Message from Prof. Leslie Young, Program Director and Executive Director, APIB
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The Asia-Pacific Institute of Business (APIB) was established in 1990 as the external arm of the Faculty of Business Administration at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). APIB’s mission is to provide education programs, research and consultancy services to assist managers and companies in meeting business challenges in Hong Kong and the Asia-Pacific region. APIB has offered a wide range of diplomas in all functional areas of business since 1991.
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To reflect our specialization in executive education, APIB also offers a range of Executive Diplomas. More than 83 percent of those entering our Executive Diplomas have already held university degrees, including Master degrees with First Class Honours and Ph.Ds. For APIB diploma graduates, diplomas are more than a “second chance” for university education. Our diplomas have become a pathway for high-level university graduates to cross over into a second career or to expand their skill set. Such graduates provide important stimuli to both teachers and classmates.
The most distinguished professors of The Chinese University of Hong Kong shall be showcased in a special executive seminar series customized for our Executive Diplomas.
To further implement the APIB Ladder of Learning, our Executive Diploma graduates can gain accelerated entry into an International MBA program by The Victoria University of Wellington, the top management school in New Zealand. This opportunity should remain available for future graduates.
At The Chinese University of Hong Kong, we are committed to ensuring that our programs meet the high standards that you are entitled to expect from the leading business faculty in Hong Kong.
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Course Descriptions of Executive Diploma in Finance
Team Building Workshop (Pre-term)
Early in the program, participants of all Executive Diplomas will be required to attend a full-day executive training workshop designed by an APIB management consultant. Students will be grouped into teams and exposed to a variety of management games or cases to foster team spirit. Upon completing this workshop, students will be equipped to think strategically about developing their careers in today's business environment.
Foundations
Financial Statement Analysis: using financial ratios, liquidity and working capital, inventory turnover and accounts receivable, analysis and measures of debt, debt ratio, coverage ratio, profitability (gross profit margin, operating profit margin, net profit margin, return on assets, return on equity, earnings per share, p/e ratio).
Financial Management: investment decisions, analysis of risk, financial planning, dividend policy, working capital management, corporate finance, agency problems and corporate governance.
Economic Environment: measuring GDP, aggregate expenditure model, aggregate demand and aggregate supply, fiscal policy, money, banking and monetary policy, inflation/unemployment trade-off, the long-run economy, the New Economy, international trade and investment, exchange rates.
Financial Markets, Institutions and Regulation
Debt Markets: major international money and capital markets, Hong Kong dollar debt market: Exchange Fund Paper, Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation paper and regulatory framework.
Equities and Derivatives: institutions and regulations of the Hong Kong markets for equities, futures (including index futures, stock futures, interest rate futures) and options, the GEM market, IPOs, international equities, international clearing and settlement.
Banking and Financial Institutions: management problems and strategies for financial institutions, organizational structure of financial institutions, risk/return trade-off and the acquisition/use of funds by financial institutions, role and operation of commercial banks in Hong Kong, bank financial statements, recent policy and regulatory changes.
Investment Analysis
Statistical Analysis: mean, variance, correlation, normal distribution, hypothesis testing, statistical significance; regressions.
Asset Pricing and Portfolio Choice: risk and return, portfolio diversification, optimal portfolio choice, the capital asset pricing model, arbitrage pricing, indexing, mutual funds.
Portfolio Management and Evaluation: risk-adjusted returns, benchmarking, asset allocation, market timing, active portfolio management.
Financial Market Efficiency and Anomalies: stock valuation models, forms of informational efficiency, January, weekend, and size effects on stock returns.
Advanced Topics
International Finance: functions and organization of foreign exchange market, Purchasing Power Parity, Fisher Open Equation, forward exchange market, forward rate parity, exchange rate determination and forecasting, technical analysis of exchange rate movements, international portfolio analysis and international asset allocation, emerging securities markets, international asset pricing model.
APIB Executive Seminar Series
A series of seminars by top CUHK professors will be organized. Distinguished experts will be invited. Participants of the Executive Diplomas will be assigned to attend four seminars and write a report.
Remark
Examination: Teachers may choose to assess their modules partially by take-home assignments and classroom assessment. But to preserve the integrity of the grades, every module shall be subject to regular examination as well. |