BSU&U 2020 Issue 3

Content 4 5 8 16 Foreword BSU Delve into the About Us Megatrend: Foreword from Dean Executive Committee Fintech The Business Words from Chairperson Subcommittee Students’ Union Words from Advisors Theme Editor-in-Chief Fintech Cover Stories: - BEA - Welab Bank - Accenture

Issue 3 Publication Team Adrian Lee Elma Lee Mokshil Shah Bon Bon Chow Faustine Tan Rani Cheung Cilla So Hesper Lui Stephanie Ng Denny So Jack So Tim Chu 34 38 50 52 Functions Features Current Welfare Express Business Nominated Cabinet Joint Union E-Sports Mingling Affairs Tournament Career Business Elites Get-To- Technology gether 2020 Travel Mentoring Program 2020 Leisure Sports

About Us The Business Students’ Union, HKUSTSU (BSU) is a student-run, non-political and non-profit-making student organization. Founded in 1991, it was the first school Union established in the Hong Kong University of Science and Technolo- gy. As the sole union representing all the students studying in the School of Busi- ness and Management (SBM), we are proud to serve over 1600 members today. Our mission is to enhance students’ knowledge and exposure to the busi- ness world as well as to assist them to maintain a close relationship with each other. To achieve our goal, it is therefore always our aim to pro- vide a wide variety of academic and social functions for our members. 4

I am glad in this edition of newsletter the Reference to these competencies can be BSU looks into a flourishing new industry useful to gauge your suitability, and more - Fintech. importantly what experiences, training and courses you may need to gear up for Our financial services sector employs the sector. While fintech related electives more than 260,000 persons or around 7% have been provided for both our of total employment in Hong Kong. undergraduate and postgraduate students, Driven by advancements in technology, we also offer an MSc in Fintech Program fintech is set to reshape our financial designed for working professionals who services and present a new stream of want to combine their technical and opportunities for the industry in the years financial knowledge to meet new ahead. challenges in this emerging field. With the introduction of virtual banking, We hope our education and industry studies, together with the latest edition of the continued surge of cashless payment, BSU newsletter, will make you better understand fintech and the rich possibilities in this space as you prepare for your new adventure. the new wave of mobile applications and more, fintech provides unlimited opportunities for our graduates too. Being tech-savvy is not enough. At HKUST, we not only provide the best training for your chosen field of study, but also nourish your creativity and entrepreneurial spirit. These are some of the attributes for long- term success in fintech and beyond. To find out what are the major skills really needed in the industry, the Fintech Research Project Team of our School has conducted a study with participation of more than 80 fintech organizations. The report “The Fintech Talent Development, Competency and Manpower Study” was published earlier this year outlining 13 core competencies that companies need to support their development. You can check out from the report if you arm with the skills and proficiencies to meet the burgeoning demand for fintech talent: 5

WORDS FROM CHAIRPERSON The November issue of BSU&U concludes the term of office for the 29th ses- sion. Throughout the year-long term of office, we faced multiple challenges and obstacles, but we hold firm to our aspiration and proceed. Without the sup- port from every one of you, we cannot achieve it. Therefore, I would like to ex- tend my heartfelt gratitude to all of you, for your continuous and constant support. This year is special, due to the pandemic, many functions, ranging from Ca- reer Series 2020 to Orientation Program 2020, were held through online plat- forms. It is both extraordinary and fresh to BSU and to us. It is a new method of or- ganizing functions and it will definitely be influential to the development of BSU. Time flies but memories last forever. Over the past year, everything seems to end so quickly. The only thing that lasts is the indelible memory that we, Einheit, once creat- ed. I would like to thank my fellow Executive Committee members. Without their hard work and support, I would not be able to get through the challenges that I have en- countered and fulfil my obligation so successfully. ‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.’ The unity among 16 of us forms the greatest power that drives BSU forward. Speaking of unity, Einheit, our cabinet name, well represents the core of our session which is to bring cohesion within our Executive Committee and BSU. Once again, in the last chapter of our term of office, I would like to express my sincerest and warmest gratitude to all external parties, advisors, the school, past Executive Com- mittee, and members. We, Einheit, the 29th Executive Committee have gained much experience and memory from the BSU. It is now time for us to pass on the torch to the next session. I believe that they can inherit the great tradition of BSU and carry on a successful term of office. Please enjoy the last official publication of the 29th session. TANG Wing Yin, Andy Chairperson The Business Students’ Union, HKUSTSU 6

Welcome to the third issue of publi- CHAN Pui Ching, Gigi cation BSU&U of 2020. I am sure that Publication Secretary you all have been going through a hus- The Business Students’ tle and bustle in this academic term. Fi- Union, HKUSTSU nals are coming, I wish you all good luck. Session 2019-2020 While studying hard for the exam, do get some time to relax and our latest issue. WORDS The theme of this issue is ‘Delve into the FROM Megatrend: FinTech’. It is known that Fin- EDITOR- tech is the latest trend in the financial in- IN-CHIEF dustry and there is still great potential for development in the industry in the future. We have interviewed industry professionals regarding the hottest trend, Financial Tech- nology, in the business world. Great insights on FinTech and advice on pursuing a Fin- Tech career are provided. If you are interest- ed in FinTech, you definitely have to check our cover stories out. It is also essential for business students to equip themselves with basic FinTech knowledge to enhance self competitiveness. Hope that readers will be able to gain some knowledge and insights on FinTech and find your interests in this field. This is the last issue of Publication BSU&U of this year which marks the end of our term of office. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks for all your support.Without all your support, I wouldn’t have successfully made all publications. Hope you all enjoy the publica- tions I have made. Our successive executive committee will take up the role and continue to provide you with quality publications. So, stay tuned for our upcoming issues of BUS&U and please continue to support our Union. 7

The 29th Execut TANG Wing Yin, Andy LOK Wing Yau, Jasmine Chairperson Internal Vice-Chairperson It is time for us to complete our obligation as This year is challenging but together with my 15 one of the 29th Executive Committee members. colleagues, we have accomplished. We adapt to the In the past year, I have learnt a lot from peo- new environment in holding functions online or ple around me, especially my fellow ‘Exco’. We mix-mode. Serving as a member of the Executive shared our thoughts, our joy and our pain. The Committee of The Union abnormally is a growth for wonderful experience and indelible memory all of us. that we create cannot be simply expressed in words. Thank you, Einheit. I am proud to be part of the 29th session. I feel Every journey has its end. It is time for our cur- pleased and glad to create this page and make 2020 tain call. We are ready to leave and pass on the as a memorable year. As this is the end of our jour- torch of BSU to the 30th session. Bon Voyage! ney, I would like to thank all of my colleagues for making this remarkable milestone together. May I wish the Nominated Cabinet the best in the coming year. CHONG Ka Yi, Jessy TAM Hoi Ying, Jessie External Vice-Chairperson Internal Secretary I’m very honoured to be part of the 29th Executive Com- Time flies over us but leaves its shadow behind. This mittee of the Union and serve our members by organising year has been so unforgettable with Einheit. It is our different events. 2020 is a tough year. Hopefully, we have honor to serve our members. The sixteen of us have brought joy throughout the year. already completed the whole journey together. Yet, it is I would like to express my greatest gratitude to my fel- never easy to walk till here. The challenges and difficul- low Executive Committee members and those who have ties we have faced cannot be expressed through words. helped me out throughout my term of office. Our events Together, we have built the 29th session of BSU. would not be such a great success without the support Thank you to all of you who have stayed with me and from all of you. Through our struggles and collective hard- persevered through the rainy days and dark evenings. ships we have grown to be closer like a family. Now is the time to run confident and strong know- I’ve learnt more than I expected to this year. The Union ing we have achieved something that felt beyond our has brought me connections, friendships and broadened limits. Please continue to support BSU in the future my visions. Let the legacy be inherited. and best wishes for the new session to continue the evolution! 8

tive Committee WONG Ho Heng, Ivor LAI Yun Chi, Gigi External Secretary Financial Secretary Being part of the 29th Executive Committee of the Union has made Time flies so fast. It is nearly the end of our adventure as me who I am today. I am very honored to have been able to serve our the 29th Executive Committee of The Union. 2020 has members throughout this challenging year and deliver our best to been a challenging year for ‘Einheit’, in which we have them. to make difficult decisions under the pandemic. But this Looking back on the first day our cabinet was nominated, it was hard is also a precious and unique year for us, that we can to believe that the 16 of us would be able to serve our members with discuss and work together as a team. excellence. However, now that our term of office is coming to an end, I would like to take this chance to express my grateful- we have accomplished so much and overcame challenges that we nev- ness to my fellow executive committee members and er thought were possible. I would never forget the time the 16 of us people who support us throughout this year. Thanks for spent together as Einheit, with all the memories and tears we shared creating memories that I will never forget. throughout this amazing journey. Time flies but memories last forever. May I wish for your I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my fellow executive continuous support with The Union in the future and committee members, honorable guests, and our members for their success in the successive cabinets. enthusiastic support for the Union for the past year. Although this marks the end of the 29th Executive Committee of The Business Students’ Union - Einheit, please continue to support the Union, and may I wish the successive cabinet the best in the coming year. CHENG Pak Ho, Paco WONG Ka Wai, Jane Academic Secretary Promotion and Publicity Looking back to 2020, it is no doubt a tough year to every- Secretary one as many negative environmental factors existed. How- ever, I always believe a crisis creates opportunities and the Cliché as it sounds, time flies but memories are to stay. In one who successfully grasps the chance wins. The reason a COVID-19 plagued year, it had definitely been a tough why our Union can be so sustainable is that we still accept yet memorable term of office. As one of the 29th Executive new ideas and dare to make changes. We took a step away Committee members of The Business Students’ Union, the from our comfort zone. We tried to plan events virtually, experience has endowed us with lessons, comrades and in- and surprisingly we achieved significant success. ner-strengths. I want to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to all my fellow committee members and guests To me, it is no doubt that the first year with my fellow com- for contributing their time, effort, and ideas to the Union. mittee members had had a smooth start. But in an unfortunate Here marks the end of The Business Students’ Union, turn of events during the pandemic, the unison was restricted HKUSTSU, Session 2019-2020. Please continue to support to online learning. Being able to provide a sense of connection the Union in the future and best wishes to the upcoming for all the cohorts perhaps was the greatest reward. session of the Union. In the blink of an eye, it is time for us to call off and pass our duties to the new session. May I hereby wish our succeeding cabinet all the best and make the most out of it in the coming term. 9

CHAN Yun Kit, Brian WONG Shing Bun, Brandon Public Relations Secretary Sports and Recreation Secretary It is really a once-in-a-lifetime journey. Looking back, A year ago, I made my decision to become the executive committee the year would not be as fruitful if it was not with my 15 member of the Business Students’ Union, spending my time in my cabinet members. We put in our efforts to work things chosen way. 12 months passed and it’s coming to the end of our term out, the memories truly meant something to us, and it of office. This year is a challenging and also a remarkable year as the will last in our hearts forever. Tremendous results we pandemic struck and all functions had to turn online. Nevertheless, have worked out this year, and we are all proud of it, we the situation also allowed me to think of ideas to deliver the existing truly hope the next session will pass on the legacy and functions in an innovative way to cater to the needs of our members make BSU thrive. Life in BSU is indeed colourful. The through social media and online video communication software, functions and challenges we have overcome are not the which is a brand new experience for me as I had not tried to interact only things that make this journey meaningful; my fellow with others constantly in this way before. I truly learned a lot from executive committee members and all the moments we preparing and designing functions with my fellow executive committee have been together are the valuable fragments that make members, ranging from online promotion to gaming broadcast. I have this puzzle an impeccable and irreplaceable one. May never expected to gain such a memorable experience from my term of I wish my dearest cabinet members a fruitful life ahead office this year and it really helped me to develop my comprehensive and success to the upcoming session. skill sets. Time flies and our term of office has nearly come to an end. I have to thank my fellow executive members for creating such an amazing memory for me and also assisting me when I was facing difficulties. CHAN Pui Ching, Gigi HUI Ching Yeung, Sunny Publication Secretary Marketing Officer I cannot believe that it’s been a year since the 16 of us came Part of the journey has ended. It is November and almost a year together to form the 29th Executive Committee of BSU. I has passed since I became an Exco of BSU. Throughout this am very honored to be part of the team and this year has challenging year, I wouldn’t say I accomplished anything that been an unforgettable year. None of us has ever thought is very amazing, but every moment as an Exco is precious and that we would encounter such a huge challenge that most rewarding to me. of our events had to be either cancelled or held online. We Things were out of our expectations this year. Many events were wouldn’t have successfully organized all these functions either cancelled or switched to online, it was very challenging without the teamwork of the Executive Committee and the for us as we have no reference to refer to. Hereby I would like support from members and advisors. My heartfelt thanks to to say thank you to all our fellow members. Thank you for your every one of you. I will cherish all the time and memories generous support this year. I hope that you all enjoyed your time together with my Executive Committee members. You all with us. have given me a wonderful recollection in university. Most importantly, I would like to say thank you to my fellow ex- ecutive committee members. Without you all this year wouldn’t No one knows what will happen next with all the un- go through so smoothly. As the end of my term of office is knowns and unexpected challenges. All the best for the approaching, may I wish for a big success and a great future for successive cabinet. BSU and the successive cabinet. 10 The Business S

LEUNG Ho Fung, Thomas HO Ming Hin, Hugo Marketing Officer Information Systems Secretary This year was a special year for all of us. A unique This year has been a challenging but fruitful one. experience as an Executive Committee member of Despite all the hardships, it was still an invaluable The Union. It taught me thousands of plans are never experience to expand my social circle and learn enough for sudden changes in life. A lot of things were new skills that deem useful in my future career held at the preparation stage and were forced to be can- life. It was a unique year that we had many more celled. Yes, it is disheartening, but we need to learn how online events and here I would like to express my to overcome these oppositions to achieve new heights. greatest gratitude for all those who helped and It has come to the end of our service and I would like to joined these events. They were not all flawless, but express my deepest gratitude to everyone who support- mistakes create memories, memories that we will ed us. Shall the legacy of BSU pass on to future years. I remember and cherish. As our time has passed, would also like to thank my fellow Executive Commit- new blood is joining the Union. I wish the new tee members for staying strong together in this chal- cabinet will get to harvest their own fruits next lenging time. Thank you for giving me a fruitful year year. A new page has been flipped, and another and memories of a lifetime. journey we are headed to. LEI Tung Tung, Scarlet CHAN Pak Hon, Jonathan Welfare Secretary Current Business Affairs 2020 is a tough year, all the things will change unexpect- There is an African proverb that goes “If you want to edly. Although we did not get the life we expected, it go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” allowed us to stop and think. I like to think that being part of the 29th Session of A year ago, we had never thought of holding any online BSU has changed me for the better. I am glad I met functions. No one would believe that functions like the such a competent team of colleagues and friends Orientation Programme could be held online. But turns that has grown together with me. What started off as out, we have organized one successfully. What limits an impulse to join a platform and better inform my people is their beliefs. I am so grateful to be here, being classmates of business issues, became an amazing one of the 29th executive committee members of The opportunity to meet many other like minded people. Business Students’ Union. It allows me to understand my I will forever be grateful for the opportunity to be a ability and what I can do. part of BSU and the unforgettable memories we all I would like to grab this opportunity to express my shared. I sincerely wish all the best to the Nominated sincere gratitude to the members for all the support and Cabinet and I look forward to seeing BSU grow from bless the next session, for their success in the next year. afar. Students’ Union 11

The Business Students' Union SUBCOMMITTEE This year we have recruited more than 90 subcommittee members. There are three subcommittee teams, namely the Mentoring Program Team, Marketing Team and Publication Team. Subcommittee members are given the chance to assist in organizing functions and making promotion items. Subcom gatherings were held for members to meet new friends and bond with each other. Mentoring Program Team Formed by 44 talented and kind-hearted freshmen, the subcommittee of the Mentoring Program 2020 under The Business Students’ Union has helped the program to be one of the most fruitful events this year. Despite the difficult times, our subcommittee members have still shown dedication and enthusiasm towards the program. Through the sub-function pitching and more, the subcommittee members are able to grow not only as individuals but also build a closer bond with their fellow committee members. Adrian Lee Bon Bon Chow Brandon Wong Cilla So Denny So Chelene Sin 12

Mokshil Shah Rani Cheung Stephanie Ng Faustine Tan Marketing Team The Marketing Team consists of 2 units, which are the Video Production Team and Creative & Media Team respectively. For the Video Production Team, members participate in brainstorming story plots and ideas for hands-on video shooting with guests. For the Creative & Media Team, they are responsible for content creation and promotional campaigns for upcoming events of the Union. To get a taste of organizing an event, all of them are divided into teams of 4-5, in which they were required to do a detailed planning for a formal pitching presentation on SBM x BSU Business Elite Get-Together and Annual Welfare Express 2020. Ideas will be taken from the best-performing team as a reward. We hope that throughout the past few months, the more they have given, the more they were able to take. Publication Team We have recruited 17 talented subcommittee members to join the publication team with some having exceptional design skills. The publication team has greatly helped with the design and content of the second and third issue of BSU&U. It provides an opportunity for freshmen to participate in the making of the Union’s official publication and also to collaborate with fellow subcommittee members. Elma Lee Jacky So Tim Chu Virginia Yung Tiffany Yeung Joining a subcommittee team as an introvert is definitely arduous. Despite Being a subcommittee member is the initial step for me to begin Hi I’m Tiff, a year one student studying business uncertainties and shadowy forward, the my university life. Working with the publication team, I team up and management with an undeclared major. My exaltation from finishing pieces and with my teammates, working for BSU&U. Furthermore, I found hobbies are mostly playing sports and meeting publication is definitely worth the trial and that exploring for the substance is very fun, and I can examine it new people. I'm really excited that I can be part of time. As a publication team member, I with my teammate of the plan of the articles, which is an the BSU publication team. My reason for joining would like to express my gratitude to all incredible encounter. Joining a subcommittee allows me to gain the team is that I hope I can be more involved readers and other members. BSU&U would the distribution aptitude as well as to meet some new friends. with the HKUST business school and help not have been possible without your organize activities/ events, especially meet more abiding support. We will keep our people and build teamwork. production quality and you are invited to continue this unparalleled journey with us. 13

Special Thanks to Our Advisors We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to our advisors for sup- porting us and giving us precious advice to improve. We have learnt a lot and would certainly pass on to our next session. Shyy Wei Mr. Allen HUANG President Associate Dean HKUST School of Business and Management (Undergraduate Programs) Ms. Virginia CHOI Wai-kam, JP Mr. Wilson C KWOK Country Manager and Managing Consultant Managing Director Tamty Mcgill Consultant International Ltd. Lam Kwok Kwan Cheng CPA Limited 14

Mr. Alvin LAM Dr LAU Ming-wai, GBS, BBS, JP Managing Partner Chairman T12M Ventures Limited Chinese Estates Holdings Limited Mr. Allan LEE Ka-fai Mr. Alan LEONG Kah-kit, SC Head, Family Governance Center Former Legislative Councilor Legacy Academy Limited Hong Kong Legislative Council Ms. Elsie LEUNG, GBM, JP Mr. Kevin ANDERSON Deputy Director Head of Investments, APAC HKSAR Basic Law Committee of Standing State Street Global Advisors Asia Limited Committee of National People’s Congress Mr. William IP Manager Director Carousell Mr. Micky LO MD, Chief Information Risk Officer APAC The Bank of New York Mellon Mr. Samuel YUNG Wing-ki, SBS, MH, JP Executive District Director AIA International Limited 15

Delve into the Megatrend THEME FINTECH As a business student, we are always hearing about FinTech late- ly. But do you really know what exactly FinTech is about? You may have heard about terms like ‘Blockchain’ or ‘Cryptocurrency’ but do not know how they really work. ‘FinTech’ sounds unreach- able to us students but we are actually using it every day, for ex- ample, banking apps and electronic payment. It is transform- ing our lives without our knowing. Our consumption habits and personal financial management are changing gradually with the emergence of Fintech, which provides us with great convenience. This issue, with the theme ‘Delve into the Megatrend: FinTech’, will dig into the latest trend in the financial industry, FinTech. You will know common types of Fintech, as well as the application and de- velopment of Fintech in the banking industry. If you are interested in pursuing a FinTech career after graduating, you can learn about the tips and required qualities advised by industry professionals. Get to know more about FinTech in the following cov- er stories. Equip yourself with some Fintech knowledge be- fore entering the competitive and ever changing business world. 16

FINTECH MOBILE PAYMENTS CROWDFUNDING 17

BLOCKCHAIN AND CRYPTOCURRENCY ROBO-ADVISING FINTECH 18

FINTECH: REDEFINING THE FUTURE OF BANKING Interview with Ronald Fung, 19

FINTECH IN BANKING INDUSTRY 20

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Entrepreneu- Business Self- Good team rial mindset acumen motivated player and a fast- learner 23

Virtual Banks On The Rise Interview with Tat Lee, Alternate Chief Executive & Executive Director 24

1. A virtual bank is quite a new idea. Can you please introduce how it works? The technical definition of a virtual bank is of money spent monthly, investment that it focuses on retail banking without preference or even the exact time he/she physical branches. Many people think that opens the app, this creates a big data to virtual banks just move all banking services understand clients and hence, banks could into an app where people make all deposits, recommend products more based on loans and payments. From the perspective clients’ needs. of Welab Bank, the concept of virtual bank is a completely different banking Interactive: Banks nowadays lack bridges to experience driven by technology, especially bond with customers. When the bank Big Data and AI. Imagine an AI banking solves a problem for you, they will persuade assistant who would give advice on your you to buy other plans or services in financial planning, the utilization of this exchange. The reason for such lack of technology can change the face of the interaction between banks and customers banking industry entirely. is limited human resources. The unbalanced staff-to-clients ratio disables Regarding the concept of virtual banking, communications and connections with WeLab believes in the ‘3I concept’: Instant, clients. On the contrary, if the bank has Intelligent and Interactive. observed that you spent more this month but actually you have a saving goal, we Instant: All bank experience, such as would suggest you to be more frugal, opening an account and applying for a maybe cut Netflix or Spotify. credit card, should be instant. For any financial action, as trivial as purchasing a Imagine your mobile application installed good, there should be able to make a on your smartphone becomes your banking spontaneous response. assistant with intelligence, interactive experience and instant responses. Intelligent: The usage of customer data commonly used is ineffective and time- People might think virtual banking is the consuming. Nowadays, banks collect transition from going to a physical bank to customers’ data when they seek for their phone banking or e-banking. It is just services. Then, they will sell their financial channel migration, change from one products via phone calls, emails, SMS etc. channel to another. This did not change the without filtering the data. This method is banking service experience. Yet, if we use not cost-effective at all and in fact cannot what we imagined, at last the bank would fully utilize customers’ data. If we gather be totally different. We are re-inventing the different sets of data of a client, a more whole banking service. Changing it from tailor-made promotion plan can be merely a product to an experience. This is a designed to better suit the needs of the new insight which induces a breakthrough customer. Since we have more info about in the finance and banking industry. the customer's spending behavior, amount 25

2. What are the edges of a virtual bank and how do you compete with traditional banks? If we are able to achieve the above concepts, this already created a huge difference between us and traditional banks. But how can we differentiate ourselves with traditional banks? There are a few aspects. The edge of virtual banks is to rebuild the whole banking infrastructure with the latest technology. The problem with modern banks is neither narrow client base nor limited capital but to undergo a huge transformation when everything is settled. VB edge starts from scratch and uses the latest technology which would be more flexible than traditional banks and easier to have a desired outcome. Virtual banks start with a future-forward mindset. In the past, the world focuses on creating a financial product, then designs marketing campaigns to sell their products. Virtual banks provide customer-centric banking services. They use people’s digital experience to build a product. This means they are considering more on customers’ experience gained by using their products instead of solely focusing on how fabulous their product is. To enhance our competitiveness, we focus on how fast we develop when compared with traditional banks. Most traditional banks go through digital transformation, whether HSBC, Standard Chartered, Citi, DBS etc. All digitization is essential. The ones which undergo bigger transformation may perform better than those having a smaller transformation. To compete with traditional banks, we have to develop faster than them. We have to be very agile. We need to use the shortest time to respond to the market and launch a product. After that, we will finetune it and launch again. Apart from being agile, providing the best experience will allow us to stand out as well. Virtual banks start from a customer perspective to think so the experience will be relatively better than traditional banks. 3. Is there an R&D department in WeLab that explores new FinTech for virtual banks? Welab has several businesses. One third of our employees have a technological background. There are a total of 280 employees working on technology in our different businesses, some in mainland China and some in Indonesia as well. We do research on different technology in order to perform better and more efficiently. Actually, we have already been using artificial intelligence since 2015. Before Welab Bank, our other business Welend uses AI to analyze many big data and predict a person’s repayment pattern. There are two criteria in predicting the repayment, namely the person’s repayment ability and willingness. We use a lot of behavioral data to analyze the repayment willingness. Other than the measurement of repayment willingness, we also use a lot of data and AI to process these data and generate insights which are stronger and more accurate than the traditional way. After mastering how to utilize these data, it can be performed at a lower cost and faster speed. Welab does a lot of R&D like AI. We made a robotic service in mainland China. When you call in, the one responding to you is a robot. 80% of the customers do not know they are talking to a robot. This saves a lot of customer service where robots can be a replacement in a business. To enable this robotic service to work, the voice-to-text technology will be used to convert the voice message into a text. The text will then be fit into NLP and use NLP to find out what the customer is asking about. After finding out the question, an answer will be generated. Around 90% of the enquiries are more or less the same, like checking balances, reporting lost cards, suspicious transactions, service problems and opening hours, etc. The whole process can be completely robotic. The technology is rather complicated but is totally doable with the latest technology. 26

4. What are the challenges of establishing and promoting a virtual bank? The challenge for virtual banks is that a lot of education has to be done to let more people understand the concept of virtual bank and how exactly it works, rather than just a mobile app. This education comes with a long period of time. First of all, we have to build trust. Since the industry involves depositing money, trust is very important. Virtual banks like Welab are under the regulation of HKMA and Deposit Protection Scheme. We understand that many people may not have a high trust level on virtual banks yet due to the short history. It takes time for the virtual bank industry to build trust. To build trust, education and promotion have to be done together. Another challenge is that there may be some concern on personal data leakage. Actually, virtual banks use the latest technology, the best firewall and cybersecurity control so the risk should be rather low. Additionally, there is a lack of comprehensiveness in products being launched as a newly established bank. We are not able to cater to all customer needs and different aspects so our competitiveness is affected. Other than promoting virtual banks ourselves, the industry and government also do promotions. To Welab Bank, brand is very important to millennials and it is not just about functional benefit. They choose a brand they like to support and there can be many reasons for liking the brand. Perhaps the brand is able to associate with them more or the brand understands them more or they feel good about it when they use the products. In the past, it is all about functional benefit where everything has to be the cheapest or the fastest. Nowadays, the differentiation is not about the pricing where the most popular may not be the cheapest. Branding is a very important factor. Welab understands what customers want because we have been in the market for quite a period of time. The management team in Welab is very local and relatively younger. We can easily let people know that we understand them and let them believe our products can really solve their problems. 5. What do you think of the prospect of virtual banks and FinTech in Hong Kong? I can assure that after three to five years, nobody will be talking about virtual banks because at that time all banks will become today’s virtual banks. You will not see a virtual bank opening a physical branch or a bank staff not using a mobile app to provide banking services. The prospect of virtual banks is great because they will be one of the most profitable industries globally. The individual banking asset of Hong Kong is the second highest in the world, second to Switzerland. Hong Kong has a huge amount of wealth and the retail banking sector generates a large revenue pool. According to an analysis done by Goldman Sachs, one third of the revenue, which is 15 billion USD, goes to virtual banks in Hong Kong after a period of time. As virtual banks develop and become more common, I believe that the revenue share of virtual banks will be even bigger. Hong Kong has a high mobile phone penetration, where basically everyone owns a smartphone. The 4G and 5G penetration in Hong Kong is very high but the online banking penetration is very low. Many people still go to physical branches to get assistance from relationship managers. Since people are very used to using smartphones in daily lives but the online banking penetration is so low, we can see that the potential for virtual banks is huge. Fintech must be a hot topic in the coming years. The financial industry and the government will be promoting Fintech. Being an international finance center, if the Fintech development in Hong Kong is slow, it will definitely be taken over. The rapid technological development in Shenzhen and Singapore makes their financial sectors even stronger. Hong Kong must continue to invest in Fintech to generate more benefits from Fintech such as efficiency and accessibility. 27

6. What do you look for when recruiting talents for a virtual bank? Anything different from traditional banks? Traditional banks usually prefer candidates with banking experience. Fintech or virtual banks have a totally different concept. Virtual banks are actually linked up with Fintech in behind. It is not necessary to be super professional in Fintech like some fields such as aerospace engineering or astronomy. Fintech is finance and technology. You just need to know how to utilize technology and have some knowledge of finance and combine the two, that makes Fintech. Fintech can be big data analytics or artificial intelligence or some other technology being applied to existing processes to make them better in terms of risk control or experience. The most important requirement is the mindset, rather than the experience of candidates. Welab looks for two qualities in candidates. First, candidates have to love technology or understand technology. They have to believe in the power of technology because if they don’t, they will be only repeating what people traditionally do. Of course, they also need to have some sense in financial services. They cannot not know how banks work. The best is to understand how banks work and also know how technology can create an uplift or additional value on financial services. Second, culture is very important. As a new business or virtual bank, apart from having the skill set to understand how finance and technology can combine, having the right mindset and mentality is equally important. New businesses often encounter big challenges. Many traditional banks are already used to an established structure so people may not really know how to contend with the challenges encountered by new businesses and they may not have the persistence. They often get used to a fixed system and may not be innovative. Welab’s company culture lies on 5 values, ATRIP. ‘A’mbitious: We are ambitious in a way not just creating a bank and aiming at making profits, but we want to build something to create impacts in society, in Hong Kong. ‘T’eam players: Our colleagues have to be team players to work closely together. ‘R’esult-oriented: We must be very clear what the result should be and work towards it. ‘I’nnovative: We have to be innovative. Our name ‘Welab’ can be divided into two parts ‘we’ and ‘lab’. ‘We’ means we work together. ‘Lab’ stands for laboratory. People do experiments in a laboratory. We should not always do the same old experiments, but should embrace new changes. We do new experiments to try new things and improve. ‘P’ersistent: New businesses face many challenges so persistence is very crucial. Welab looks for candidates with the right mindset. We do not fit in, but instead we stand out and differentiate from others. Or else, we will just be copycats that repeat what others do and will never improve. 28

Enhancing Customer Experience with Digital Interaction Interview with Luca Fong, Director and Senior Manager Accenture 29

Accenture is a professional services company, which has 500,000 employees globally. We mainly help clients understand business problems and industry impacts and provide suggestions on how to navigate these destructions. For instance, we will figure out how to help clients mitigate these problems under COVID-19. There are different departments in Accenture. The strategy and consulting department mainly focuses on the area of business strategy like which markets to target, which customer segments to focus on and how much money to invest. This is traditional strategy consulting like Big 4 and strategy companies working on business cases. Accenture is particularly stronger in other business lines. For example, Accenture Interactive mainly works on digital interaction, like vending machines and mobile apps. It focuses on customer experience, like how to contend with business challenges from a customer experience perspective, how to improve the experience to increase revenue, customer spending and spending desire; but at the same time, being able to save cost and run big scale projects. Accenture works on many of these projects because it has many employees and delivery centers worldwide. It can help many mainland businesses run global large scale websites and operations. On the other hand, Accenture Interactive does brand marketing strategy and marketing campaigns. Last year, it acquired the world’s biggest creative agency. Many brands hire this agency to make TV and social media advertisements. Accenture Interactive has the strategy but it is also important to do marketing based on customer experience to reach the customers and do digital commerce to run a project. There is a technical department where colleagues do traditional outsourcing like building a big scale website or mobile app with different languages in different countries. There will be a team in different countries to work on the project at a lower cost. The content operations team makes new content with photos and posts on social media. 30

Compared to Big Four companies, Accenture is a rather technical firm since it focuses on the digital aspect. We are particularly strong in technology consulting and we do a lot of SAP implementation and some big scale salesforce implementation. We do not only use one specific technology, but we are rather technology agnostic. We use all kinds of technology to help our customers. It is about how we apply the technology to solve business problems. We try to understand customer needs and experience from a business and customer perspective and find the right technology to adjust to it. There is a financial services team under our strategy and consulting group. The team has previously helped some Fintech companies work on startup incubation events and made evaluations on whether the business strategies are suitable and workable. The team had to make sure their ideas are right with their business, market and technological knowledge. PERSONALIZING EXPERIENCE WITH DATA Blockchain was a very hot topic in the Fintech industry in the past few years. In my opinion, virtual banks will be the future. These banks target areas that big banks and insurance companies will not focus on, like the underserved community. It is about how technology works with the experience of these market segments. Actually, the sudden emergence of Fintech or virtual banks is because businesses value customer perspective more. For example, people always go to banks to queue and submit many forms to apply for an account, but Fintech is about how to use the shortest time to do all these procedures with simply an app. Another technology to focus on is data. Speaking of experience, customer experience is about how to personalize products and services. It is essential to use the information known to introduce suitable products and services tailored to customers. 31

There are a lot of interesting and unforgettable experiences every year in Accenture. The most interesting one is that I helped with a large scale project last year before COVID-19. The project was to help a big consumer electronics company that sells laptops and tablets. The business does not open many retail stores like Apple, but rather sells its products through retailers and resellers. The company relies on the partners but we observed that their partners sold fewer and fewer of their products. Our service design company did a study to find out the reason behind the lower sales of partners. We worked on a 3-month project and received feedback from the partners. They thought that it was difficult to cooperate with this company. They had to go through many complicated steps to sell the products. The partners turned to sell other companies’ products instead because it was easier for them. Accenture helped with thinking of a new service or updating the existing to enhance the whole partner experience. It was a worldwide project that ran with a team of more than 70 people across different countries. There were members in Hong Kong, China, India, the US and Europe. We wanted to understand the experience of partners from different countries so we travelled to many countries to do research. The most memorable part was that we went to five different European countries in one week. We had many meetings in a day and then we flew to another country for another meeting. We didn’t have much time to enjoy the place, but just enjoying the different offices. Nevertheless, it was very interesting to observe the different work styles and cultures in different countries. Therefore, when we come up with solutions, we have to consider the different business styles and procedures and legal systems in different countries. Overall, it was an unforgettable exp- erience since I had been to five different countries in five days. When I departed from Europe on Friday, it was already Sunday when I arrived in Hong Kong and my whole weekend was gone. 32

The biggest tip is that traditionally many people, especially those studying business, only want to enter the business field and have little interest in technology. But you can see that many things are related to technology recently and this will continue to be a trend. So even if you are at the business side, you also need to gain some knowledge in technology. You do not have to acquire very advanced skills like coding but you have to know its application. Another example is that it may not be necessary to know how to make a blockchain but you have to know how to use blockchain to solve a particular business problem. This is a very critical point about how you understand the business and identify a suitable technology. For Accenture, we embrace diversity. We believe that having different ideas and opinions facilitate continuous improvement. The consulting sector used to prefer business students but we see that art and science blend together in various areas. Therefore, the major of study is no longer the main concern, but rather the willingness and openness to learn even if you do not have a technological background. 33

Joint-Union eSports Tournament is the S first eSports competition in HKUST organized by student unions. BSU co- 34 operated with ESU and HSSU to at- tract members from the three stu- dent unions to participate. The theme of this year’s tournament is League of Legend, in which we adopted a single-elimination scheme for competition. As we know that some members may have difficul- ty finding enough teammates for the tournament, we decided to act as a nexus to help our members form teams and create an opportunity to meet new friends. The MVP in the final match a razer head- set for his achievement after undergoing fierce matches throughout the whole competition week. The final match was designed to be played in three rounds instead of a one-round game during the knockout stage. The team that manages to get two winning rounds becomes the champi- on of the tournament. We provided a 5-min- ute break for both teams to rest and redesign their winning tactics in between each round. This year’s final match was contested between team Msg and Snorlax, on 10th November, in which Msg won 2:0. The two teams played an exciting match and demonstrated splendid tac- tical ability and manoeuver during the 2-round contest, as well as teamwork and coordination.

Different from the traditional event, working occasion, and to expose them- SBM x BSU Annual Dinner - SBM x selves to professionals. With the support BSU Annual Cocktail Session has been from our distinguished guests and changed to virtual version, SBM x BSU alumni, Rassembler- SBM x BSU Busi- Business Elites Get Together due to ness Elites Get Together has promoted the Covid-19 outbreak. It continues to exchange and interaction of ideas, acted provide a valuable chance to business as a beacon for undergraduates, espe- students to interact with the School of cially freshmen with impressive insights. Business and Management (SBM) and the Union, through communication be- The mingling night was successfully held tween students and successful alumni on 27th November with 88 students en- and guests from various business fields. rolled in Rassembler – SBM x BSU Busi- ness Elites Get Together and more than Through the event, we hope to bring posi- 10 guests invited, including the Associate tivechangesandenhancementtoourpar- Dean of School of Business and Manage- ticipants by providing a precious chance ment, and alumni from Kellogg-HKUST to talk with alumni from diverse business EMBA program. We believe all the par- fields, as well as professors from different ticipants have had an enjoyable evening departments, be inspired by their stories through listening to meaningful sharings and become innovators of the society. and stories from our highlighted guests. An ending video was added to enrich As our starting function in the new the whole program and we aim to enrich school term, undergraduates were ex- participants with industrial knowledge. pected to make their debut in the net- SBM X BSU BUSINESS ELITES

Mentoring Program 2020 -Esperanza, aims at enhancing busi- ness students’ professional knowledge and providing valuable lifelong mentorship. 2020 has been a tough year, so we decided to use “Esperanza” as the theme this year. It means “Hope” in Spanish, to hope things will get better no matter what adver- sity and challenges we are facing. We believe that mentees and mentors will overcome these hard times under the guidance and support from each other. Unfortunately, we were not able to hold physical events this year due to the ongoing global pan- demic, but our online events were still able to provide a bridge to connect students with the business world in these hard times. CEO Get-Together Wine Tasting Workshop 36

PROGRAM 2020 From October, Mentoring Pro- from more than 50 business fields MENTORING gram 2020 has offered a series of and had over 150 participants. rewarding sub-functions for our participants including workshops, Recapping the highlight of the CEO-Get-Together Sessions and program - Zoom Mentoring Ses- the highlighted Zoom Mento- sion, there were more than 150 ring Session. Connections and mentors and mentees joining relationships are integral in the our two Zoom Sessions. We have business world. Even though it kept the mentor-mentee ratio at is difficult to build these connec- 1:1-2, as we hope that our men- tions under the pandemic where tors and mentees can establish a we have fewer chances to meet up meaningful long term relation- physically, we hope that our par- ship. We are very honored to have ticipants can gain connections invited Mr. Arthur Shek, Partner which can help them with their of Mckinsey & Company, to give career prospects and aspirations. us a great opening about how to be a successful consultant and Moreover, we would like to ex- climb the corporate ladder. In ad- press our gratitude to the gener- dition, Mr. Russell Beattie, Direc- ous support from Crown Wine tor, Head of Asia Pacific, Futures Cellars. Our participants got the & Options and OTC Clearing at chance to know more about Red Bank of America Securities, talk- and White, ranging from the or- ed about how to survive under igin to year, from color to tastes. the new normal and advice on our attitude working in the future. Year over year we strive to set the bar of this event as the largest Although the Mentoring Pro- scale, most diverse and exception- gram 2020 has come to an end, al mentoring event for the busi- we believe that it is only just ness students at HKUST. We are the beginning of a long-lasting very proud to say that this year and fruitful mentor-mentee re- we have invited over 100 mentors lationship for our participants. 37

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Current Business Affairs The Walking Dead Start-ups are the new blood, the disruption, the game-changer. The opposite of that would be zombie firms. The Investopedia defines zombie firms as “com- panies that earn just enough money to continue operating and service debt but are unable to pay off their debt.” Unlike start-ups, they are tenacious and barely kept alive with financing from banks as life support. Because they are just scrap- ing by, they have no excess capital to invest and spur growth, hence they are also known as the “living dead” or “zom- bie stocks”. Compared to the once, blood- bath of a competitive corporate landscape, it has now become a wasteland filled Zombie firms are not new Zombie firms are not new. Zombie firms were central to Japan’s economy following the fi- nancial crisis of 1990 as banks supported them with the government’s encouragement. The government’s primary response was to drastically increase infrastructure spending and encourage Japanese households to save less and spend more. Furthermore, drastic reforms of accounting rules and bank-supervision policies was undertaken clear out and revive zombie firms. Survival With the occurrence of a pandemic, many firms across the globe received gov- ernment support with a combination of furlough schemes to reduce wage bills, state-backed loans and laws or other measures to stop bankruptcies. This has kept many firms afloat, prolonging the lifespan of underserving firms and preventing company failures. Because of this, the economy runs the risk of becoming inefficient with the living dead still living despite the emergence of new wants and needs in a new environment. An 50