At the invitation of Associate Professor Dr. Jack WOO from the Business School, on the afternoon of December 9th, 2024, Mr. Adrian Chen Zhihao, Deputy General Manager of Guangzhou R&F Properties Group, gave a keynote report for the Finance and Capital Market Forum. At the forum, Mr. Chen Zhihao gave a detailed report on topics such as the impact of changes in market interest rates on investment decisions and asset prices.At the forum, Mr. Adrian Chen gave a detailed report on the impact of market interest rate changes on investment decisions and asset prices.

Figure 1: Mr. Adrian Chen Zhihao

This Finance & Capital Markets Forum focused on the impact of market interest rates on investment decisions and on understanding how interest rate fluctuations affect various investment instruments. Higher market interest rates will increase the financing cost of enterprises , whichmay affect their profitability and stock prices. In addition, market interest rates will also affect investors’ risk preference. When market interest rates are low, investors may be more inclined to take higher risks in pursuit of higher returns, thereby increasing their investment in risky assets such as stocks; when market interest rates are high, investors may prefer more stable fixed income investments.

In terms of real estate investment, changes in market interest rates will affect mortgage rates, which in turn affect the cost of purchasing housesand the demand in the real estate market. Higher market interest rates will increase the mortgage burden and suppress the demand for houses purchases, thus exerting downward pressure on real estate prices; conversely, lower market interest rates will stimulate demand for housespurchases and drive up real estateprices. In general, market interest rates, as an important indicator of economic operation, profoundly affect investors’ choices and decisions amongdifferent asset classes.

In addition, when the economic growth rate is significantly higher than the interest rate level, although the high interest rate will increase the financing costs of enterprises, enterprises are still willing to increase investment and take risks. Because the economic growth rate represents the increase in consumption level and the increase in income, therefore improving the profitability of the enterprises.

At the forum, Mr. Adrian Chen Zhihao engaged with the students through vivid examples such as bank deposits, autoloans, corporate bond pricing, stock investment and real estate investment.

Figure 2: Photos at the Forum

Writer :  Susee Mo

Reviewer: Jack Woo