The inagural 2026 Five-Star Asia Pacific (Bali) Workshop in Finance extends the scope of the Five-Star Asia Pacific Workshop held in Singapore since 2024. Co-organized by Tsinghua PBCSF, Tsinghua Southeast Asia Center and the Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics (SKBI), this workshop features a keynote address by Sumit Agarwal (National University of Singapore) as well as special invited talks by Lukas Schmid (Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California) and Liyan Yang (Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto).
Date & Time:
24 Oct 2026 (Sat) | 1:30pm - 5:30pm
25 Oct 2026 (Sun) | 8:30am - 5:30pm
Conference Style:
The workshop will adopt a seminar-style presentation/discussion to promote in-depth engagement of all participants.
Venue:
Tsinghua SEA Bali Campus
Day 1: Oct 24 (Sat) | |
1:30pm - 2:30pm | Registration |
2:30pm - 3:00pm | Shuttle bus departs for Tsinghua SEA campus |
3:00pm - 4:00pm | Campus visit |
Special Invited TalksChaired by Zhan Shi (PBCSF)  | |
4:00pm - 5:45pm | Dissecting Treasury Market Resilience, by Lukas Schmid (USC Marshall). 
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4:45pm - 5:30pm | The Limits of AI Trading, by Liyan Yang (University of Toronto). 
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5:30pm onwards | Welcome Reception and Dinner |
Day 2: Oct 25 (Sun) | |
Session 1: Institutional Investors and Global Asset PricesChaired by Hong Zhang (SMU) | |
8:30am - 9:00am | Geoeconomic Shocks and Mutual Fund Runs, by Si Cheng (Syracuse University), Allaudeen Hameed (NUS), and Hao Jiang (Michigan State University).  Allaudeen Hameed (NUS) |
9:00am - 9:30am | Passive Investors, Active Moves: ETFs Participation in IPOs, by Haiqiang Chen, Xiaoqun Liu, Bo Ni, and Zhuo Zhong (University of Melbourne).  |
9:30am - 10:00am | Good Inflation, Bad Inflation, and Global Corporate Bond Returns, by Jiarui Deng, Zhan Shi (PBCSF), and Zhaogang Song.
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10:00am - 10:30am | Coffee Break |
Session 2: Machine Learning and Return PredictionChaired by Allaudeen Hameed (NUS) | |
10:30am - 11:00am | Model Complexity: What Drives the Performance?, by Dashan Huang (SMU), Ming Yuan (Columbia University), and Guofu Zhou (Washington University in St. Louis).
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11:00am - 11:30am | The Hidden Structure of the Factor Zoo, by Peng Liu (SMU), Mengyu Wang (SMU), Youyou Xu (SMU), and Hong Zhang (SMU). Hong Zhang (SMU) |
11:30pm - 12:00pm | Schrödinger’s Sparsity in the Cross Section of Stock Returns, by Doron Avramov, Guanhao Feng, Jingyu He (CityU), and Shuhua Xiao. 
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12:00pm - 12:30pm | Lunch |
12:30pm - 1:30pm | Keynote Speech: “Humans, Machines, and the Art of Regulation”
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1:30pm - 2:00pm | Break |
Session 3: Corporate Finance and Capital AllocationChaired by Gloria Yang Yu (SMU)  | |
2:00pm - 2:30pm | Payment Methods and Market Feedback in Mergers and Acquisitions, by Tse-Chun Lin (HKU), Xiaorong Ma (University of Macau), Liyan Yang (University of Toronto), and Minxing Zhu (Zhejiang University). 
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2:30pm - 3:00pm | Leasing and the Allocation of Capital Risk: Evidence from Aviation, by Kai Li (PBCSF) and Yushan Liu (PBCSF). 
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3:00pm - 3:30pm | Presale Supervision Policy Spillover: The Role of Internal Capital Markets, by Xiangyu Guo (PBCSF), Weilong Kang, Bibo Liu, and Zhan Shi. Xiangyu Guo (PBCSF) |
3:30pm - 4:00pm | Coffee Break |
Session 4: Household Finance and Public PolicyChaired by Dashan Huang (SMU)  | |
4:00pm - 4:30pm | Fintech Lending and Financial Inclusion in Indonesia, by Gloria Yang Yu (SMU). Gloria Yang Yu (SMU) |
4:30pm - 5:00pm | Reverse Mortgages, Housing, and Consumption: An Equilibrium Approach, by Shize Li, Jialu Shen (Fudan University), and Ariel Sun. 
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5:00pm - 5:30pm | A Dynamic Program and Debt Management Policy for Implementing a Ramsey Tax Plan, by Wei Jiang (HKUST), Thomas Sargent, and Neng Wang.
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