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Liberalizations in Emerging Markets

On November 20, 2015, at NYU Shanghai’s campus in Pudong, the Volatility Institute at NYU Shanghai (VINS) held its First Annual Conference. The conference was prepared in cooperation with the Economics School at Fudan University as well as Pudong Institute of Finance, and was centered on the theme of “Liberalizations in Emerging Markets.”

Emerging markets, especially China, have recently accelerated liberalization processes in numerous financial sectors. During lectures and panels, speakers looked at this overarching topic through the lens of asset pricing, corporate finance, market microstructure, behavioral finance, capital markets, macro-financial linkages, and international finance. This year’s speakers included, among many:

• Nobel Laureate Robert Engle, the Michael Armellino Professor of Finance and Director of the Volatility Institute at NYU Stern School of Business
• Professor Wang Jianye, Director of the Volatility Institute at NYU Shanghai
• Business leaders and experts representing various international organizations, universities, research institutes, and financial industries           

The conference began with welcome remarks by Jeffery Lehman, Vice Chancellor of NYU Shanghai, and Andrew Hamilton, President-Designate of NYU. Professor Robert Engle delivered the keynote speech on expected volatility and risk in Chinese and global financial markets in 2016. During lunchtime, Professor Jianye Wang discussed the capital flows and outward investment on the Chinese financial market, in particular in the context of the recent financial crisis.

In the panel session that followed, Professor Xin Zhou, Executive Director of the Volatility Institute at NYU Shanghai, talked with five finance practitioners about their viewpoints on the Chinese derivative, market given the recent stock market crash. Panelists included:

• Wentao Fan, Managing Director of Clearing Department at Shanghai Futures Exchange
• Zhong Liu, Vice President of China Securities Index Co., Ltd., Shanghai Stock Exchange
• Qi Wang, Head of Option Team, China Financial Futures Exchange
• Jing Wu, Manager of Commodities, FX, Liquidity Management Products Market Risk at Deutsche Bank
• Hong Yan, Director of China Hedge Fund Research Center

Through both lectures and panels, the conference provided an excellent platform for financial practitioners and researchers to exchange ideas and discuss current financial challenges. The conference was the very first of a series of conferences that will be held annually by the Volatility Institute at NYU Shanghai.

About the Volatility Institute at NYU Shanghai
NYU Shanghai opened the Volatility Institute at NYU Shanghai in November 2014.  Located at the NYU Shanghai Pudong Academic Building in the heart of Liujiazui, Shanghai’s financial center, it aims to create opportunities for research focused on both the Chinese and global financial markets.  It also seeks to facilitate collaboration and community building among marker participants and academic researchers by offering timely financial information and analysis.  The Volatility Institute at NYU Shanghai operates in close partnership with and as an extension of the Volatility Institute at NYU Stern School of Business, under the direction of Nobel Laureate and volatility expert Robert Engle and with generous support from the Pudong Institute of Finance and NYU Shanghai.


Nobel Laureate and Director of the Volatility Institute at NYU Stern School of Business Robert Engle


NYU Shanghai Vice Chancellor Jeffrey Lehman


NYU President-Designate Andrew Hamilton


Director of the Volatility Institute at NYU Shanghai Wang Jianye