and return profile of investors.

FIN 534                Hong Kong and Mainland China Monetary and Financial Systems
This course provides students with a basic understanding of the monetary and financial systems in Hong Kong and their recent development. It covers topics like functions of financial markets and institutions, international financial centres, money supply process, central banking, currency board system, and regulations of banking system and financial markets. The course also helps students understand the basic economic concepts and theories related to monetary and financial systems as well as various financial instruments/tools.

FIN 535                International Financial Management
This course provides students with the principles and techniques relevant to financial planning, exchange risk management, investment strategy, raising capital, and performance appraisal for multinational business operations in a global context.

FIN 536                Investment and Wealth Management
The course is designed to cover topics on portfolio and wealth management. The main focuses include classical portfolio theory, strategic and tactical asset allocation, asset pricing models, basic option strategies, efficient market hypothesis, fixed income securities, and portfolio performance evaluation. Students are trained to apply what they learn during the course to financial problems in practice.

FIN 537                Real Estate Investment and Finance
The course provides students with a strong foundation for understanding and applications in commercial real estate investment and financing. The investment aspects include the whole real estate acquisition process, investing in real estate funds and real estate stocks. The financing aspects include the loan markets, the bond markets, the structured real estate lending and the use of derivatives in real estate financing. Legal documentation in relation to real estate loans and bonds are also covered.

FIN 538                Securities Laws and Regulatory Framework in Hong Kong and Mainland China
The course provides the students with an understanding of fundamental legal concepts and to apply them in the context of the regulatory framework of Hong Kong’s financial services industry. It enables students to understand conceptual frameworks drawn from accounting and law to the analysis of regulatory issues and to formulate financial strategies and predict their outcomes.

FIN 539                Algorithmic Trading and Quantitative Strategies
The course provides a comprehensive view of the algorithmic trading paradigm and the key quantitative finance foundations of these trading strategies. Topics include financial modeling and its pitfalls, algorithmic trading, factor model based strategies, portfolio optimization strategies, momentum strategies, mean-reverting strategies, regime switching, high-frequency trading strategies, seasonal trading strategies, exit strategy, and backtesting. Practical applications will be stressed.

FIN 540                Venture Capital and Private Equity
This course focuses on the availability and use of venture capital and private equity by small- and medium-sized and growing companies. The course is recommended for students considering careers in the venture capital and private equity industries and merchant and investment banking, as well as those who anticipate careers as entrepreneurs. Topics include issues in the financing of entrepreneurial companies, business assessment and valuation, transaction and negotiation strategies, and exit strategies. This course will cover a range of industries and financing structures.

FIN 541                Insurance Law in Hong Kong and Mainland China
This course does not presume any legal knowledge on the part of the students. Students will be given a general survey of the insurance market in the 21st Century and a brief historical development of insurance regulations in Hong Kong. They will then be taught the main features of insurance contracts, the legal duties of the insurers, the insured and the intermediaries. Clauses in the special types of insurance policies will be analysed in order to find out their main characteristics. Relevant Hong Kong cases will be discussed in class.

FIN 542                Insurance Practice in Hong Kong and Mainland China
This course is intended to help individuals learn basic information concerning Property and Liability, and Life and Health Insurance. The first segment of the course covers Property and Liability insurance. The second segment focuses on Life and Health insurance. The final segment covers business property and liability risk management.

FIN 543                Introduction to FinTech
This course aims to provide students with the latest empowering and practical knowledge on FinTech, enabling them to understand the FinTech revolution taking place currently in the banking and investment industries, and most importantly, the trends that will impact the industries in the future.

FIN 545                Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Investing and Sustainable Finance
This course aims to provide students with the necessary knowledge, toolkits and analytical skills to identify, understand, and assess various investment opportunities associated with ESG investing, and to effectively formulate ESG-related investment strategies.

FIN 600                Case Studies in Finance
This course is designed to study the important financial decisions of corporations. The course emphasis will be put on the link between applications and theoretical work. Students will work toward this goal through the discussions of financial cases covering topics such as capital structure, investment valuation, raising capital, corporate governance, and M&A decisions.