Dr Victor Fung, Chairman of Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA) and Group Chairman of Li & Fung Group, Compliments the Contestants' Outstanding Performance
Citigroup and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology's School of Business and Management (HKUST Business School) announced the winner and runners-up of the Citigroup International Case Competition at the Closing Ceremony on October 29. A team of four students from McGill University took home the champion trophy.
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The three teams of runners-up were University of Auckland, Thammasat University and Singapore Management University. The University of Navarra from Spain won the Most Popular Ethnic Costume award.
The Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA) was used as the business case for the competition. The event was sponsored by the Citigroup Foundation. It attracted nineteen teams from Canada, the Czech Republic, Hong Kong, Hungary, Japan, Mainland China, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Thailand and the U.S to compete for the coveted championship. Contestants were asked to analyze the challenges that AA was facing and proposed strategies and solutions for the organization. Team performances were evaluated by a judging panel of 15 members comprising HKUST professors, senior executives from Citigroup and AA, and business leaders from different industries.
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"As an economic growth engine of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong International Airport is a dynamic, complex and interesting case to study and analyze," said Victor Fung, Chairman of Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA) and Group Chairman of Li & Fung Group, in his keynote speech at the closing ceremony. "I compliment the fine analyses, hard work and creativity of the university students, who, with an international outlook, provide AA with stimulating ideas to explore."
T.C. Chan, Citigroup Country Officer, Hong Kong and Head of Greater China, Corporate and Investment Banking, said: "I was highly impressed by the thoughtfulness and thoroughness of the students. They were given tough questions and came up with some very bright ideas within 30 hours. Their outstanding performance reflects the quality of our future business leaders. Through this event, the students also have an opportunity to explore and enjoy Hong Kong - Asia's World City. I believe they will be able to take home some of the valuable lessons they learned and apply them to their personal lives."
K.C. Chan, Dean, HKUST Business School, said: "The success of the competition is due to the tremendous support from our sponsor Citigroup, the case company Airport Authority Hong Kong, the judges and everyone who has been working on this project for months. I am delighted to see that the competition has provided an excellent platform for students to exchange ideas and experiences and also to learn more about the economic environment of China and the region."
The competition, ran from October 24-30, included an Opening Ceremony at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center. Frederick Ma, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, HKSAR Government, delivered the keynote address. A half-day seminar - "Experience Asia's World City", was held, during which Citigroup's senior management and a HKUST business professor discussed Asian market trends and business opportunities with the students. Participants also took part in a special program "Explore Hong Kong", which allowed them to familiarize themselves with the host city.
Contesting Teams
1. Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary
2. Fudan University, PRC
3. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong SAR
4. ITESM, Mexico
5. Lund University, Sweden
6. McGill University, Canada
7. National University of Singapore, Singapore
8. Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Japan
9. Singapore Management University, Singapore
10. Thammasat University, Thailand
11. Tsinghua University, PRC
12. University of Auckland, New Zealand
13. University of California at Berkeley, USA
14. University of Economics, Prague, Czech Republic
15. University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA
16. University of Navarra, Spain
17. University of Southern California, USA
18. University of Texas at Austin, USA
19. University of Western Ontario, Canada