The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology successfully defends its Championship Title in the Citi International Case Competition (“CICC”) 2013 with an innovative and robust strategy for Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Limited, the world’s largest jewelry retailer by market value and a key client of Citi Hong Kong. The local students defeated 17 other outstanding teams from top business schools around the world to take the highest honor in the prestigious annual contest.
The CICC reached a new milestone running as Asia’s first and leading case competition bringing around 100 international business students annually to Hong Kong. Sponsored and organized by Citi and co-organized with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology’s School of Business and Management (HKUST Business School), this year’s competition challenged students to present viable solutions in just 24 hours to the strategic issues and managerial dilemmas faced by Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Limited (“CTF”). CTF provided the students with a complex case which highlighted in tackling the fast changing consumer landscape in China.
Weber Lo, Citi Country Officer and CEO, Hong Kong & Macau, said, “We are delighted to see an incredibly strong collaborative spirit among members of each participating team, and a keenly contested competition between the teams. While we congratulate on the champion, we are proud of what the students have all achieved in this short span of time, and it is in that spirit that I believe everyone is a winner. Citi will continue to demonstrate our commitment to responsible finance through the support of such initiatives to help develop responsible leaders of the future.”
Professor Kalok Chan, Acting Dean of HKUST Business School said, “I wish to thank Citi for their continuous support in sponsoring the Citi International Case Competition for 11 consecutive years. CICC provides an excellent opportunity for teams to practice their problem-solving skills through analyzing a real-life business case. It is also a platform for students to engage in cross-cultural exchange through sharing of ideas. CICC is a truly international business case competition that challenges students to exercise their analytical skills in providing recommendations and solutions to companies facing strategic and management issues."
Kent Wong, Managing Director of Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Limited praised the students’ performance, “I’m greatly impressed by the quality of the presentations and the entrepreneurial spirit of the students. Some of the ideas have even come very close to the real world and I was greatly inspired by their ability to think out of the box. Congratulations to all the participating students on their achievement!”
Professor Chris Doran, team advisor to the HKUST team, said, "We are very proud of our team for winning against tough competition from some of the best universities in Asia, Europe and North America. They combined creative marketing flair with solid analysis in their recommendation, and presented with confidence. A great aspect of this year's competition was the presence of so many senior executives from Citi and Chow Tai Fook as judges. Their support made a huge difference to the students' experience – transcending the academic contest to make the students feel they were presenting their recommendation for real directly to the company."
Held in Hong Kong between October 28 and November 1, the eleventh annual CICC attracted 18 teams from 13 countries and markets, including Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, The Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, Thailand and the U.S.A.
The first and second runners-up are Thammasat University from Thailand and The National University of Singapore respectively.
Participating Teams for 2013
Asia-Pacific
1. Chulalongkorn University, Thailand
2. Korea University, Korea
3. National University of Singapore, Singapore
4. Queensland University of Technology, Australia
5. Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Japan
6. Thammasat University, Thailand
7. The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong
8. Tsinghua University, China
[img]/files/Content/Uploads/491-Kalok-fbd1e023-76be-43cd-a332-f863f36d6a7f.jpg[/img][img]/files/Content/Uploads/635-Weber Lo with Champion-cropped-4ad3f602-4226-4fe8-b4c5-39afe4b6d2b3.jpg[/img]
Europe
9. Aalto University, Finland
10. Copenhagen Business School, Denmark
11. Maastricht University, The Netherlands
12. University of Navarra, Spain
North America
13. The University of British Columbia, Canada
14. University of California, Berkeley, USA
15. University of Florida, USA
16. University of South Carolina, USA
17. University of Southern California, USA
18. Western University, Canada
[img]/files/Content/Uploads/DSC_0104-cropped-12c939b1-a5ed-4cee-b214-b3748657b9fa.JPG[/img]