Name Card
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Professor Chen, Zhiwu 陳志武

Title:
Professor, Chair of Finance
Professor
Director, Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences
Director, Centre for Quantitative History
Cheng Yu-Tung Professor in Finance

Contact Information
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Office:

Professor Chen, Zhiwu 陳志武

Title:
Professor, Chair of Finance
Professor
Director, Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences
Director, Centre for Quantitative History
Cheng Yu-Tung Professor in Finance

Professional Qualifications
YearAwarding InstitutionQualification
1990Yale UniversityPh. D.
1986Changsha Institute of Technology, ChinaM. S.
1983Central-South University of Technology, ChinaB. S.
Biography

Professor Zhiwu Chen is Chair and Cheng Yu-Tung Professor in Finance at the University of Hong Kong (HKU). Professor Chen currently serves as director of both Hong Kong Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences (HKIHSS) and Centre for Quantitative History (CQH). His research covers finance theory, the sociology of finance, economic history, quantitative history, emerging markets, as well as China’s economy and capital markets. Professor Chen was a former Professor of Finance at Yale University (1999-2017) and a Special-Term Visiting Professor at Peking University (School of Economics) and Tsinghua University (School of Social Sciences).

Professor Chen started his career by publishing research papers in top economics and finance journals on topics related to financial markets and theories of asset pricing. Around 2001, he began to expand research beyond mature markets by investigating market development and institution-building issues in the context of China’s transition process and other emerging markets. He successfully led efforts to construct historical financial and social databases from China’s historical archives and has written on economic/social history topics. In 2013, he started the annual Summer School for Quantitative History cum International Symposium on Quantitative History at Tsinghua University and continues to organize them at Peking University, with the goal of promoting quantitative historical research in China and beyond. In 2022, Professor Chen’s Quantitative History of China project was awarded HK$67.32 million (over US$8.5 million) under the Areas of Excellence (AoE) Scheme, marking a new record high for government funding raised for the HKU Business School since its establishment.

Professor Chen has been a member of the HKU Council since November 2018. He is on the board of directors of Noah Holdings, Bairong Inc., and GigaCloud Tech. He also served on the International Advisory Board of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) (2012-19), the Expert Advisory Board for the formation of the China Investment Corporation (2007), and on the board of directors as an independent non-executive director at IDG Energy Investment (2016-18) and Bank of Communications (2010-18); as an independent director at PetroChina (2011-17) and Lord Abbett China (2007-15). He was on the Board of Trustees of the Yale China Association, the 12th and 13th Five-Year Plan Advisory Commission to the Beijing Municipal Government, and the Chief Academic Advisor to two 10-episode CCTV documentary series, “Wall Street” and “Money”. He was a co-founder and partner of Zebra Capital Management from 2001 to 2011. In Burson-Marsteller’s 2012 “G20 Influencers” report, Professor Chen was listed as one of the top ten political influencers in China.

Professor Chen is a frequent contributor to media publications in China on topics of economic policy, market development, institutional reform, and historical research. His work has been widely published and regularly featured in major newspapers and magazines in the United States, Hong Kong, China and many other countries. His Chinese books include: How Is Wealth Created? (2005), Media, Law and Markets (2005), Why are the Chinese Industrious and Yet Not Rich (2008), Irrational Overconfidence (2008), The Logic of Finance (2009), 24 Wealth Lectures (2009), Assessing China’s Economic Growth of the Past 30 Years (2010), On the China Model (2010), The Logic of Finance 2: Path to Individual Freedom (2015), Introduction to Finance (2018) and Introduction to Investment (2019). He has recently published a two-volume long history book in Chinese titled Logic of Civilization, that explores a number of human innovations, including mythology or magic and supernatural beliefs, technologies, social structures, cultural norms, religions, financial markets, and the welfare state. He has received research awards including the Graham and Dodd Award (2013), the Pacesetter Research Award (1999), the Merton Miller Prize (1994), and the Chicago Board Options Exchange Competitive Research Award (1994). He has also received a number of book awards in China and Hong Kong, among which are 23 awards for The Logic of Finance in China and Hong Kong, and the best book award from hexun.com for Why are the Chinese Industrious and Yet Not Rich.

Professor Chen received his PhD in financial economics from Yale University in 1990; MS in systems engineering from Changsha Institute of Technology in 1986; and BS in computer science from Central-South University in 1983. He was Assistant Professor of Finance at University of Wisconsin – Madison (1990-95); Associate Professor of Finance at Ohio State University (1995-99); and Professor of Finance at Yale University. He has been an endowed professor since joining HKU in July 2016. In July 2019, Professor Chen was conferred the title of Chair Professor of Finance in recognition of his contribution to finance.

 
Honours, Awards & Prizes
AwardeesAward DateHonours / Awards / PrizesCategory
2014-02-01Top Graham and Dodd Award for the Best Paper of 2013 in Financial Analyst Journal - "Liquidity as an Investment Style": Financial Analysts Journal
ISSN: 0015-198X ; eISSN: 1938-3312
Research Achievement
2023-12-16Economist of the Year 2023, South Reviews Magazine
Research Achievement
2017-12-01“2017年度中国留学人员50人” awarded by Center For China And Globalization全球化智库(CCG). Other awardees include Neil Shen, the founding and managing partner of Sequoia Capital China, Chen Shiyi, the President of South University of Science and Technology of China, and Geling Yan, one of the most acclaimed Chinese-American novelists and screenwriters, to name a few.: Center For China And Globalization (CCG)
Research Achievement
2022-06-01Areas of Excellence Scheme - Tenth Round: Research Grants Council
Research Achievement
Professional Societies
Term PeriodPositionProfessional Societies
01/2015 - 12/2018MemberGlobal Advisory Council, China Minsheng Investment Corp.
08/2012 - 08/2019MemberInternational Advisory Board of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC)
07/2010 - 07/2011MemberExpert Advisory Commission to the Beijing Government on the 12th Five-Year Plan
01/2009 - PresentMemberFaculty Advisory Committee of the Millstein Center for Corporate Governance
01/2008 - PresentMemberAcademic Committee, Unirule Institute, Beijing, China
08/2010 - 02/2014MemberBoard of Trustees, Yale-China Association
01/2007 - 12/2007MemberExpert Advisory Commission on the Formation of the China Investment Corporation, State Council, China
01/2009 - PresentMemberFaculty Advisory Board of the Yale Globalization Center
01/2007 - PresentMember, Board of Directors2005 Committee, Western Returned Scholars Association, China
12/2010 - 12/2013Chief academic advisorCCTV 10-episode documentary - Money
08/2008 - 12/2010Chief economic advisorCCTV 10-episode documentary series - Wall Street
09/2008 - PresentChief economic advisorChina Museum of Finance, Tianjin
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