Joint Workshop Connects Faculty and Students of NTU & Waseda University

On a rainy day on November 1st in 2017, Prof. Shinichi Hirota (広田真一) from the School of Commerce at Waseda University led a delegation consisting of 8 senior (4th year) and 10 junior (3rd year) students majoring in corporate finance and governance to visit National Taiwan University (NTU) and attend the NTU & Waseda University Joint Workshop. Waseda University, a private university located in urban Tokyo, is one of the top 10 universities in Japan. On behalf of the NTU College of Management (CoM), Prof. Robin Bing-Yu Chen (陳炳宇; Associate Dean & Director of EiMBA) and Prof. Chialin Chen (陳家麟; Associate Dean & Director of GMBA) cordially welcomed the Waseda delegates. Prof. Chialin Chen opened the workshop and introduced CoM and NTU in his welcome speech.

CoM’s Office of International Affairs (OIA) also invited Mr. Daisuke Ota (太田大輔; Chief of General Affairs, Office of Global Initiatives, University of Tsukuba) to visit NTU and participate in the joint workshop. He was accompanied by an officer from NTU OIA during the entire joint workshop. Other participants were graduate students from NTU’s Global MBA and International Business programs, as well as junior students from the other faculties of NTU. The masters of ceremonies (MCs) on the day were Takayuki Sone (曾根崇之) and Jason Hsu (許哲誠), who were senior students of the NTU–Waseda Joint Dual Degree Program.

The MC Takayuki Sone shared his student life at NTU in English, and later in Japanese. After his talk, the other MC Jason Hsu welcomed Waseda Student Group 1, which comprised five senior students, to present on the following topic: “Does the Stewardship Code Accomplish Its Original Purpose?” The students investigated the impact of the stewardship code on institutional investors’ shareholder voting activity. They found that Japan’s stewardship code changes the voting activity of institutional investors. However, the stewardship code failed to foster firms’ sustainable growth in terms of the exercise of voting rights by institutional investors. In short, the stewardship code encourages institutional investors to change their shareholder voting activities to fulfill their stewardship responsibilities.

After Group 1’s presentation, the five senior Waseda students in Group 2 presented on the topic: “What Factors of Shareholder Benefits Effectively Contribute to an Increase of Individual Shareholders?” Japanese people have a preference for shareholder benefits, which motivated the students to conduct this study. Shareholder benefits are the non-cash gifts and services provided by the firms once/twice per year for their shareholders. The number of firms with a shareholder benefit program has been increasing. In 2016, 35.5% of the listed firms in Japan introduced shareholder benefits. The students found that firms which initiated a shareholder benefit program have experienced a significant increase in the number of individual investors. However, the average number of shares held by individual investors became smaller, indicating a more diffused ownership among individual investors. The students’ analysis suggests that firms need to introduce shareholder benefits with high cashability and high yields in order to increase individual shareholders. Both presentations were awesome and informative, and the audiences were eager to ask questions and learn more.

Next was the free talk session, where Jenny, a senior student from NTU, introduced the 2018 NTU Spring Program. Afterward, two senior Waseda students introduced Waseda University and expressed gratitude to NTU for hosting this joint workshop. The participants mingled together after their talks, enjoyed lunch together, and had a wonderful lunch time. On behalf of the NTU CoM, Prof. Robin Bing-Yu Chen was more than happy to join the mingling. Everyone felt connected and cared for as part of the NTU & Waseda University Joint Workshop.

Finally, the joint workshop ended with a campus tour organized by NTU Visitor Center. To mark this meaningful visit and to extend the friendship between the two schools, all the NTU participants and Waseda delegates took photos together before parting with each other. Although the joint workshop ended, one thing for sure is that the friendship between NTU and Waseda University will continue and last forever.

(Source: Office of International Affairs, College of Management, NTU)