Twelfth Annual East Asian Seminar on Economics: Privatization, corporate governance, and transition economies.

• Position: Conferences

The NBER's Twelfth Annual East Asian Seminar on Economics (EASE) sponsored jointly with Hong Kong university of Science and Technology (HKU), Korea Development Institute(KDI), Korea for International Economic Policy (KIEP), Tokyo Center for Economic Research (TCER), Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER), and the Australian Productivity Commission, took place in Hong Kong on June 28-30. The organizers were NBER Research Associates Takatoshi Ito, Hitotsubashi University, and Anne O. Kreuger, Stanford University. This year's theme was "Privatization, Corporate Governance, and Transition Economies." The following papers were discussed:

Chen Chien-Hsun and Shih Hui-Tzu, CIER, "Initial Public Offering and Corporate Governance in China's Transitional Economy"

Discussants: Deunden Nikomborirak, Thailand Development Research Institute, and Changqi Wu, HKU

David Li and Francis Lui, HKU, "Why do Governments Dump State Enterprises? Evidence from China"

Discussants: Deunden Nikomborirak, and Yun-Wing Sung, Chinese University of Hong Kong

Keijiro Otsuka, Foundation for Advanced Studies on International Development, and Tetsushi Sonobe, Tokyo Metropolitan University, "Productivity Effects of TVE Privatization: The Case Study of Garment and Metal Casing Enterprises in the Great Yangtze River Region"

Discussants: Yun-Wing Sung, and Yang Yao, Beijing University

Yang Yao, "Government Commitment and the Results of Privatization in China."

Discussants: Takashito Ito and David Li Fumitoshi Mizutani, Kobe University, and Kiyoshi Nakamura, Waseda University, "The Japanese Experience with Railway Restructing"

Discussants: Mario Lamberte, Philippine Institute for Development Studies, and Helen Owens, Australian Productivity Commission

Helen Owens, "Rail Reform: Privatize, Corporatize, Franchise, or Contracts - The Australian Experience"

Discussants: John McMillan, Stanford University, and Mari Pangestu, Centre for Strategic and International Studies

Tsuruhiko Nambu, Gakushuin University, "What Has Been Achieved in Japanese Telecommunications Industry since 1985?"

Discussants: II Chong Nam, and Richard Snape, Australian Productivity Commission

II Chong Nam, KDI, "Recent Developments in the Public Enterprises Sector in Korea"

Discussants: Cassey Lee Hong Kim, University of Malaya, and Aaron Tornell, NBER and University of California, Los Angeles

Sung Wook Joh, KDI, "Korean Corporate Governance and Firm Performance"

Discussants: Mario Lamberte, and Philip Williams, Melbourne Business School

Youngjae Lim, KDI, "Sources of Corporate Financing and Economic Crisis in Korea"

Discussanzts: Francis Lui and Chong-Hyun Nam

Philip Williams, and Graeme Woodbridge, Frontier Economics Australia, "Antitrust Merger Policy Lessons from the Australian Experience"

Discussants: Charles Calomins, NBER and Columbia University, and Chong-Hyun Nam

Simon Johnson, NBER and MIT, and Andrei Shleifer, NBER and Harvard University, "Privatization and Corporate Governance"

Discussants: Cassey Lee Hong Kim and Richard Snape

Charles Calomiris, and Joseph Mason, Drexel University, "How to Restructure Failed Banking Systems: Lessons from the U.S. in the 1930s and Japan in the 1990s"

Discussants: Simon Johnson and Mari Pangestu

Aaron Tornell, "Banks, Bailout Guarantees, and Risky Debt"

Discussant: Kyoji Fukao, Hitotsubashi University, and Sung Wook Joh

John McMillan, "Using Markets to Solve Public Problems"

Discussants: Kyoji Fukao and Tsuruhiko Nambu

Chen and Shih investigate Chinese initial public offerings (IPOs) from mid-1995 to mid-1999 with a sample of 884 companies, 437 listed on the Shanghai Stock Market and 447 on the Shenzen Stock Market. The only industries in which listed Chinese companies display strong performance are public utilities, transportation, and finance, otherwise known as China's "sunrise" industries. The overall operational performance of other industries is unsatisfactory. Examining the financial indicators of the listed companies following the IPO, it appears that except for earnings-related indicators, there are no significant changes. What's more, the financial indicators tend to fall rapidly year after year. This means that the IPO is of little obvious help to the companies' operational performance, and...