個案總覽

Ho Chi Minh Securities Corporation (HSC) was established in April of 2003. At the time, it was the 11th securities company to be founded in the Vietnam. From the outset, HSC provided a full range of securities trading and investment banking-related services. HSC was established to help restructure SOEs and to raise capital for development projects. That is, it was founded as a joint-stock company with the largest of the original investors being the Ho Chi Minh City Investment Fund for Urban Development (HIFU). In May of 2007, the Dragon Capital Group (Dragon Capital), a UK-based fund manager that had already established a foothold in Vietnam, took on just under 30% of HSC's shares. That change in ownership structure of HSC prompted a change in the composition of the board of directors and of the management team. The new team took a range of steps to strengthen the company and help distinguish it from rivals. They articulated a set of organisational values and took steps to shape an organisational culture. They shored up the financial foundation of the firm. They deepened and broadened the expertise embedded in different departments of the company. They introduced new products and services in order to penetrate new market segments. Despite a turbulent external environment, at the end of 2008, the team charted a strategy which called for HSC to increase market share.

In 2010, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act created a new federal agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, to improve the functioning of consumer financial services markets. The Bureau is scheduled to open its doors in July 2011. Its first director will be responsible not only for setting the policy direction of the agency but also for establishing its organizational structure and management climate. In this open letter to the director, four professors-Campbell, of Harvard University; Jackson, of Harvard Law School; Madrian, of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government; and Tufano, formerly of Harvard Business School-offer advice on how to set priorities and craft policy responses. They suggest seven simple ways in which the new director can identify problems that deserve early attention: (1) Look for high stakes: Prioritize problems that put large numbers of households at material financial risk, (2) Look for confusion: Be concerned when consumers routinely misunderstand the terms of a financial product, (3) Look for regret: Big financial decisions are often made so infrequently that consumers do not become adept at them, (4) Look for folly: Some groups of people, for instance, routinely miss the opportunity to refinance their mortgages when interest rates drop significantly, (5) Look for suckers: Some financial products generate a large chunk of their profits from a small fraction of customers, (6) Look for rip-offs: If an expensive product survives in a very competitive market, it could mean that some consumers don't understand what they're buying, (7) Look for opportunities: Don't limit the focus to only problems-actively seek innovative products that will benefit consumers.

This note explains how the People's Bank of China (PBOC) manages (some say manipulate) the dollar-yuan exchange rate. It discusses briefly the process of sterilization in China and the possible costs for the PBOC. Therefore, the note summarizes some of the main challenges the PBOC faces to contain inflation in China and to keep Chinese exports competitive.

The China Investment Corporation (CIC) was China's sovereign wealth fund (SWF), established with $200 billion of registered capital in September 2007 to diversify China's foreign exchange holdings and increase risk-adjusted returns on those assets. CIC was unusual in that it had a strictly commercial orientation and market-driven investment mandate to invest in foreign assets but also served as the parent company of a 100 percent-owned subsidiary, Huijin, that invested solely in key state-owned financial institutions in China. Moreover, the fact that CIC was an SWF presented broader political challenges for it, its shareholder the Chinese government, its direct investments and their governments, and the world economy generally. This case involved two decisions CIC faced in early 2011: the first was how to best and most accurately articulate the relationship among CIC, Huijin, and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) to the Federal Reserve Board (the Fed) so that ICBC could expand its business in the United States while exempting CIC and Huijin from certain types of Fed oversight. The second was whether to appoint a board director to Morgan Stanley, a company in which CIC had directly invested close to $6 billion and held 9.9 percent ownership. Additionally, the case discussed SWFs generally and their rights and responsibilities to the global community.

Supplement to case 710008.

In early April 2008, economic conditions in Europe appeared to be deteriorating on almost all fronts: sales figures were falling, business and consumer confidence were slumping, forecasts for European growth were being revised downward, and inflation was rising. In fact, figures for the month of March revealed that inflation had reached an annualized rate of 3.5%, Europe's highest level since 1992. On top of these broad economic problems, the European financial sector-indeed, the financial sector worldwide-was in turmoil. By April 2008, global financial institutions had written down the value of their mortgage-related investments and other assets by at least $230 billion, and businesses around the world were complaining that it was ever more difficult to secure credit. In America, meanwhile, consumer confidence was falling, consumer spending had slowed to a near halt, and inflation had crept above 4%. In reaction to these dismal economic conditions, the Federal Reserve had steadily cut interest rates over a seven-month period, most recently lowering its key rate to 2.25% on March18. In sharp contrast to the Fed, the European Central Bank (ECB) had long held its key rate at 4%, where it stood when the ECB's Governing Council reconvened on April 10, 2008. Given both the market turmoil and the evident inflationary pressure, members of the ECB's Governing Council would have to weigh the available data extremely carefully as they decided whether to raise, lower, or maintain their benchmark interest rate. The significance of this decision could hardly be overstated, since it had the potential to send a strong signal about the nature of European monetary policy and the priorities of the ECB going forward.

By the summer of 2009, many observers concluded that a catastrophic financial collapse- which seemed all but imminent the previous fall and winter - had been averted. Although the recession had still yet to be declared over and the economy's footing remained far from solid, many believed that the worst of the crisis was over. With the global financial system no longer spiraling into an abyss, government officials, business leaders, and American taxpayers could now take stock of where they had been and where they should be headed. In particular, many wondered how the disaster had happened in the first place: what exactly had caused the brutal financial crisis of 2007-2009?

On 8 June 2010, India's leading integrated telecom service provider, Bharti Airtel Ltd ("Airtel"), completed its acquisition of the mobile operations of Kuwaiti company Zain in 15 countries throughout Africa. At US$10.7 billion, it was Airtel's most expensive and ambitious acquisition yet, and the largest ever cross-border deal from one emerging market to another. Airtel hoped that, with this deal, the company would be transformed into a truly global telecom company, fulfilling its vision of building a world-class multinational. Airtel was a pioneer in India's telecom sector and was the flagship company of the Bharti conglomerate of industries. Sunil Bharti Mittal had founded the Bharti group in 1976, and it had grown from being a small-scale manufacturer of bicycle parts into one of the largest business groups in India, with operations in the telecom, financial services, retail and food sectors. Airtel had started its telecom services business in 1995 by launching mobile services in Delhi, India. In a short span of about 15 years, the company had become India's largest cellular service provider and one of the top five wireless operators in the world, with revenue of US$8.8 billion and net income of about US$2 billion as of 31 March 2010. The acquisition of Zain would add 40 million subscribers, bringing its total user base to approximately 185 million. What strategy should Bharti pursue to ensure its success in Africa?

In July 2009, as investors prepared to submit financial bids for the $3 billion Dharavi slum redevelopment project, considerable economic and political risks remained.

The case study provides an overview of the angel investment practices and describes government policies towards angel and venture capital investing in British Columbia, Canada. It focuses in particular on the Equity Capital Program (BCECP henceforth), which provides tax credits to private equity investors that meet several eligibility criteria. The case study is written from the point of view of a policy maker, with a perspective on the entire ecosystem. It provides an overview of the existing structure of the tax credit program, its history, and the lessons learned to date. It discusses the current challenges faced by policy makers wanting to further improve the program.

In April 2009, Wendy Jefferson had just returned to her office following a whirlwind day of meetings with her newest client, Star Advisor. Jefferson, a financial services consultant, was eager to dig into the information provided to her and her team about the Star mutual funds and the income the funds earned from securities lending. Securities lending involved temporarily transferring securities from mutual funds managed by Star Advisor to short sellers and other investors. Income from these loans had been a small but secure component of Star mutual fund returns for decades.

In June 2007, the offices of Russian hedge fund Hermitage Capital were raided by Moscow police; in the months that followed, Hermitage founder Bill Browder found himself banned from Russia and fending off efforts to expropriate the fund's Russian assets. This case describes the challenges faced by Hermitage in responding to these threats, and more broadly discusses the perils of doing business in a business environment with weak legal and political institutions

Supplements the (A) case.

This note discusses the economics of government-debt accumulation. Fiscal deficits are only part of the picture; other factors include the level of debt as a percent of nominal GDP; the interest rate; the inflation rate; the growth rate; and changes in the exchange rate if some debt is owed in a foreign currency. The note discusses how these factors interact to affect government debt levels.

This case describes the economic development problems faced by the small Caribbean-island country of Jamaica over most of the past half-century. The Jamaican economy showed relatively strong growth in the 1960s but stagnated in the 1970s. By the end of that decade, Jamaica was forced to turn to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for balance-of-payments support. Over the 1980s and early 1990s, the unpopular policy conditions associated with IMF loan programs made the Fund a lightning rod for criticism over Jamaica's lack of economic progress. Jamaicans celebrated the end of IMF borrowing in the mid-1990s, but a severe financial crisis later that decade created a new layer of economic problems. In 2010, in the context of the global economic downturn, Jamaica once again returned to the IMF for financing support. This case allows students to explore the complicated economic difficulties faced by Jamaica, which remains burdened by a self-reinforcing set of interrelated factors, including high public debt, a sluggish private sector, an inefficient public sector, poverty, and crime, among others.

Supplement to "U.S. Healthcare Reform: International Perspectives," HBS No. 710-040, updating key events and disputes concerning the reform law, including the 2010 Congressional elections, legislative proposals, legal challenges, and responses by employers.

Fifteen years after ending apartheid, formal unemployment in South Africa was still at 24%. While the country had grown at 4 to 5% annually during the 2000s, the financial crisis set it back by 1 million more unemployed. Moreover, it seemed as if the nation were stuck between low wage and fully developed competitors. The government of Jacob Zuma has just adopted a "New Growth Path," hoping to create several million jobs over the next few years. Both the Finance Minister and the head of the Central Bank support the initiative, but worry how they can sustain fiscal discipline and control inflation, in light of these stimulative policies. Organized labor, meanwhile, has little sympathy for any sort of sacrifice.

15 years after ending apartheid, formal unemployment in South Africa was still at 24%. While the country had grown at 4 to 5% annually during the 2000s, the financial crisis set it back by 1 million more unemployed. Moreover, it seemed as if the nation were stuck between low wage and fully developed competitors. The government of Jacob Zuma has just adopted a "New Growth Path," hoping to create several million jobs over the next few years. Both the Finance Minister and the head of the Central Bank support the initiative, but worry how they can sustain fiscal discipline and control inflation, in light of these stimulative policies. Organized labor, meanwhile, has little sympathy for any sort of sacrifice.

After its 2009-2010 fiscal crisis shook the euro, could the Greek government stabilize debt, avoid default, and stay on the euro? This case looks at the Greek social and political road to fiscal crisis; the economics of that crisis and efforts to recover from it; the danger the crisis posed to the euro; cooperation and conflict among European states, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund to try to help Greece emerge from crisis; and the role financial markets played in these events.

This case describes Latvia's transition from a Soviet republic into an EU member, its economic boom and subsequent bust in 2008, and its policy response. After implementing significant economic and political reforms in order to qualify for EU membership in 2004, Latvia had turned its sights toward joining the single-currency eurozone, pegging its currency to the euro in 2005 as a step toward that goal. From 2000 to 2007, Latvia achieved faster GDP growth than any EU state. However, when large inflows of capital suddenly dried up in 2008, Latvia had to obtain a financial rescue package from the IMF, World Bank, EU, and several regional countries in order to avoid a full-blown financial and currency crisis. Latvia then adopted an aggressive economic adjustment program centered on maintaining its currency peg, which meant competitiveness would have to be restored by reducing domestic prices, wages, and public expenditures in order to drive down the real exchange rate. Latvia's policy program and initial results are discussed in the case.