Asian Studies Commons^™

Board Independence As A Panacea To Tunneling? An Empirical Study Of Related Party Transactions In Hong Kong And Singapore, Christopher C. H. Chen, Wai Yee Wan, Wei Zhang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article examines the effect of imposing higher board independence requirements on private benefit extraction by corporate management or controlling shareholders in Hong Kong and Singapore. This article shows that higher board independence negatively correlates with fewer related-party transactions (RPT), though in a nonlinear relationship with the marginal effect of higher board independence diminished. However, we find no clear causal effect of Hong Kong's imposition of a minimum board independence threshold in 2012 on reducing tunneling. Our data also show that higher concentration of ownership might not be associated with more tunneling by RPTs. Overall, this research lends support to …

Artificial Intelligence Research In Singapore: Assisting The Development Of A Smart Nation, Pradeep Varakantham, Bo An, Bryan Low, Jie Zhang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Artificial Intelligence (AI) research in Singapore is focused on accelerating the country’s development into a Smart Nation. Specifically, AI has been employed extensively in either augmenting the intelligence of humans or in developing automated methods and systems to improve quality of life in Singapore.

An Abbreviated Leap: The Geopolitical And Geoeconomic Significance Of The China – Pakistan Economic Corridor To The New Silk Road, Emma Nichols

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The objective of this analysis is to reveal the geopolitical and geoeconomic significance of the China – Pakistan Economic Corridor of the Belt and Road Initiative to its major stakeholders; Pakistan and China. In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping unveiled one of the most ambitious international infrastructure plans in modern history. The plan, in its earliest stages, is currently underway with its first portion, the China – Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Through careful preliminary analysis of the greater Belt and Road Initiative, the China – Pakistan Economic Corridor, and history of Sino-Pak relations, the motivations of the collaborating nations are …

Board Independence As A Panacea To Tunneling? An Empirical Study Of Related Party Transactions In Hong Kong And Singapore, Christopher C. H. Chen, Wai Yee Wan, Wei Zhang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article examines the effect of imposing higher board independence requirements on private benefit extraction by corporate management or controlling shareholders in Hong Kong and Singapore. This article shows that higher board independence negatively correlates with fewer related-party transactions (RPT), though in a nonlinear relationship with the marginal effect of higher board independence diminished. However, we find no clear causal effect of Hong Kong's imposition of a minimum board independence threshold in 2012 on reducing tunneling. Our data also show that higher concentration of ownership might not be associated with more tunneling by RPTs. Overall, this research lends support to …

Transshipment Hub Selection From A Shipper’S And Freight Forwarder’S Perspective, Gang Chen, Waiman Cheung, Sung-Chi Chu, Liang Xu

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Transshipment hub selection becomes increasingly important to the global logistics community. From the perspectives of shippers and freight forwarders, a selection must align with cost control strategy and sustain service reliability across cooperative service providers. This paper assesses the selection with the options of both sea and air transports, and from the influence of country of origin of the company. Critical factors of transshipment hub selection, both qualitative and quantitative, are identified through focus group discussions. Relative importance of these factors is determined based on collective views of logistics stakeholders. The competitiveness of transshipment hubs is then assessed using an …

The Essence Of Luxury: An Asian Perspective: Lvmh-Smu Luxury Research Conference 2016, Srinivas K. Reddy, Jin K. Han

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

A number of developments in the luxury market have been attributed to the arrival of luxury products in Asian markets. The modernisation of Japan some decades back paved the way for a growing trend towards imbibing western lifestyles in Asia. Japan’s economic success after the Second World War was a key factor responsible for the introduction of luxury marketing in Asia. In the 1970’s, Japanese tourist-shoppers became a noticeable phenomenon in Europe. The European luxury houses were quick to recognise the opportunity and began setting up branches and luxury outlets in Japan. The Japanese were not only the driving force …

Does Financial Education Enhance Financial Preparedness? Evidence From A Natural Experiment In Singapore, Rashmi Barua, Seng Kee Benedict Koh, Olivia S. Mitchell

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We evaluate how financial education provided to college students influenced their financial knowledge and planning in a quasi-experimental setting where we control for student motivation to enroll in the course. Using a difference-in-difference strategy, we show that financial education led to an increase in financial knowledge and planning. Specifically, we find that financial education improved students’ financial knowledge score by 11%, and financial planning score by 16%. No statistically significant effects are detected for student levels of financial prudence, discipline, or outcomes related to credit card usage.

Toward A Theoretical Framework To Studying Climate Change Policies: Insights From Case Study Of Singapore, Ai Sian Ng, May O. Lwin, Augustine Pang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The world decided in December 2015 to take actions to reduce global warming. To contribute toward this goal, this research examines possible policy levers for inclusion in the climate change ratification plan. A case study of the measures taken by the Republic of Singapore, a low-lying 719.2 km2 island without natural resources in Asia, is conducted. Being vulnerable to climate change impact and yet having to balance her people’s needs and economic progress with limited resources, the measures taken by this small country could offer policy insights for small states and states without access to alternative energy sources. This research …

Cross Border Public Offering Of Securities In Fostering An Integrated Asean Securities Market: The Experiences Of Singapore, Malaysia And Thailand, Wai Yee Wan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In 2015, the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Community was formally established and its aim was to achieve, among other things, an integrated securities market within ASEAN.

Before the formal establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community, in 2009, with a view towards achieving the objective of securities integration, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand adopted the ASEAN Disclosure Standards, a set of harmonized disclosure standards for issuers making cross-border initial public offerings (IPOs). These participating Member States also entered into a framework for the expedited review for cross-listings. However, more than 5 years later, there is no documented use of …

Farmers' Cooperatives In China: A Typology Of Fraud And Failure, Zhanping Hu, Qian Forrest Zhang, John A. Donaldson

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Since the 1990s, agricultural cooperatives—particularly what China calls Farmers’ Specialized Cooperatives—have experienced rapid expansion in China. After more than two decades of growth and policy support, what is the overall performance of the ever-increasing numbers of these cooperatives? We visited 50 cooperatives across the country, most of which had officially been lauded as successful, to make a first-hand evaluation of their overall status and performance. We argue that, judging by either international or Chinese standards, the vast majority of these agricultural cooperatives are not authentic and fail to deliver expected benefits to smallholders. We categorize them into five types: genuine …

Customer Satisfaction Index Of Singapore 2017: Q1 Results, Institute Of Service Excellence, Smu

Research Collection Institute of Service Excellence (2007-2024)

The Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore (CSISG) computes customer satisfaction scores at the national, sector, sub-sector, and company levels. The CSISG serves as a quantitative benchmark of the quality of goods and services produced by the Singapore economy over time. 2017 marks the 11th year of measurement for the CSISG national study.

Critical Evaluation Of Action 14 Recommendations And The Suggested Way Forward For Singapore, Luis Coronado, Jerome Van Staden

Research Collection School Of Economics

The final report on Action 14 of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project, Making Dispute Resolution Mechanisms More Effective presents a commitment by countries to implement certain “minimum standards” on dispute resolution. In many ways, Action 14 is the linchpin to the success of the entire BEPS project. To implement the significant changes developed under the BEPS project and make certain that there is neither unintended double taxation nor double non-taxation, there must be a strong and effective mechanism in place when disputes do (inevitably) arise. While the goal of the BEPS project is to create a more …

The Association Of Hospital Governance With Innovation In Taiwan, Chen-Wei Yang, Yu-Hua Yan, Shih-Chieh Fang, Noorein S. Inamdar, Hsiencheng Lin

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Hospitals in Taiwan are facing major changes and innovation is increasingly becoming a critical factor for remaining competitive. One determinant that can have a significant impact on innovation is hospital governance. However, there is limited prior research on the relationship between hospital governance and innovation. The purpose of this study is to propose a conceptual framework to hypothesize the relationship between governance mechanisms and innovation and to empirically test the hypotheses in hospital organizations. We examine the relationship between governance mechanisms and innovation using data on 102 hospitals in Taiwan from the Taiwan Joint Commission on Hospital Accreditation and Quality …

Navigating Innovation: A Leader's Guide, Gerard George

Asian Management Insights

Despite the newfangled businessmodels and market game changers,the old axiom of industry continuesto ring true: leadership matters.

Skills 4.0: How Ceos Shape The Future Of Work In Asia, Florian Kohlbacher

Asian Management Insights

Companies need to ensure that they are ready to embrace disruptions and fend off potential skills gaps and talent shortages.

Skyscanner: Globalising A Business Model, Richard Raymond Smith, Adina Wong

Asian Management Insights

In order to compete in Asia Pacific’sone-stop travel market, Skyscannerreinvented itself from the inside out.

Country 2.0: Upgrading Cities With Smart Technologies, Steven M. Miller

Asian Management Insights

Advancements in technology are being used to transform our cities into smart cities, but the process is not without its risks.

Using Student-Generated Videos To Learn Internal Control In Accounting Information Systems Courses, Poh Sun Seow, Gary Pan

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Educators consider the video learning approach an effective method to deliver educational content as compared to the traditional method of books and written materials. This paper presents a project that involves student-generated videos to learn internal control in an undergraduate accounting information systems course. We believe that this video learning approach is an engaging way for students to be self-directed learners in learning internal control and complements the written materials in the textbook. The survey results show that most of the respondents viewed the learning experience of the video project positively. The results also indicate that the video project was …

Why Do Publicly Listed Firms Evade Taxes: Evidence From China, Travis Chow, Bin Ke, Hongqi Yuan, Yao Zhang

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Taking advantage of the mandatory disclosure of detected corporate tax evasions in China, we examine why publicly listed firms evade taxes. Different from most prior studies that focus on corporate income tax avoidance, we consider tax evasions related to both income taxes and non-income taxes. We also use a bivariate probit model to account for the partial observability of corporate tax evasion. Many of our regression results using the bivariate probit model are different from the results using the reduced form probit model that ignores the partial observability of tax evasion. Many of our results are also different from those …

The Asian Perspective On Smes In International Economic Law: Opportunities And Challenges Arising From The Tpp, Heng Wang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is likely to have profound implications for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within and beyond the free trade area. The key question will be analysed: what are the challenges and opportunities that the TPP hold for SMEs? It is argued that, first, the key benefits the TPP can be expected to bring for SMEs are enhanced market liberalization and a more predictable regulatory environment. Second, the TPP poses serious challenges for SMEs (eg insufficiency of the opportunities to SMEs, the complexity of rules, difficulties in rule interpretation and implementation, and remaining regulatory differences), but different types …

Chinese Company Shareholders Revolt Against Communist Control, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Shareholders of low-profile Chinese property developer Tianjin Realty Development recently made news by voting to keep party politics out of the Shanghai-listed company's organisational structure. Such action has never been heard of before at any State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) in the history of China's economic modernisation.

Smu Libraries: “Sensory” In Library Spaces, Nursyeha Yahaya, Devika Sangaram, Salihin Mohammed Ali, Aaron Tay

Research Collection Library

The Li Ka Shing Library recently included a new section, “Heat Maps” on the library website, providing users instant access to the physical occupancy spaces across all the different levels in the library. The indoor location-aware system is one in the latest slew of additions in tracking the library patrons’ visitations. It is the first of the many forms of library usage data sources that seek to provide an impetus in engaging the SMU community through real-time data visualizations. This enhances the perception of SMU Libraries as a creative nexus that nurtures and champions innovative methods of information access through …

Fostering Parasocial Relationships With Celebrities On Social Media: Implications For Celebrity Endorsement, Siyoung Chung, Hichang Cho

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School of Business

The purpose of this study was to explore the underlying mechanisms through which the use of social media affects endorser effectiveness. Based on theories related to parasocial relationships,self-disclosure, and celebrity endorsement, this study proposed a theoretical research model and empirically tested the model using online survey data collected from 400 Korean Wave fans in Singapore. The results showed that consumers’ parasocial interactions with celebrities though social media have a positive impact on celebrity endorsement. Specifically, we found that: (1) parasocial relationships mediated the relationships between social media interactions and source trustworthiness, (2) social media interactions influenced parasocial relationships via self-disclosure;and …

The Business Of Brandy: The Changing Roles Of Women In Apple Brandy Production In Lower Mustang, Nepal, Madeline Sachs

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Lower Mustang, Nepal is famous across the country for its well-known trekking circuit and an agricultural climate especially suitable to apple cultivation. Home to the indigenous Thakali ethnic group, the region was made accessible by motor vehicle via the Jomsom-Beni road just ten years ago. While before the road transportation of fresh apples was nearly impossible, necessitating the production of dried apples and apple brandy, now farmers make a lucrative profit off of high demand throughout the country. Additionally, the production of apple brandy has boomed, and the region has four to six distilleries in production at any one time. …

Equity And Community-Based Health Insurance: How Does Insurance Coverage Affect Health Seeking Behavior Among Disadvantaged Groups In India?, Hazel Hering

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The objective of this study is to examine how Community-Based Health Insurance (CBHI) can promote equity by improving health seeking behavior across gender and geography. Using a CBHI scheme from the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) as a case study, trends in claims filed between October 2016 and March 2017 are compared to the distribution of memberships in order to investigate whether health insurance coverage positively impacts health seeking behavior among disadvantaged groups, and what barriers to access exist when the burden of medical costs are reduced. This study concludes that the number of male and female claims in the sample …

Tourism In Raja Ampat: New Chances And Challenges, Chloe King

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study focuses on the ways in which the tourism industry in Raja Ampat has contributed to local livelihoods and encouraged the preservation of marine resources, looking specifically at the case of a dive operator and a volunteer tourism operation. The study illuminates the challenges that these operators face when engaging with the local community to protect the environment, and recommends more effective strategies for improving relations between tourism operators and the communities in which they reside. The study ultimately makes the case that the legacy of colonial rule in Western Papua must be a consideration in tourism planning, as …

Grooming The Future Disruptive Accounting Professionals, Gary Pan, Gan Hup Tan, Poh Sun Seow

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

In this chapter, we will discuss how SMU brought about innovation changes in the university’s learning environment. In 2011, a steering committee was set up by SMU President, Professor Arnoud De Meyer to develop strategies that focused on innovation in learning pedagogy at the university. Subsequent brainstorming sessions led to the evolution of the SMU-X programme, which aimed to broaden the scope of university education by encompassing real life problems and problem-solving skills in the curriculum. The concept encompassed three key elements: mindset, pedagogy, and physical space. The challenge was to offer more applied learning with close coordination between classroom …

Our Future Together Industry Perspectives: Future Of Professional Learning And Entrepreneurship, Poh Sun Seow, Pan, Gary, Clarence Goh, Kwong Sin Leong

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

This report 2017 marks the second collaboration between ISCA and ICAEW after the successful launch of “Our Future Together” report in 2016 to inspire professional accountants to critically think about what the future holds for Singapore and the accountancy profession. How should accountants embrace transformation in the digital age? How should learning be redefined for the accountancy profession? How can organisational culture encourage innovation and an enterprising spirit in accountants? This report aims to shape the discussion on how education, training and professional learning should be redefined to develop professional accountants who are future-ready, so that they can continue to …

Do Politically Connected Directors Affect Accounting Quality? Evidence From China's Anti-Corruption Campaign (Rule 18), Ole-Kristian Hope, Heng Yue, Qinlin Zhong

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

We examine the impact of politically connected directors on accounting quality using a quasi experiment in China. In October 2013, “Rule 18” was issued to prohibit government and party officials, who were concurrently holding public offices or had recently retired from such positions within the last three years, from serving as directors for publicly listed firms. The regulation is part of China’s anti-corruption campaign, and it has led to a large number of politically connected directors resigning from their roles as directors involuntarily. As such, Rule 18 has effectively weakened, if not fully discontinued, the political connections of the firms …

Ethnic Social Network In Public Housing Market In Singapore, Sumit Agarwal, Hyunsoo Choi, Jia He, Tien Foo Sing

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This paper investigates the ethnic social network in Singapore's resale public housing market using a unique dataset containing the Cash-Over-Valuation (COV) information for a sample of 73,107 resale public housing transactions from 2007 to 2012. We find that the COV per square meter (psm), which represents a premium above the "objective" housing value, significantly increases with the concentration of buyers' own ethnic group at a housing block level. The results imply that buyers value housing blocks with higher concentration of the same ethnicity group of households. However, the convexity in COV premium suggests that the premium is too large to …