From June 22nd to 24th, 2024, Shenzhen University held the 4th Greater Bay Area FinTech University Symposium with the theme of “Empowering High-Quality Development with FinTech Innovation.” The symposium aims to deeply study and implement the spirit of the Central Financial Work Conference and General Secretary Xi Jinping’s speech on high-quality financial development, as well as to earnestly implement the spirit of Guangdong Province’s High-Quality Development Conference. The opening ceremony was held at the No. 2 Lecture Hall of Huixing Building, and the symposium lasted for three days.


The Opening Ceremony

The leaders and guests attending the opening ceremony included: Wu Dinghai, Party Secretary and President of Shenzhen Academy of Social Sciences, Guangdong Province; Li Yonghua, Vice President of Shenzhen University; Cai Yanjun, Director of the Scientific Research and Academic Affairs Department of the Shenzhen Academy of Social Sciences (Shenzhen Federation of Social Sciences); Zeng Xianju, Director of the Department of Social Sciences at Shenzhen University; Zhang Shengli, Vice Dean of the College of Electronics and Information Engineering; Liu Haishan, Party Secretary of the Shenzhen University WeBank Institute of FinTech (SWIFT); Gu Wei and Ge Rui, Vice Deans of SWIFT; Xu Xianchun, Academic Committee Member of the Shenzhen Xiangmi Lake International FinTech Research Institute; Gao Feng, Chief Information Officer of the China Banking Association; Yang Xian, Chaired Professor and Dean Consultant at Southern University of Science and Technology; Gao Huasheng, Vice Dean of the Fudan International School of Finance, and over 30 renowned financial scholars from top universities in China. The opening ceremony was hosted by Ge Rui.

Li Yonghua: Promoting Innovation in the Digital Economy and High-Quality Development of Financial Markets in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area

Li Yonghua, on behalf of Shenzhen University, expressed a sincere welcome to all attendees. He stated that, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, as a key area in national strategic deployment, is not only one of the most vibrant regions in the global economy but a highland for innovation in the FinTech industry. In the Greater Bay Area, technology and finance are deeply integrated, and innovation and cooperation complement each other, providing robust momentum for building a new development pattern. The Forum focused on “Empowering High-Quality Development with Fintech Innovation”, which is timely and of great significance. Shenzhen University, as one of the first domestic universities to pioneer a FinTech college in the “dual-zone”, feels a strong sense of responsibility and honor in hosting the symposium. Li pointed out that Shenzhen University is making significant efforts in the fields of FinTech and intelligent management, continuously attracting high-level talents, integrating strengths of research teams, keeping up with industrial development trends, and focusing on frontier technology exploration, which has achieved fruitful research outcomes. The university established the Guangdong Social Science Research Base - “Shenzhen University Research Center of FinTech and Intelligent Management”, dedicated to integrating high-quality resources from FinTech, electronic and information engineering, and big data, building a platform for interdisciplinary integration, attracting and gathering a high-end innovative talent team, and striving to achieve significant academic breakthroughs in foundational theory and application fields related to FinTech and intelligent management. He hoped that experts and scholars can explore together the development direction of FinTech in the Greater Bay Area in Shenzhen University, propose new ideas, models, and applications, so as to congratulate the establishment of the “Shenzhen University Research Center of FinTech and Intelligent Management”.

The Establishment of “Shenzhen University Research Center of FinTech and Intelligent Management”!

The Guangdong Social Science Research Base - “Shenzhen University Research Center of FinTech and Intelligent Management” has officially been established at Shenzhen University. Wu Dinghai, Li Yonghua, Cai Yanjuan, Zeng Xianju, Liu Haishan, Zhang Shengli, and others jointly unveiled the plaque for the center. Aiming to create an international top-tier innovation hub in FinTech and intelligent management, the research center will deeply engage in theoretical research and practical applications in the field, capturing the current status and trends of FinTech and intelligent management, exploring the impacts of information technologies such as AI, blockchain, big data, cloud computing, and the IoT on finance and enterprise management. In this way, the center will contribute to promote the development of financial development and management innovation in the context of the technological revolution, and assist in the faster and healthier development of relevant industries in China.


Yang Xian: FinTech and Legal Reforms Are Reshaping the Lending Sector

Yang Xian, Chair Professor and Dean Advisor of Southern University of Science and Technology delivered the first keynote report on the theme of “Technology, Legal Reform, and Bank Lending.” He has held positions such as the Abraham Krasnoff Distinguished Professor at New York University, Director of NYU Institute for China, Honorary Co-Director of the Strategy Department at Peking University’s Guanghua School of Management, and Dean of the Business School at National University of Singapore.

Yang primarily focused on how FinTech can impact bank lending through legal reforms and technological advancements, with a particular emphasis on the effects of online auction reforms on credit supply and demand. Based on 40 million cases, he employed a difference-in-difference (DiD) method to analyze the impact of legal auction reforms on bank lending. The research findings indicated that a sound legal environment, particularly regarding collateral registration laws, can promote bank lending. Yang also emphasized the transformative nature of digitalization, networking, and analytics, highlighting how machine learning and AI reduce information costs, improve connectivity, lower transaction costs, and generate a plethora of new research opportunities. He cautioned that even in an era of technological advancement, fundamental economic principles remain crucial for understanding market dynamics.

He believed that online auction reform has avoided court bottlenecks, improving the speed and efficiency of converting collateral assets into creditor compensation in bankruptcy situations. This could increase the value of post-bankruptcy and pre-existing secured loans, increasing borrower demand for secured loans. Increased supply of secured loans would lower interest rates, but increased demand for secured loans would raise them. Ultimately, the change in interest rate depends on the balance of supply and demand. The impact of online auction reform on the loan market is complex, with more significant effects on non-state-owned enterprises. It particularly improves the Sharpe ratio of bank loan portfolios in economically underdeveloped areas，which not only promotes the development of secured loans but triggers a series of chain reactions, including changes in interest rates, increased default rates, and improved financial inclusion. Further research is needed on the differentiated impacts across different regions and different types of enterprises.


Xu Xianchun: Research on Data Statistics and Accounting Issues

Xu Xianchun, an academic committee member of the International Institute of FinTech Research of Xiangmi Lake in Shenzhen, delivered the second keynote report - “Research on Data Statistics and Accounting Issues”.

He mentioned that, with the rapid development of digital technology, data has become an essential production factor, driving profound changes in the way enterprises operate, governments govern, and residents live. China is accelerating the cultivation of the data element market and constructing a data infrastructure system. In this context, Government statistics play a fundamental role in reflecting the economy and society, formulating policies, and testing the scientific nature and effectiveness of policies. In the era of the digital economy, given the significance of date, data statistics and accounting issues need to be conducted to continue to play leverage the fundamental role of government statistics.

Xu pointed out that data possesses characteristics like non-rivalry, non-consumption, timeliness, value enhancement through integration, and value closely related to application scenarios. Therefore, constructing a data value chain can promote the deep integration of data with various economic fields, from which insights and decisions can be obtained. He also noted that, in national economic accounting, there are controversies in the valuation methods of data output and data capital formation, and the contribution of data production activities to GDP is not fully reflected, which needs further research. However, the three common valuation methods, namely the market method, the income method, and the cost method, all have limitations. Since the data trading market is not yet perfect at this stage, the market method is not suitable for the valuation of most data output and data capital formation, making the cost method relatively more feasible. Xu believes that the poor circulation of data is the biggest bottleneck that data faces in terms of application and development. Currently, both enterprises and governments have problems with data flow, which affects the development and application of data, and the potential value of data is not fully utilized, restricting the development of the data factor market and data role in economic and social development.


Gao Huasheng: The Value of Social Media Anonymity

Gao Huasheng, Professor and Vice Dean of the Fudan International School of Finance, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, made the third keynote report on “The Value of Social Media Anonymity: Evidence from the Stock Market”. He has previously served as an assistant professor and associate professor of finance at the Business School of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

He discussed the implications of social media anonymity in the context of the stock market，with a particular focus on the full implementation of real-name systems on social media in China in 2015 as a critical event. This policy change served as a starting point for analyzing its impact on the stock prices and value of listed companies. Gao found that the policy led to a significant decline in company value, especially when investors relied more on social media for information. At first, Gao conducted regression analysis and heterogeneity test on stock price data to quantitatively explore the impact of the real-name system on company value. Then, he performed text analysis on stock forum post data on Eastmoney.com to observe changes in the quantity, quality and sentiment of posts before and after the implementation of the real-name system. Besides, further validation of the mechanisms by which real-name policies affect company value was done through indicators such as analyst attention and the level of corporate disclosure. In explaining the extent of information disclosure under relevant external environments, he pointed out that whether the company management is willing to disclose more information is often related to the degree of investor protection in the country. And the channel test showed that the policy led to poorer information dissemination on the stock information board, reduced stock price information content and liquidity, higher risk of stock crashes, poorer company disclosure rates, and more earnings management. Overall, Gao concluded that the elimination of social media anonymity will worsen company information issues, which in turn negatively affects the company’s value.


Parallel Forum! 3 Days, 30+ Renowned Scholars, and 30 Excellent Academic Reports!

The symposium, which lasted for 3 days, featured 7 sub-forums focusing on five topics: FinTech, asset pricing, sustainable finance, macro-finance, and the China’s financial market. On the morning of June 23rd, Li Junye from Fudan University, Huang Shiyang from the University of Hong Kong, and Liu Xiaoxing from Southeast University presented keynote speeches on the topics of “Learning about Time-Varying Factor Risk Premia”, “Sustainable Finance under Regulation”, and “Intrinsic Value and Safety Margin of China’s Economic Growth: Theory and Empirical Evidence”, respectively. On the morning of June 24th, Gao Feng, CIO of China Banking Association, and Han Bin from the University of Toronto, gave keynote speeches on “Embracing Digital Finance, Empowering New Quality Productivity” and “Forecasting Option Returns with News”, respectively. Experts and scholars discussed how FinTech can promote industrial chain upgrading, digital economic innovation, and high-quality development of the financial market from different dimensions and perspectives.


Up to now, the Greater Bay Area FinTech University Symposium has been successfully held for four sessions. Among them, the third and fourth sessions were hosted by Shenzhen University and organized by SWIFT. Aiming to promote the sustainable development of China’s FinTech industry, the symposium brings together numerous domestic scholars who have made significant achievements in the field of FinTech. With the goal of applying the latest research findings to the development practice of China’s FinTech market, it encourages in-depth research and discussion on issues related to China’s FinTech, to further improve the construction of modern FinTech system.