8:30 – 8:50 a.m.   Registration & Morning     Coffee/Snack & Welcome

8:50 - 9:50 a.m.     Financial leverage and expected stock returns: evidence on firms with positive/negative net debt

Presenter: Xiaojun Zhang (Berkeley)

Discussant: Tian-Yu Zhang (CUHKU)

9:50-10:50 a.m.    Analyst Forecasts

Presenter: Mirko Heinle (Wharton)

Discussant: Yun Zhang (George Washington Univ.)

10:50 – 11:10 a.m.      Break

11:10 – 12:20 a.m.    Firm News and Market Views: The Informational Role of Official Newspapers in China

Presenter: Tian-Yu Zhang (CUHKU)

Discussant: Guochang Zhang (HKU)

12:20 – 1:30 p.m.  Lunch break

1:30 – 2:40 p.m. Executive stock options and incentives to exercise growth options: Evidence from a natural experiment

Presenter: Guochang Zhang (HKU)

Discussant: Hai Lu (Univ. of Toronto)

2:40 – 3:50 p.m. The Real Effects of  ransparency in Crowdfunding

Presenter: Chao Tang (HKUST)

Discussant: Mirko Heinle (Wharton)

3:50 -- 4:10 p.m.   Break

4:10 – 5:30 p.m.   Keynote speech: Siew Hong Teoh (UC - Irvine)

5:30 p.m.              Conference dinner

End of Conference