The 4th East China University of Science and Technology - University of San Francisco International Symposium:

 

Foreign Direct Investment from Emerging Market Economies in an Era of Global Uncertainty

 

Date: May 25-26, 2019

Location:  Shanghai, P.R. China

 

Currently, the international economic structure is undergoing tremendous changes. On one hand, anti-globalization sentiment and subsequent protectionism keep rising across the developed economies. The protectionist trade policies of United States, and the China-US trade war in particular, are causing the world economic system to undergo turbulent adjustments and hindering foreign direct investment from emerging market countries. On the other hand, emerging market countries have also strengthened supervision of transnational capital flows to avoid capital loss and cross-border arbitrage activities. These factors together determine that investors from emerging market countries cannot follow the conventional model of the past and instead, must search for a new path for future investment.

    Take China as an example. As the Chinese government tightens its control over overseas investment, China’s outbound foreign direct investment in 2017 fell by 30% from the previous year. Under the influence of trade protection policy, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) rejected more than $2 billion in acquisitions in the first five months of 2018. Affected by the above factors, Chinese companies sold about $9.6 billion of US assets in the first five months of 2018. The total investment in the US was only $1.8 billion, down 92% from the same period in 2017 (Rhodium Group, 2018). The frustration over investment in the United States and the government’s control over cross-border investment have led Chinese companies to seek new investment opportunities. According to the statistics of the Ministry of Commerce of China, in the first half of 2018, the value of Chinese companies' mergers and acquisitions in Europe increased by 40%, which is 4.5 times the amount of US mergers and acquisitions. At the same time, Chinese companies' M&A transactions in the “One Belt One road” countries amounted to 43 cases, accounting for 20.8% of the total transactions in the same period; the newly added investment in the “One Belt One road” countries was $7.4 billion, rising 12% year-on-year and reaching a total of 12.9% in the same period. The direction of China's foreign direct investment is quietly changing.

    Similarly, in the context of global change, other emerging market economies are also facing the same foreign direct investment choices. So, what changes have occurred in foreign direct investment in emerging market countries, industries and enterprises? What lies behind these changes? How should the strategy of foreign direct investment in emerging market countries be adjusted? What will be the direction of foreign direct investment in emerging market countries in the future? These issues need to be extensively discussed and answered.

    Given these gaps, the Institute of Management and Organization, School of Business, ECUST, together with the Chinese Business Studies Initiative (CBSI), School of Management at University of San Francisco, will launch their 4th international symposium on May 25 - 26, 2019. This symposium will provide a platform for sharing ideas and insights among scholars and business executives in terms of current and future research on these issues. During this two-day symposium, various sessions including paper presentations, keynote speeches, and academic and industry panel discussions will be organized. Scholars, business executives, entrepreneurs, and policy-makers are invited to join us in the discussion.

Theme:

    This symposium aims to provide a platform for both scholars and practitioners to share ideas. Any topics related to foreign direct investment and emerging market multinationals are encouraged and appreciated here. 

Keynote Speakers (updating…)

Mike W. Peng             University of Texas at Dallas

 

Submission Guidelines

    We invite scholars to present research and identify questions that concern foreign direct investment from emerging market multinationals. Your submission must include a 1-2 page extended abstract with the following components (where relevant):

·        Purpose

·        Design/methodology/approach

·        Findings

·        Research limitations/implications

·        Practical implications

Important Dates

Symposium Date: May 25 and 26, 2019

Registration Deadline: April 30, 2019

 

Registration fee: ￥600 or US$100 (￥400 or US$ 60, for students)

Account payee: 033296-08017003862

Payee: East China University of Science and Technology

Bank of deposit: Caoxi branch, Shanghai, The Agricultural Bank of China

Remittance remark：Name+University+School（Please be sure to indicate！）

 

Contact Information

    Abstracts should be submitted to: [log in to unmask]. For additional conference information and questions, please contact [log in to unmask].

Conference Chairs 

Haifeng Yan                East China University of Science and Technology

Xiaohua Yang             University of San Francisco

The Planning Committees (in alphabetical order of surnames)

Taotao Chen	Qsinghua University
Manli Huang	South China University of Technology
Donghong Li	Qsinghua University
Lei Li	University of Nottingham Ningbo China
Weiwen Li	Sun Yat-Sen University
Yu Li	University of International Business and Economics
Jane W. Lu	China Europe International Business School
Ping Lv	University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Gloria Ge	Griffith University Business School
Yimin Wang	Shandong University
Bing Wu	East China University of Science and Technology
Jianzu Wu	Lanzhou University
Xianming Wu	Wuhan University
Hongming Xie	Zhejiang University of Technology
Xiaojun Xu	Fudan University
Gracy (J.Y.) YANG	University of Sydney
Xiao Zhang	Nanjing University
Qinqin Zheng	Fudan University

Program Chairs

Bing Wu                      East China University of Science and Technology

Liang Wang                 University of San Francisco

Program Committees

Yi Ke                            East China University of Science and Technology

Haibo Zhou                  East China University of Science and Technology

Qihu Wang                   East China University of Science and Technology

Qiong Wu                     East China University of Science and Technology

Molin Wang                  East China University of Science and Technology

Roger Chen                 University of San Francisco

Matt Monnot             University of San Francisco