Professor Huang Yasheng presented on two topics, the acquisition of Korea First Bank and the growth dynamics in China and India, to Tsinghua International MBA (IMBA) first-year students on 20-21 October 2008. Analysing aspects of the business environment in China, India and Korea, Professor Huang underlined the importance of micro factors for long term economic growth.

The first segment of the lesson was based on the case study of Korea First Bank, which traced the Korean government’s decision process after the announcement to sell was made in 1998. Huang led the class to examine the evolution of the Korean banking system and compare the acquisition proposals by HSBC and Newbridge Capital.

The second segment was on the growth dynamics of the Chinese and Indian economies. Professor Huang picked up basic social and economic factors, such as the literacy rates of the different genders, to stress the underlying limitations to economic growth. He also highlighted that India’s open and efficient financial system has supported many local companies, giving birth to IT service giants like Infosys. He argued that in prioritizing and allocating public investments, India’s focus should be on education rather than infrastructure. Only by developing such micro factors then could there be long term sustainable growth.

Professor Huang teaches international management at MIT Sloan School of Management. He is conducting research on engineering education and human capital formation in China and India, on entrepreneurship, ethnic and labor-intensive FDI. He has recently published a book, “Capitalism with Chinese Characteristics, which provides a detailed account of China’s economic reforms and their implications.

Huang’s lecture was part of a series of lectures by four visiting professors from the MIT Sloan School of Management for the semester. Tsinghua and the MIT Sloan School have collaborated closely to build up Tsinghua’s IMBA program. The two schools also jointly organize forums and promote student collaborative projects.

One key initiative is the China Lab, which Professor Huang helped to start last year. Under this program, students from MIT Sloan School and Tsinghua IMBA take on management consultancy projects for companies. Last year, China Lab had students working with 12 companies in 4 cities in China. Feedback has been excellent; companies have found students’ recommendations beneficial, while students have gained practical hands-on experience. Huang and Professor Yang Delin (Tsinghua SEM Department of Innovation and Entrepreneurship), as mentors of teams on both sides, are planning to roll out the 2^nd round of China later this semester.