DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE Undergraduate Courses Postgraduate Courses
Undergraduate Courses: FINA 110 Fundamentals of Business Finance [3-0-0:3] For non-sb&m students. Introductory business finance. Topics include time value of money, stocks and bonds valuation, risk/return analysis, portfolio theory, capital budgeting, capital structure, dividend policy, derivative securities, international finance and mergers. Exclusion: FINA 111 FINA 111 Financial Management [3-1-0:3] For SB&M students only. Introductory course in financial management. Topics include the concepts and techniques of valuations of cash flows, capital budgeting, risk and return of assets, capital structure and dividend policy. Exclusion: FINA 110 Prerequisites: ACCT 101 and ISMT 111 FINA 132 Introduction to Financial Markets [3-0-0:3] For non-sb&m students. Introduction to money and capital markets; money instruments; financial institutions; and markets for various securities, such as government and corporate bonds, and mortgage securities. Exclusion: FINA 232 FINA 221 Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management [3-1-0:4] Analysis of the investment strategies for individual investors and institutions; applications of modern portfolio theory for personal and institutional investment; analysis of common stocks, bonds, and options and futures. Prerequisite: FINA 111 FINA 232 Financial Markets [3-1-0:4] Organization and functions of money and capital markets; money instruments; financial institutions; and markets for various securities, such as government and corporate bonds, and mortgage securities. Prerequisite: FINA 111 Exclusion: FINA 132 FINA 321 Advanced Financial Management [3-1-0:4] Advanced theories and techniques of corporate valuation; capital structure; leasing; mergers and acquisitions; options, warrants and convertible bonds. Prerequisite: FINA 221 FINA 331 Management of Financial Institutions [3-1-0:4] Management of the different types of financial institutions; commercial and investment banking; lending criteria and regulatory issues; market microstructure. Prerequisite: FINA 221 FINA 332 Derivative Securities [3-1-0:4] Forwards, futures and options on commodities, equities, bonds, etc. Speculation and hedging strategies; risk shifting. Option pricing using Black-Scholes and computational techniques. Prerequisite: FINA 221 FINA 342 International Finance [3-1-0:4] The foreign exchange market, eurocurrency markets, international bond markets and equity markets in various countries. Currency options, futures, swaps and corporate risk management. Transfer pricing and tax strategies. Prerequisite: FINA 221 FINA 361 Fixed Income Securities [3-1-0:4] Pricing of bonds and term structures of interest rates, duration analysis and immunization techniques. Risk management using interest rate swaps, options, futures, collars, caps, etc. Prerequisite: FINA 221 FINA 362 Quantitative Methods for Derivatives and Fixed Income Instruments [3-1-0:4] [Also MATH 361] Random walk models for asset price and interest rate processes. Risk neutral valuation principle, binomial model. Lattice tree algorithms for pricing options. Monte Carlo simulation techniques. Yield curve fitting, no-arbitrage interest rate models. Pricing algorithms for embedded features in fixed income instruments. Prerequisite: MATH 101 or MATH 111 FINA 363 Fundamentals of Mathematical Finance [3-1-0:4] [Also MATH 362] Discrete securities models. Concept of arbitrage. Risk neutral probability measures, valuation of contingent claims, complete and incomplete markets. Optimal consumption and investment problems. Actuarial stochastic investment models, insurance and pension applications. Risk theory, value at risk, ruin probability. Prerequisite: MATH 101 or MATH 111 FINA 397 Finance Practicum [3 credits] Students apply skills and knowledge learned from finance courses to focus on specific projects in a professional setting. Students will work on group projects sponsored by participating companies and supervised by course instructors. For BSc in Quantitative Finance students only. Prerequisite: FINA 321 FINA 391 Security Analysis [0-2-0:2] [Previous Course Code: FINA 399G] The course is intended for final year Finance students who are interested in learning how to write a research report on companies and pursuing a career in the research analyst field. Selected topics will be presented by faculty, guest speakers and students. Prerequisite: FINA 321 FINA 398 Independent Study [1-4 credit(s)] Directed study of selected issues in Finance. FINA 399 Special Topics in Finance [2-4 credits] Covers current developments in finance. Topics selected by instructors.
Postgraduate Courses: FINA 511 Fundamentals of Financial Management [2-0-0:2] Time value of money, institutional aspects of financial markets, valuation of securities, capital budgeting including computation of cash flows, NPV, IRR, risk analysis, capital structure including dividend policy and cost of capital, portfolio theory and capital asset pricing model. Exclusion: FINA 512 FINA 512 Corporate Finance [2-0-0:2] Introduction to financial management. Valuation of cash flows, capital budgeting, risk and return of assets, capital structure and dividend policy. This is a core course for MSc in Investment Management, MBA and all MBA/MSc Dual Degree Programs. Background: Introductory courses in financial accounting, microeconomics and business statistics. Exclusions: FINA 511, IMBA 507 FINA 514 Advanced Corporate Finance [2-0-0:2] Advanced topics in corporate finance: adjusted present value, compensation, leasing, raising capital, initial public offerings, bankruptcy and financial distress, and dividend policy. Prerequisite: FINA 512 FINA 515 Corporate Risk Management [2-0-0:2] [Previous Course Code: FINA 513] Practical and theoretical issues in risk management from the corporate end-user s perspective; benefits and optimal strategies of risk management; current cases which have been debated in the media. Prerequisites: FINA 512 and FINA 551 FINA 516 Corporate Risk Management II [2-0-0:2] [Previous Course Code: FINA 690Y] Applications of corporate risk management; management of interest rate risk, credit risk and equity price risk, and advanced financial engineering issues; special emphasis on Asia. Prerequisite: FINA 515 FINA 517 Structured Finance [2-0-0:2] [Previous Course Code: FINA 690D] An introduction to the analysis of structured securities. Reviews the essential methods used by rating agencies in appraising the credit of ABS and MBS. Hands-on exercise on the assignment of credit ratings. Prerequisite: FINA 512 FINA 521 Investment Analysis [2-0-0:2] Analysis of management of common stocks, modern portfolio theory and asset pricing models. Exclusion: FINA 527 FINA 522 Advanced Portfolio Management [2-0-0:2] Security valuation and selection, performance evaluation, active portfolio strategy, portfolio management with derivatives. Prerequisite: FINA 521 or FINA 527 FINA 527 Fundamentals of Investment I [2-0-0:2] Financial markets and instruments, equity market analysis, modern portfolio theory and asset pricing models, portfolio management, alternative investments. Exclusions: FINA 521, FINA 522 Prerequisite: FINA 511 or FINA 512 FINA 528 Fundamentals of Investment II [2-0-0:2] Various fixed-income markets and instruments, analytical issues and techniques in valuation of fixed-income securities; futures and options markets, forward rates, yieldto-maturity, term structure theories. Exclusion: FINA 553 Prerequisite: FINA 521 or FINA 522 or FINA 527 FINA 529 Derivative Securities I [2-0-0:2] Pricing and analysis of futures and forward contracts including interest rate futures, stock index futures, and foreign exchange futures. Exclusion: FINA 551 Prerequisite: FINA 521 or FINA 522 or FINA 527 FINA 530 Derivative Securities II [2-0-0:2] Pricing and analysis of swaps and options including options on futures, risks of option portfolios, interest rate derivatives, and their application to portfolio analysis. Exclusion: FINA 551 Prerequisite: FINA 528 FINA 532 Financial Institutions [2-0-0:2] Management issues for financial institutions, with emphasis on commercial banks. Capital adequacy, liquidity and interest rate risk management; market structure; regulatory issues of financial intermediaries. Prerequisite: FINA 512 or FINA 521 FINA 533 Investment and Finance in China [2-0-0:2] [Previous Course Code: FINA 690U] Foreign direct investment; China s banking system; trade and trade finance; infrastructure finance; raising funds from the stock markets. FINA 534 Investment Banking Strategies in Asia Pacific [2-0-0:2] [Previous Course Code: FINA 690V] Investment banking and investment bankers; an exploration of various strategies that investment bankers use to succeed in their financial businesses in Asia Pacific; pricing strategies for different investment banking activities. FINA 535 Strategic Finance and Value Creation [2-0-0:2] Key valuation techniques including discounted cash flow approach and valuation by multiples. Understanding of how firms manage and create value through restructuring assets, liabilities and organizational design. Exclusions: ACCT 518, FINA 537 Prerequisite: FINA 512
FINA 536 Debt Securities [2-0-0:2] Yield-curve trading strategies and immunization techniques, option-adjusted spreads, mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities. Exclusion: FINA 553 Prerequisite: FINA 521 or FINA 522 or FINA 528 FINA 537 Equity Valuation [2-0-0:2] [Co-list with ACCT 518] Basic valuation approaches including dividend discount model, free cash flows model, and valuation by multiples; measures of company performance and value added; valuation in special situations such as emerging markets, closely held companies, mergers, and divestitures. Exclusions: ACCT 518, FINA 535 Prerequisites: ACCT 517 and FINA 511 or FINA 512 FINA 539 Venture Capital in Asia [2-0-0:2] [Previous Course Code: FINA 690Z] An overview of the marketplace and venture capital topics such as: deal structuring, valuation techniques, negotiating investment term sheets, due diligence and post-investment management, going public and other exit strategies. Current real world examples and cases from Asia will be used to illustrate these topics. FINA 541 International Finance [2-0-0:2] International money and capital markets. Currency options, futures and swaps as means for currency risk management. Financing and investment decisions of multinational corporations. Prerequisite: FINA 512 or FINA 521 FINA 551 Options and Futures Markets [4-0-0:4] Organization and functions of options and futures markets. Pricing and analysis of futures and options contracts, spot and futures price relationships, speculation, arbitrage and hedging strategies, financial engineering. Exclusions: FINA 529, FINA 530 Prerequisite: FINA 512, FINA 521 or FINA 522 FINA 553 Fixed Income Securities [4-0-0:4] Various fixed-income markets and instruments. Analytical tools in fixed-income securities; forward rates, yield-to-maturity, term structure theories, yield-curve trading strategies and immunization techniques. Fixed-income securities with embedded options and fixed-income derivatives. Discussion of interest-rate modeling and derivatives pricing. Exclusions: FINA 528, FINA 536 Prerequisite: FINA 522 or FINA 551 FINA 554 Recent Innovations in the Derivative Markets [2-0-0:2] Methods to value and hedge new derivative products. Examples include Quanto options, diff swaps, structured notes, cross currency swaptions (exemplifying correlation issue), long dated options (static vs. dynamic hedging). Prerequisite: FINA 551 FINA 581 Quantitative Methods for Finance [2-0-0:2] This course provides students with the quantitative techniques used in finance field. It covers probability, normal random variables, geometric Brownian motion, interest rates and present value analysis, pricing contracts via arbitrage, autoregressive models and mean reversion, and optimization methods in finance. FINA 588 Field Study [4 credits] Supervised study of an organization, including identification of strategic questions, design of studies, collection and analysis of data, development and reporting recommendation. FINA 598 Financial Engineering Seminars [4-0-0:4] Advanced topics in financial engineering. Using financial data to explore trading strategies and methods. Prerequisite: FINA 553 FINA 690 Special Topics [2-4 credits] Current developments in finance. Topics selected by the instructor. FINA 697 Independent Study [1-4 credit(s)] Study of selected financial issues under the supervision of a faculty member. (Special permission from the Associate Dean is required for MBA students to take this course.) FINA 698 MBA Research Project [3 credits] An independent research project on a business topic carried out under the supervision of a faculty member. FINA 699 MPhil Thesis Research Master s thesis research supervised by a faculty member. A successful defense of the thesis leads to the grade Pass. No course credit is assigned. FINA 780 Financial Databases and Computing [1 credit] An independent project requiring students to retrieve data from financial databases and performing data analysis. There are tutorials and project assignment for the course. Graded P or F. FINA 790 Doctoral Seminars [2-4 credits] Current research topics in corporate finance, investments, financial markets and institutions, derivative securities, and empirical research in financial economics. FINA 798 Finance Workshops [0-1-0:1] Papers presented by faculty, students and visitors. Mandatory for all PhD students. May be repeated for credit. Graded P or F.
FINA 799 Doctoral Thesis Research Original and independent doctoral thesis research. A successful defense of the thesis leads to the grade Pass. No course credit is assigned.