What's Happening
Things are bustling here at NUS Business School! In this issue, you'll read about our successful Open House, an exciting seminar by a Nobel Laureate, wins in case competitions and a spot on the news featuring our MBA students. There's also a video for those who have missed the action during the finals of Cerebration. Enjoy the news!
'Dream Trip To The USA' On Channel NewsAsia
Our recent study trip to the United States - 'Dream Trip To The USA' - was covered on Channel NewsAsia.
Missed the news coverage? Catch it here.
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Open House A Smashing Success
The turnout at the Business School’s booth at the NUS Open House was amazing! Especially so on the first day. The A-level holders came in droves, some with their parents in tow. Foreign nationals as well as local students, they came armed with questions about the NUS BBA programme.
The Business School team had anticipated the huge amount of interest and was out in full force - faculty members, administrative staff, Bizad Club students, student ambassadors set aside their weekend to meet the prospective students and attend to each of their queries and concerns. The Bizad students not only helped to explain the BBA programme, they
also shared their perspective of life in NUS Business School, and how the experiences and opportunities offered at the Business School had enriched their education holistically.
Dr Helen Chai, Director (BBA programme) and Ms Joan Tay, Director (Career Services) tirelessly delivered talks to the thousands of students who thronged the multi-purpose hall to understand what the BBA programme encompassed, what having an NUS BBA meant, and how it would put them in good stead when they were ready to enter the workforce. There was also keen interest in the MBA programmes, and faculty members were on hand to respond to queries. The Open House weekend was a busy one for all. Most of those who manned the booth spoke themselves hoarse, but at the end of the day – or weekend, rather – it was an effort worth taking, for all had played an important role in showcasing what NUS Business School offered to students.
Check out the buzz at our photo gallery here!
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Banking On New Markets
The Saw Centre for Financial Studies hosted Mr Vince Cook, CEO of the Islamic Bank of Asia on 5 March who spoke to a 100 strong audience from the NUS community on the state of Islamic banking.
In 2006, Ernst and Young estimated that approximately 90% of Islamic banking assets and deposits emanated from the Middle East, with the bulk of the balance in Malaysia. Yet the opening of new markets continues in Hong Kong, Japan, USA, as well as countries with large Muslim populations such as Indonesia and Pakistan. Take Indonesia where the world’s largest Muslim population resides as an example. Its underdeveloped Islamic banking sector has experienced rapid growth of 65% in the last four years. In Singapore, Islamic banking and finance augment Singapore’s position as a regional financial hub.
In 2006, the Monetary Authority of Singapore changed its regulations and tax rules to remove disadvantages that impacted Murabaha*. Another significant development is the partnership between the Singapore Exchange and FTSG in establishing a number of Sharia compliant indices. In May 2007, The Islamic Bank of Asia, the first Islamic bank in Singapore was licensed. Daniela Plewe, a student in the University Scholar Programme said,” I’m impressed with the strategic outlook and big picture perspective provided in the seminar. It’s definitely debunked some of the misconceptions that I had about this developing market.”
* Murabaha – Bank purchases equipment or commodities on client’s behalf and then sells them to the latter at a mark-up agreed by both parties.
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Making Corporate Governance Work - Senator Paul Sarbanes Shares His Views
The Corporate Governance & Financial Reporting Centre (CGFRC) was a partner organisation of ‘Paul Sarbanes in Singapore’, a forum hosted by The Asian Banker. The event was held on 19 March at the Raffles City Convention Centre, Singapore. Senator Paul Sarbanes is the co-author of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act formulated in the after-math of the scandals such as Enron and others with wide repercussions globally.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act 2002 (SOX), a US federal law created after several major corporate and accounting scandals, has considerable impact on the corporate world globally. There is considerable debate on the ability of foreign companies to seek public listings in the US, the cost of compliance, the divergence between US rules-based accounting standards and international principles-based approach and on the evolution of corporate governance in general.
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The opening address was given by Mr Emmanuel Daniel, President of the Asian Banker. This was followed by a presentation from and a public dialogue with Senator Sarbanes on his presentation and on global and US issues with questions fielded from the audience. After the coffee break, the second dialogue session titled 'The Sarbanes-Oxley Act and Singapore' was held with Senator Sarbanes and an invited panel of leaders from Singapore's corporate community and the region on their assessment of the development of SOX in Asia,as well as corporate governance, accounting rules and risk management.
The session was chaired by Assoc Prof Mak Yuen Teen, Co-Director of CGFRC and the other panelists comprised of: Mrs Lee Suet Fern, Senior Director, Stamford Law Corporation; Mr Phil Moulton, Director, Protiviti Singapore; and Dr Ernest Kan, Chief of Operations (Clients & Markets), Deloitte Singapore.
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Nomination At Singapore Education Awards
NUS Business School was a finalist for ‘Best International Marketing Effort by a Public Educational Institution’ at the 2008 Singapore Education Awards. Held on 25 March at the Raffles Hotel Jubilee Hall, the presentation ceremony was officiated by Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports and Second Minister for Information,
Communications and the Arts.
This is indeed an affirmation of the School’s active efforts in reaching out to a global audience via effective advertising. National University of Singapore clinched the honour for ‘Best Host for International Students Studying in Singapore (Schools category).
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A Warm Welcome For Visiting Faculty
NUS Business School welcomes Dr André Güttler who is visiting the Department of Finance until 2 May. Dr Güttler received his PhD from Goethe University Frankfurt and is currently an Assistant Professor in the European Business School (Germany). He will be teaching BMA5316 – Risk Management during this special term.
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NUS Business School Hosts Nobel Laureate
NUS community witnessed the proving of an economics theory first-hand at the talk on Experimental Economics by Nobel Laureate Prof Vernon Smith.
Held on 12 March at the Hon Sui Sen Auditorium, the event attracted more than 100 attendees comprising of professors from various faculties, PhD students, other post-graduate students and even undergraduates.
Prof Smith was accompanied by his colleagues, Prof Stephen Rassenti and Prof Bart Wilson.
The talk got onto a lively start when Prof Wilson began a bidding game, with some members of the audience selected to be “sellers” and some to be “buyers” in a commodity stock market.
The “seller” had to quote a price and the “buyer” had to bid for the desired price. Hands flew as the “sellers” and “buyers” got active in trading. Interestingly, the gap between the opening selling price and the corresponding bidding price narrowed as the trading progressed. Eventually, equilibrium was reached as all buyers and sellers traded at the same price.
According to Prof Smith, this experiment for commodity markets produced the same phenomenon even when carried out with vastly different groups of participants. Prof Smith has done extensive work in this area of Experimental Economics, and has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2002 for his work.
To round up, Prof Rassenti shared some insights into gasoline markets, and answered some queries from the audience together with his colleagues.
“It was interesting to see how a theory was proven in front of my very eyes,” remarked a PhD student at the talk. Assoc Prof Jason Shachat from the Business Policy Department was the moderator for the day.
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