To celebrate the 45th Anniversary of the City University of Macau and to deepen academic exchanges in the field of finance while exploring new paths for the development of Asia-Pacific financial markets, "The International Conference on Uncertainties and Financial Markets in the Asia-Pacific Countries” (ICUFM), jointly organized by City University of Macau and the Asia-Pacific Applied Economics Association, opened on March 28, 2026 at Wynn Palace, Macau, and the conference last for two days. Attendees at the opening ceremony included Professor Kalok Chan, Chair Professor at City University of Hong Kong; Professor John Kuo-chiang Wei, Chair Professor at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University; Professor Jun Liu, Rector of City University of Macau; Professor Kuai Peng Ip, Vice Rector of City University of Macau, Professor Adrian Cheung, Dean of Faculty of Finance, Associate Professor Eva Khong, Associate Dean of Faculty of Finance and other colleagues of Faculty of Finance.

Rector Jun Liu extended a warm welcome and expressed gratitude to the experts and scholars attending the conference. He noted that against the backdrop of global economic uncertainty and the accelerated evolution of financial technology, cross-border finance is undergoing profound transformation. Wealth management plays a critical role in asset allocation, risk prevention, and regional financial stability. As a financial hub connecting China and Portuguese-speaking countries, Macau should seize this opportunity to deepen cross-border financial innovation and regional collaboration. This academic gathering not only reflects City University of Macau’s academic commitment to serving regional development but also serves as an academic gift with an international perspective to celebrate the university's anniversary.

Dean Adrian Cheung stated in his address that this conference brings together nearly 130 scholars from 11 countries and regions, fostering cross-regional and interdisciplinary academic consensus. He indicated that finance profoundly influences corporate investment decisions, household risk allocation and savings behavior, and the mechanisms through which economies respond to external shocks. In a complex environment where uncertainty arises from geopolitics, technological change, policy adjustments, and market volatility, the responsibility of scholars and practitioners lies not only in explaining existing phenomena but also in constructing robust, policy-relevant, and forward-looking theoretical insights. He highlighted the significant progress made in the finance discipline at City University of Macau, noting that the academic team includes several editors-in-chief and associate editors of renowned international journals, further strengthening research capabilities and international collaboration networks.

The conference was moderated by Professor Yonghong Zhou from the Faculty of Finance. The keynote speech session featured in-depth analyses by Professor Kalok Chan, Professor John Kuo-chiang Wei, and Professor Paresh Kumar Narayan from Monash University, who also serves as a special issue editor for the Pacific-Basin Finance Journal. Professor Chan analyzed the development of Hong Kong’s ETF market and the impact of stock stamp duty, offering policy suggestions for stable market development. Professor Wei discussed the correlation between vertical competition and systemic risk, empirically demonstrating that upstream and downstream concentration increases industry risk premiums, thereby filling a research gap in the transmission of risks along industrial chains. Professor Narayan presented cutting-edge research on extreme weather, financial risk, and green quantitative easing, focusing on the impact of extreme weather on financial risk and exploring the mitigating effects of green quantitative easing policies, offering new perspectives for financial stability governance in the context of climate change.

The conference also featured an “Meet with Editors” session, which invited Professor Arman Eshraghi from the Faculty of Finance at City University of Macau, Professor Sabri Boubaker from EM Normandie Business School in France, Professor John Kuo-chiang Wei, and Professor Kalok Chan to engage in in-depth discussions on topics such as academic research topic selection, journal choice, handling review processes, and the use of AI tools. This session provided young scholars with valuable practical experience and publication advice.

During the session, Professor Eshraghi shared insights from a comprehensive perspective with the attending scholars. Professor Boubaker focused on strategies for handling manuscript rejections in academic publishing. Professor Wei shared his views on the application and risks of artificial intelligence in academic writing. Professor Chan discussed balancing model complexity and feasibility in research, pointing out that the design of research models should strike a balance between theoretical rigor and practical applicability. The level of complexity should align with the nature of the research question to ensure that findings possess both theoretical value and application potential, offering more pragmatic design ideas for academic research.

This conference collaborated with seven international journals, including the Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Managerial and Decision Economics, International Review of Economics & Finance, Economic Analysis and Policy, Innovation and Green Development, and Global Finance Journal. The conference established 27 parallel sessions featuring presentations and discussions on cutting-edge topics such as “Artificial Intelligence and Corporate Information Efficiency”, “The Financial Impact and Value Effects of Geopolitical Risk”, “Risk Spillover Effects in Financial Markets”, “Corporate Governance and Executive Behavior”, and “Information Disclosure, Earnings Management, and Price Discovery”. The conference served as a high-level academic exchange platform, providing participating scholars with diverse and profound academic perspectives.

With its diverse participants, rich array of topics, and international vision, the conference constituted an academic event characterized by the convergence of ideas and intellectual. It not only facilitated knowledge sharing across the global finance community but also demonstrated City University of Macau’s academic commitment to serving Macau, integrating into the Greater Bay Area, and engaging with the world. The conference injected new momentum into the university’s academic development and contributed insights to the stability and innovative growth of financial markets in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.