ACBES 2021 – The 3rd Asia Conference on Business and Economics Studies

The 3rd Asia Conference on Business and Economic Studies (ACBES 2021) took place successfully 100% online in two days, August 27–28, attracting more than 330 international and Vietnamese researchers to attend, among which 173 authors participated in presentations and discussions, and nearly 50% of authors came from countries other than Vietnam. ACBES 2021 has connected and invited four leading keynote speakers worldwide with academic and practical research topics following the general trend of Vietnam and the world. The Conference was effectively moderated by 30 Session Chairs and 16 Coordinators for 32 parallel discussion sessions with diverse topics related to business - finance - economics - education - growth.

ACBES 2021 is co-organized by the Journal of Asian Business and Economic Studies (JABES) and Lincoln University (New Zealand); with the cooperation from Taylor's University (Malaysia), Emerging Markets Society (USA) and Centre for Industrial Revolution and Innovation (CIRI); funded by the Ministry of Education and Training, University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH), UEH International School of Business (ISB), and the Centre Franco-Vietnamien de formation à la Gestion (CFVG) – the French Vietnamese Center of Management.

ACBES 2021 is organized with the efforts and determination of JABES and UEH in the context of widespread social distancing caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic. Bearing that in mind, the Organizing Committee has determined and made efforts to organize the Conference 100% online via the Zoom platform to create favorable conditions for all authors worldwide to participate. Thus, it suits the digital transformation and facilitates the participation of many scientists domestically, regionally, and globally.

Speaking at the opening of the ACBES 2021, Prof. Su Dinh Thanh – UEH President, delivered a speech to welcome important guests and a large number of researchers from all over the world to attend. Professor said: "In the context of internationalization, UEH’s top priority is to promote academic research and international cooperation. UEH's JABES journal is growing day by day, soon joining the SCOPUS/ABDC database and many other high-quality indicators. Compared to the previous conferences, ACBES 2021 has attracted many more famous scholars, and many quality articles have been published on JABES in association with Emerald International Publishing. ACBES 2021 is an achievement of JABES and UEH in the context of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The success of ACBES 2021 in such a context will greatly strengthen the academic position of UEH as well as JABES, thereby attracting more quality articles and prestigious international scholars in the future."

Prof. Su Dinh Thanh – UEH President, delivered the opening speech of the ACBES 2021

At ACBES 2021, the Organizing Committee was honored to invite 4 Keynote Speakers who are scientists with a leading academic reputation in the world. The Keynote Speakers presented the critical economic issues, empirical methods and current research trends such as corporate finance, neuroeconomics, circular economy, foreign direct investment (FDI). Specifically:

Prof. Bart Lambrecht (Judge Business School, University of Cambridge; Director of the Cambridge Centre for Finance (CCFin); Director of CERF; Former Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Corporate Finance; Co-Deputy Editor-in-Chief Journal of Banking and Finance; Member of the Editorial Board of Journal of Business Finance & Accounting. Prof. Bart Lambrecht presented "The Dynamics of Financial Policies and Group Decisions in Private Firms". In his presentation, Prof. Bart Lambrecht focuses his analysis on the model of a private company established and operated by a group of investors with heterogeneous capital contribution and risk tolerance; They also make decisions on the financial and governance policies of the company. Differences in investor structure lead to separate control over cash flow and control over the company and change over time. The optimal investment policy is the time-weighted average of the optimal policies of investors and converges with the policies of the least (most) risk-averse investors in the booming time (recession). Therefore, optimal leverage is procyclical. Dynamic financial policies and diversity in equity requirements address the varying preferences of investors.

Prof. Bart Lambrecht delivers a Keynote on the topic "The Dynamics of Financial Policies and Group Decisions in Private Firms"

Prof. Carlos Alós-Ferrer (NOMIS Professor of the University of Zurich, Switzerland; Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Economic Psychology). Prof. Carlos Alós-Ferrer presented the topic: "Stochastic Choice: Psychological Foundations and Economic Consequences". Essentially, the choice is random, which means that people often make different decisions when faced with the same choice twice. However, there are empirical rules regarding selection frequency and response time for binary options with fundamental differences in decision values, known as psychological effects and time. The presentation by Prof. Carlos Alós-Ferre also talks about the theoretical foundations of human psychology in the problem of stochastic choice; introduces recent novelties in the subject of neuroeconomics and behavioral economics. At the same time, Prof. Carlos Alós-Ferrer also highlights the research results on how to use response time to clarify preferences and how to understand classical adverse selection in risky decisions.

Prof. Carlos Alós-Ferrer delivers a Keynote on "Stochastic Choice: Psychological Foundations and Economic Consequences"

Prof. Les Oxley (Professor of Economics at the University of Waikato, New Zealand; Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Economic Surveys; Co-Director of the Sustainability and Accountability Management Unit - New Zealand Business Research Institute). Prof. Les Oxley presented the theme: "Āmiomio Aotearoa: A Stable Economy for the Well-Being of New Zealand" on the Āmiomio Aotearoa Project (a multi-disciplinary, multi-partner research project) in which the circular economy is placed in the New Zealand context (sustainable, low-emissions and climate-resilient) by providing a theoretical model linking circular economy concepts with concepts of sustainable development and interdisciplinary measures on welfare; thereby, supplementing the missing theoretical link between circular economy and sustainable development to provide evidence and support New Zealand's social engineering transition to a circular economy.

Prof. Les Oxley delivered a Keynote speech on the topic "Āmiomio Aotearoa: A Circular Economy for the Well-Being of New Zealand"

Prof. Ilan Alon (University of Agder, Norway; Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Emerging Markets) presented “China goes Global: Towards a Theory of Emerging Market Multinationals”. In the presentation, he considered the development of China's foreign direct investment in recent years. Chinese capital flows are increasing and challenging capital flows of the US and Western countries, especially when the “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR) Initiative was born based on an approach on data and trends. At the same time, Prof. Ilan Alon also provides prominent explanations and approaches, data and trends, and policy implications.

Prof. Ilan Alon delivers a Keynote on “China goes Global: Towards a Theory of Emerging Market Multinationals”

In addition to the interesting topics presented by the 4 Keynote Speakers, ACBES 2021 conducted 32 discussion sessions corresponding to 32 issues of special interest to authors and researchers. With the support of 30 Session Chairs and more than 16 Coordinators from the University of Economics in Ho Chi Minh City (UEH), National Economics University, Nha Trang University and especially from Lincoln University (New Zealand), the parallel discussion sessions of ACBES 2021 took place in a lively atmosphere with many intriguing ideas and highly academic discussions. Out of a total of 178 registered authors, 173 authors participated in presenting research papers at the ACBES Conference 2021; of which about 40% are foreign authors, mainly from the UK, Philippines, India, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, China, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand. Besides, in addition to the main authors, the ACBES Conference 2021 also attracted about 80 other researchers and attendees to participate, exchange and join the discussion.

After nine months, the ACBES 2021 has received 226 research papers, corresponding to 274 authors; in which there are 73 articles from foreign researchers (accounting for 32%), corresponding to 114 authors (accounting for 41.6%). Through the closed review process, the Organizing Committee selected 118 articles of good quality (acceptance rate 52%), of which approximately 50% are articles from foreign researchers. Authors who are accepted come from 130 universities around the world. In Vietnam, the authors are mainly from the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City; University of Economics and Law, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City; and the Thuongmai University (TMU); The rest are authors from 41 other universities in Vietnam. The foreign authors mainly come from universities such as the University of Sri Jayewardenepura (Sri Lanka), University of Rostock (Germany), Massey University (New Zealand), University of Santo Tomas (Philippines), University of the Philippines Visayas (Philippines) and other 65 universities around the world.

At the closing session of the ACBES 2021, the Organizing Committee, in turn, awarded the authors with excellent research papers on the new topics:

Dr. Cuong Nguyen, on behalf of Lincoln University (New Zealand), awarded the Fintech Best Paper Award to author Huong Thi Diem Hoang (University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam); and the Green Finance Best Paper Award for authors Minh Nhat Nguyen and Ruipeng Liu (Deakin University, Australia).

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Ha Minh Quan, on behalf of the UEH International School of Business (ISB), awarded the Econ Finance Best Paper Award to authors Matteo Foglia (“G.d'Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara, Italy) and Peng-Fei Dai (East China University of Science and Technology, China).

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ho Viet Tien, on behalf of the Centre Franco-Vietnamien de formation à la Gestion (CFVG), awarded Business Best Paper Award to the group of authors Tu Van Binh, Ngo Giang Thy, Huynh Dang Khoa, & Nguyen Dinh Thong (University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)

Prof. Su Dinh Thanh, on behalf of UEH, awarded the UEH Research Award to the group of authors Manori P. Kovilage (Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka), S. T. W. S. Yapa & C. Hewagamage (University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka).

Before the end of the ACBES 2021, MSc. Huynh Luu Duc Toan introduced more about ACBES 2022 and the JST (JABES Seminar Talks) series of monthly events to invite researchers to participate. Finally, in the Conference's closing remarks, Prof. Nguyen Trong Hoai sent his sincere and profound thanks to all the researchers who enthusiastically attended and made ACBES 2021 a great success. He was looking forward to seeing them again at the ACBES 2022 in a face-to-face manner with the hope that Vietnam and the world could control the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some other photos at the ACBES 2021

The exciting discussions took place continuously in two days of ACBES 2021

Dr. Manori P. Kovilage (Sri Lanka) shares his feelings after receiving the UEH Research Award

The researchers took a photo together at the opening of the ACBES Conference 2021

The Closing Ceremony of ACBES 2021

After the Conference, the Organizing Committee received many positive feedbacks and letters of thanks from the participating authors, most notably the sharing from Dr. Manori P. Kovilage (Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka) – The author who received the UEH Research Award.

I have much to say about this ACBES Conference.

Attending ACBES 2019 for the first time, my first impression was a friendly and wonderful experience, and I started to love Vietnam and the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh (UEH). I had a lot to learn from how this Conference was conducted – where I had a great deal of research experience. The ACBES Conference 2019 took place according to the announced schedule, where researchers are the centre of the Conference. It's an actual scientific conference, besides the enthusiastic and friendly support of the members of the Organizing Committee and the support team. I remember how we were supported during the city tour after the Conference was over. With these favorable experiences, I thought I would return to UEH again to participate in this Conference.

But the COVID-19 Pandemic did not allow that to happen in 2020. So then, when I received the email invitation to submit the ACBES 2021, I enthusiastically wrote the article for this Conference. ACBES 2021 is a new experience for me compared to ACBES 2019. Right from the beginning of the Conference, the communication part of the Conference was so effective. All the techniques using live Zoom, the necessary lines are communicated. The submission process is also user-friendly. The professionalism in JABES and UEH makes me feel like I'm in Ho Chi Minh City at UEH. The Webinar format is very user-friendly when participating in the main program and specific discussion sessions. Keynote Speakers' speeches are so worthwhile. I've listened to every opportunity I can.

I have always had a good impression of the ACBES, and I will undoubtedly continue to participate in the ACBES Conference next year and the future. I learned a lot from the ACBES, and I am still a young researcher in my career. Many thanks for what JABES and UEH have done for the researchers. I was so excited and full of energy. My research topics are in the areas of Optimal operations, sustainable operations management and research methods. I would like to contribute even a tiny part to UEH in these academic fields in the future. Once again, many thanks for the ACBES 2021.

In addition, the coordinators who participated in the ACBES 2021 also shared their feelings:

MSc. Pham To Thuc Han (University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam): This is the first time I have become a coordinator for a large and prestigious international conference like ACBES. It is also my first time working with a thoughtful, thorough and well-coordinated Organizing Committee like this. Behind the program's success, there are always silhouettes of JABES members who wholeheartedly support all coordinators and attendees. The best team ever in organizing the International Conference. As a coordinator, I have learned a lot and hope to become a member of the ACBES Conference Organizing Committee in the coming years.

MSc. Huynh Thien Tu (University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam): The ACBES 2021 is held entirely online through the Zoom platform, bringing together all professors, researchers, and scholars from all over the world in the field of business and economics. On the contrary, the online platform even helps connect scientists from all economic sectors across the globe to participate in meaningful academic events. It is the first year that I have joined the team of coordinators to support the ACBES. Although there were many new technical problems, I received enthusiastic support from JABES teachers and other teachers. It is an honor to serve in a new position, to be exposed to and learn from the world's leading scientists. Many thanks to the JABES team and the coordinators for creating a meaningful workshop in the current context. I wish JABES to develop more and more and always maintain its international academic reputation as the leading place for research projects on Vietnam's economy.

MSc. Le Thuy Khanh (Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics, Vietnam): ACBES 2021 is a webinar that I participated in as a small part of the coordination team. It is also a great honor and an opportunity for me to learn and interact with the world's leading scientists and teachers in the Organizing Committee of UEH, Lincoln, and JABES. The Conference brought me a lot of value, knowledge and vision. Accompanying the teachers from the preparation and implementation, I feel the joy, dedication and professionalism from the team of JABES Journal. The ACBES 2021 conference with an online format has blurred spatial boundaries, creating a meaningful academic forum and bringing many contributions to science and research in Vietnam. I wish JABES Journal more success and can develop and organize more quality conferences in the future.

Dr. Khanh Hoang (Lincoln University, New Zealand): I would like to thank the ACBES Organizing Committee for successfully organizing this wonderful Conference. The first collaboration with the teachers of UEH and JABES was really very interesting; I hope I will collaborate with teachers at ACBES conferences in the future.

Dr. Huy Hoang (Lincoln University, New Zealand): I would like to thank Mr. Nguyen Trong Hoai, JABES members and UEH teachers for this wonderful collaboration. It is the first time I have directly contributed a small part to a 100% online International Scientific Conference with such a professional organization. Many thanks to Mr. Huynh Luu Duc Toan and JABES teachers who have facilitated, supported and cooperated enthusiastically. Hopefully, in the future, I will continue to have the opportunity to collaborate with JABES and UEH.

More information

All the new information and events of JABES such as the ACBES International Scientific Conference, JST Talk series and many other events will be continuously updated on JABES official channels as follows: