The Chinese Finance Association held 23rd Annual Conference in New York
The TCFA Annual Conference took place on Nov 5th at the Marriot hotel in Times Square. Over the past two decades, this has developed into a premium event that gathers US and China financial professionals. It always features high-profile speakers, interactive panel discussions, and has an international attendance of over 700 which keeps growing. Participants engage in lively dialogues about the global economy, market trends, business opportunities, and issues facing the industry.
"TCFA's annual conferences have always been centered around financial and economic issues most relevant to the U.S. and China. " President-elect Dr. Li Liu emphasized in his opening remarks.
This year’s conference agenda was packed full of top figures from diverse fields: business leaders such as Founding Partner and CEO of Atlas Merchant Capital, Former CEO of Barclays Mr. Bob Diamond, government officials such as Chair of US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Ms. Sheila Bair and Executive Vice President of China Investment Corporation, Dr. Qin Bin, and academic experts such as Prof. Shang-Jin Wei from Columbia University.
The conference, titled "US and China as Leaders in the Multipolar World: Risks and Opportunities in Financial Markets", covered two profound global trends. One is the geopolitical shift that transfers the unipolar world led by the US into one with an increasing number of multipolar leaders. The other one is the rapid technological progress that revolutionizes all aspects of people’s life, from personal finance to healthcare.
The US public policy debate traced to its root in the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. Ms. Sheila Bair highlighted the short-sighted nature of US policy conduct had been particularly vulnerable to changes in public opinion, lobbying activities, and even populist movements. She recalled vividly the loud cry for financial regulation on the Capitol Hill immediately after the crisis had already changed its tone during the first twelve months of the new administration. Ms. Bair contrasted such policy stance with the Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent call on more comprehensive financial regulation in China, and she argued that successful policy conduct should be continuous and targeting for long-term goals.
The second keynote speaker Mr. Bob Diamond strongly agreed on the significance of regulation in preventing the next systematic crisis. However, he highlighted the need for business to adapt to the cost of regulation, especially for universal global banks in Europe and the US. Meanwhile, he showed regionally-focused institutions tend to deliver higher returns on equity, especially in developing countries and pockets of under-valued European markets.
The evolution of regulatory and political environment has also associated economic challenges and opportunities. And these were debated by the macroeconomics panel made of Chief Economists from leading US institutions. All panelists, Ms. Beth Ann Bovino from S&P, Mr. Greg Daco from Oxfords Economics, and Mr. John Silvia from Wells Fargo, agreed on the secular challenges faced by the largest economies in the world. These include depressed rate of GDP growth, sluggish wage appreciation, negative demographic trends, and the rise of protectionism.
Differences arose when it came to the efficacy of monetary and fiscal policy in the year ahead. Mr. Silvia disagreed with Ms. Bovino’s on whether the Federal Reserve would continue its steady policy normalization under the new leadership, Jerome Powell. Mr Silvia articulated the possibility of overtightening, a downside risk to the economy. But Mr. Daco suggested that the fiscal stimulus might more than offset. If the latest proposal for US tax reform was fully realized, it could boost US GDP growth rate by as much as one percentage point in 2018, according to Mr. Daco.
The policy uncertainties and troublesome secular development also raised concerns among speakers at the global investment panel. Mr. Shakil Riaz, Managing Director from Lighthouse Partners listed a few possible responses to the challenging market environment: harvesting illiquidity premium, diversifying into niche markets, and identifying the most effective layer of the capital structure. Mr. Tony Charles, Managing Direction from Morgan Stanley Investment Management, has highlighted the attractiveness in the US entry-level residential properties and European properties markets. Mr. Ryan Tolkins, CIO of Shonfeld Group focused on the rising importance of quantitative investment strategies over the long-term. Mr. Peter Zangari, Global Head of Research from MSCI further explored cyclical and secular drivers for active equity investing, and he highlighted the impressive rise of factor in determining investment and facilitating risk management.
Similar to the domestically oriented policy initiatives by the US, the Chinese authority is also determined to lift the people’s living standards. Executive Vice President of CIC, Dr. Bin Qi, demonstrated the potential for China to achieve this goal and highlighted its ongoing reform-driven economic transition. Moreover, he suggested domestic progress had allowed China to initiate international cooperation efforts such as Belt-and-Road, and work with the US to revive its manufacturing sectors in states such as Illinois and Wisconsin. Dr. Qi showed optimism in the US-China cooperation. Ahead of President Trump’s recent Asian trip, officials from both sides held a National Government Summit that opens up possibilities at various levels. As China’s sovereign fund, CIC has been leading these initiatives at multiple fronts. The “CIC Forum 2017” taking place later this year is one of the great example.
In an attempt to demystify the controversial trade practice between the two countries, Prof. Shang-Jin Wei, N. T. Wang Chair Professor at Columbia University and former Chief Economist of Asia Development Bank investigated the imbalances between the US-China merchandised trade. He argued the causes for such abnormities had been multilateral factors rather than unilateral. And it would be a mistake to completely attribute the job loss in the US manufacturing economy to China. On the contrary, US gain more from every dollar of goods sold to China than vice versa, due to US’ higher position in the value-added chain. Given the complex and intertwined global supply chain, Prof. Wei argued that deepening cooperation is a much less destructive way to address imbalances than hostile trade policies.
Even in the unlikely event of severe trade disruption, an increasingly robust Chinese consumer sector should withstand more external vulnerabilities. The recent boom in FinTech industry, driven by personal financial services, demonstrates such a potential.
The afternoon Keynote speech featured the Founder and CEO from HC Financial Services Group Mr. Hongtao Qin. He reviewed the path for the company to become one of the largest and most comprehensive provider for personal finance services. And he reflected the steady rise in consumers’ purchasing power and persistent pursuit for better life had been ultimately behind the industry’s multi-year boom. Most recently, HC Financial has expanded into new areas such as Belt-and-Road initiatives, inclusive finance projects, and investment opportunities in south east Asia, demonstrating the dynamism of the Chinese economy at large. The following FinTech investment panel further uncovered the true scale of opportunities when robust consumer demand meets cutting edge technology. Leaders from tech accelerator, venture capitalist, and cross boarder investment conduits discussed a variety of new trends in their fields.
Healthcare is another industry that can rise against the secular headwinds on both sides of the Pacific. The healthcare panel invited executives from leading biopharmaceutical companies and prominent market participants to assess the potential in this industry. Dr. Lan Huang, co-Founder and CEO of BeyondSpring and Dr. Howard Liang, CFO and Chief Strategy Officer of BeiGene, highlighted the unprecedented pace of scientific innovation among Chinese biopharma companies, and this sector’s rapid expansion. Meanwhile, they emphasized the crucial role of prudent quality control in industrializing new technologies, in order to maintain the quality and sustainability of growth. This sector’s dynamism had been further boosted by the comprehensive reform in China’s health policy, which aims to improve the public’s long-term welfare.
Market participants, Dr. Ting Jia, Managing Director from Hill House, Dr. Katherine Xu, co-Head Biopharma Research at William Blair, and Ms. Christine Zhao, Partner of Yuanming Capital, and US industrial expert, Mr. Ben Zimmer, Chief of RoivantNext, all showed confidence in the enormous commercial value associated with such developments. They also stressed the importance of investing in the right people, who can innovate and execute.
TCFA’s endeavor to support its members extends beyond being a platform for discussion and networking. Concurrent to the conference main agenda, it held a recruiting event featuring many prominent Chinese financial institutions.
The conference concluded with the official announcement that Mr Li Liu as TCFA's President for 2017-2018. TCFA members also elected Mr Bo Liu as the President-Elect, and six new Board members.
Founded in 1994 TCFA is a nonprofit organization, which has flourished into a global organization with over 6,000 members. Its active chapters have been established in Boston, Washington DC, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Charlotte, Toronto, London, Tokyo, Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen.
TCFA Media Team
Links to Media Reports (in Chinese)
新浪财经Sina.com:
21世纪经济报道 21JingJi.com:
华尔街见闻 Wall Street CN.com:
Prominent Speakers
Sheila Bair – Morning Keynote Address, confirmed
19th Chair of U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Sheila Bair has had a long and distinguished career in government, academia, and finance. Widely respected for her expertise in financial regulation and consumer protection, Ms. Bair currently serves on a number of corporate and fintech boards, while continuing her advocacy for common sense policies to promote financial system stability and responsible lending practices.
Ms. Bair is perhaps best known as Chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) from 2006 to 2011, when she steered the agency through the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. She received numerous awards and recognition for her leadership at the FDIC, including the JFK Library’s Profiles in Courage Award, being twice named by Forbes Magazine as the second most powerful woman in the world, and dubbed the “little guy’s protector in chief” by Time Magazine.
Ms. Bair’s relentless focus on the public interest has always been a hallmark of her government career, beginning as a senior advisor (1981-88) to former Senate Majority Leader Robert Dole; a Commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (1991-95); and Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions at the Treasury Department (2001-2002) when she worked to stabilize and secure our financial infrastructure in the wake of the horrific 9/11 attacks.
Ms. Bair’s academic and policy work have also focused on public policy as the Dean’s Professor of Financial Regulatory Policy at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst (2002-2006), senior Advisor to the Pew Charitable Trusts (2011-2015) where she founded the Systemic Risk Council, a group of distinguished financial experts which advocates for policies to promote financial stability, and most recently, as President of historic Washington College (2015-2017), where she was a strong advocate for college affordability.
An articulate and frequently provocative writer and public speaker, Ms. Bair has published numerous columns in the Wall Street Journal, NY Times, Washington Post, Financial Times, and Fortune Magazine. She is the author of NY Times Best Seller Bull by the Horns, her 2012 memoir of the financial crisis, and has also written books for children on financial matters including her young adult book on the crisis, Bullies of Wall Street, and picture books on financial basics, Rock Brock and the Savings Shock, and Isabel’s Car Wash.
Most recently Ms. Bair has been working to raise money to build playgrounds specially designed for the large population of disabled children who currently populate China’s orphanages. She has constructed two playgrounds at the Hengyang Welfare Center in Hunan, named for her Chinese-adopted daughter, Yang Yang, and has undertaken a new project in the Sanmenxia Province. This playground, budgeted at $100,000, will include specially equipped swings, slides, trampolines and other playground equipment, a maze, water park, sand boxes, and garden. If you would like to give to this worthwhile project, please send your tax-deductible contribution to:
WWSG Foundation- Sanmenxia Project
Bob Diamond - Founding Partner and CEO, Atlas Merchant Capital; Former CEO of Barclays
Mr. Diamond is Founding Partner and Chief Executive Officer of Atlas, and is based in New York. Mr. Diamond is also a founder and non-executive director of Atlas Mara Limited. Until 2012, Mr. Diamond was Chief Executive of Barclays, having previously held the position of President of Barclays and was responsible for Barclays Capital and Barclays Global Investors (BGI). He became an executive director of Barclays in 2005 and was a member of the Barclays Executive Committee since 1997.
Prior to Barclays, Mr. Diamond held senior executive positions at Credit Suisse First Boston and Morgan Stanley in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Mr. Diamond worked at Credit Suisse First Boston from 1992 to 1996, where his roles included Vice Chairman and Head of Global Fixed Income and Foreign Exchange in New York, as well as Chairman, President and CEO of Credit Suisse First Boston Pacific. Mr. Diamond worked at Morgan Stanley from 1979 to 1992, most recently as the Head of European and Asian Fixed Income Trading.
Mr. Diamond is a Trustee of The American Foundation of the Imperial War Museum Inc., a Life Member of The Council on Foreign Relations and is involved in several non-profit initiatives, including being a Director of the Diamond Foundation. He is also Life Trustee and former Chair of the Colby College Board of Trustees.
A native of Concord, Massachusetts, Mr. Diamond holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Colby College in Maine and an MBA from the University of Connecticut. He was awarded Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Connecticut and Doctor of Laws from Colby College.
Shang-Jin Wei ─ N.T. Wang Professor, Columbia University; Former Chief Economist of Asian Development Bank
Bin Qi (祁斌) (to be Confirmed) ─ Executive Vice President, China Investment Corp (中投)
Hongtao Qin (秦洪涛) ─ Founder and CEO, HC Financial Services Group (北京恒昌集团创始人兼CEO)
Huaqiang Guo (郭华强) ─ Chairman and CEO, Sunyard System Engineering Co.(信雅达)
Fuxiang Pan (潘福祥) ─ Chairman and CEO, Nuode Asset Management (诺德基金)
FinTech Keynote Address
Hongtao Qin (秦洪涛) ─ Founder and CEO, HC Financial Services Group (北京恒昌集团创始人兼CEO)
Renowned Panel Speakers
Macro Economics Panel
John Silvia ─ Chief Economist, Wells Fargo
Beth Ann Bovino ─ Chief U.S. Economist, Standard and Poor’s
Greg Daco ─ Chief US Economist, Oxfords Economics
Investment Panel
Peter Zangari ─ Global Head of Research and Product Development, MSCI
Tony Charles ─ Managing Director, Morgan Stanley Investment Management
Ryan Tolkins ─ Chief Investment Officer, Schonfeld Group
Shakil Riaz ─ Managing Director & Head of U.S. Alternative Portfolio Management & Global CIO Lighthouse Partners
FinTech: Searching for the Next Unicorn, co-organized with Tsinghua Financial Review of the PBC School of Finance
Ben Zhai (翟南宾) ─ Chief Strategy Officer, HC Financial Services Group (北京恒昌集团)
Jerry Wang ─ Founder and CEO, Haitou Capital (海投资本)
Bin Zhang(张斌) ─ Founder and CEO, Union Mobile Financial Technology (联动优势科技)
Zhiguo Li(李志国) ─ Chief Product Officer, Homaer Financial (荷马金融)
Liping Shao(邵丽萍) ─ General Manager, Bank of Langfang(廊坊银行)
M&A Panel
Michael Rosenthal ─ Partner, Polsinelli
Michael McDonough ─ Bloomberg Economics director of research
David Fergusson ─ President, M&A Advisor
Dahai Guo ─ CEO of PuraCap and Epic Pharma, US Subsidiaries of Humanwell Pharmaceutical
Ian Woo – Managing Director, Lazard
Healthcare Finance Panel
Ting Jia ─ Managing Director, Hillhouse Capital (高瓴资本)
Lan Huang ─ CEO, Beyond Spring;
Y. Katherine Xu─ Partner, Co-Head Biopharmaceutical Research Group, William Blair;
Ben Zimmer ─ Chief of RoivantNEXT at Roivant Sciences
High Tech Panel
Seamon Chan ─ Managing Partner, Palm Drive Capital
Xiang Gao(高翔) ─ Founder and CEO, Guanghe Group (光和盛世集团)
David Liu (廖子平) ─ CEO and Managing Director, Mithera Capital (梅富诺资本)
Robin Hu (胡志斌) -- Chairman and CEO, Broad Resources Investment (博润投资)
Zhilei Tong (童之磊) -- Chairman and CEO, Chinese All Digital Publishing Group (中文在线)
Yalin Zhu-Hu (moderator) -- Board Director, TCFA; Director, China Bridge Capital (鑫根资本)
Morning session |
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7:30-8:30am | Registration and Breakfast |
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8:35-8:45am | Welcoming Address Li Liu ─ President-elect, TCFA; Executive Director, Morgan Stanley |
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8:45-9:15am | Conference Keynote Address: “The Future of Financial Reform: Is Deregulation What the Public Wants?” Sheila Bair ─ 19th Chair of US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Introduced by Christine Zhao, Board Director, TCFA; Partner, Yuanming Capital |
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9:15-9:45am | Morning Keynote Address: “Opportunity for China and Investment in Global Financial Services” Bob Diamond ─ Founding Partner and CEO, Atlas Merchant Capital; Former CEO of Barclays Interviewed by Jing Lu, Managing Director, China Bridge Capital |
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9:45-10:25am | Macro Economics Panel: Global Economic Outlook ▪ Beth Ann Bovino ─ Chief U.S. Economist, Standard and Poor’s ▪ Greg Daco ─ Chief US Economist, Oxfords Economics ▪ John Silvia ─ Chief Economist, Wells Fargo ▪ Henry Mo (moderator) ─ Board Director, TCFA; Chief Economist, AIG |
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10:25-10:45am | Coffee Break |
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10:45-11:35am | Investment Panel: Global Investment Opportunities ▪ Tony Charles ─ Managing Director, Morgan Stanley Investment Management ▪ Shakil Riaz ─ Managing Director, Lighthouse Partners ▪ Ryan Tolkins ─ Chief Investment Officer, Schonfeld Group ▪ Peter Zangari ─ Global Head of Research and Product Development, MSCI ▪ Mei Gao (moderator) ─ Former Board Director, TCFA; Partner, IDG Capital |
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11:35-12:05pm | China Keynote Address: “The New Era: a new round of china’s economic reform and open-up” Bin Qi (祁斌) ─ Executive Vice President, China Investment Corp (中投) Introduced by Bo Liu, Board Director and CFO, TCFA; Director, Bank of America Merrill Lynch |
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Lunch |
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12:05-1:30pm | Lunch Break |
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12:35-1:15pm | Luncheon Keynote Address (This session is by invitation only) Shanqing Zhou ─ Counselor of the Economic and Commercial Office, Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China New York Huaqiang Guo (郭华强) ─ Chairman and CEO, Sunyard System Engineering Co.(信雅达) Fuxiang Pan (潘福祥) ─ Chairman and CEO, Nuode Asset Management (诺德基金) |
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afternoon Session |
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1:30-2:05pm | Afternoon Keynote Address: “US-China Trade and Trump’s China Visit” Shang-Jin Wei ─ N.T. Wang Professor, Columbia University; Former Chief Economist of Asian Development Bank Introduced by Hui Fan, Board Director TCFA; Director, AIG |
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2:05-2:35pm | FinTech Keynote Address Hongtao Qin (秦洪涛) ─ Founder and CEO, HC Financial Services Group (北京恒昌集团) Introduced by Chenyang Wei, Chairman of the Board, TCFA; Senior Managing Director & Head of Zenity Holdings New York (知合控股) |
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2:35-3:20pm
| Track A: FinTech - Searching for the Next Unicorn (co-organized with Tsinghua Financial Review of the PBC School of Finance) ▪ Ted Kraus ─ Head of Investment and AI Accelerator, TechCode US (太库美国) ▪ Zhiguo Li(李志国) ─ Chief Strategy Officer, Homaer Financial (荷马金融) ▪ Jerry Wang (王金龙) ─ Founder and CEO, Haitou Capital (海投资本) ▪ Ben Zhai (翟南宾) ─ Chief Strategy Officer, HC Financial Services Group (北京恒昌集团) ▪ Chenyang Wei (moderator)─ Chairman of the Board, TCFA; Senior Managing Director & Head of Zenity Holdings New York (知合控股) |
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3:20-3:40pm | Afternoon Coffee Break |
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3:40-4:30pm
| Track A-M&A Panel: New Trends in Global M&A and Integrations Post Acquisition ▪ David Fergusson ─ CEO & President, The M&A Advisor ▪ Michael McDonough ─Economics Director of Research, Bloomberg LP ▪ Michael Rosenthal ─ Partner & Shareholder, Polsinelli ▪ Ian Woo – Managing Director, Lazard ▪ Maggie Jiang (moderator) – President, TCFA; SVP, Bank of China New York |
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4:30-5:15pm
| Track A-Healthcare Panel: Healthcare Innovation and Opportunities ▪ Lan Huang ─ Co-founder, Chairman & CEO, BeyondSpring Pharmaceutical ▪ Ting Jia ─ Managing Director, Hillhouse Capital (高瓴资本) ▪ Howard Liang ─ CFO and Chief Strategy Officer, BeiGene, Ltd ▪ Y. Katherine Xu─ Partner, Co-Head Biopharmaceutical Research Group, William Blair ▪ Ben Zimmer ─ Chief of RoivantNext, Roivant Sciences ▪ Christine Zhao(moderator)─ Board Director, TCFA; Partner, Yuanming Capital |
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3:30 -4:20pm 8th floor ballroom | Track B: CIC Recruiting Presentation: “New Cooperation of China and Us: Rediscovering the Rust Belt” Bin Qi (祁斌) ─ Executive Vice President, China Investment Corp(中投) |
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4:20-5:15pm
8th floor ballroom | Track B: High Tech Panel: Investing in Innovation: How Technologies Change Our World ▪ Seamon Chan ─ Managing Partner, Palm Drive Capital ▪ Xiang Gao (高翔) ─ Founder and CEO, Guanghe Group (光和盛世集团) ▪ David Liu (廖子平)─ CEO and Managing Director, Mithera Capital (梅富诺资本) ▪ Robin Hu (胡志斌) ─ Chairman and CEO, Broad Resources Investment (博润投资) ▪ Zhilei Tong (童之磊) ─ Chairman and CEO, Chinese All Digital Publishing Group (中文在线) ▪ Yalin Zhu-Hu (moderator) ─ Board Director, TCFA; Director, China Bridge Capital (鑫根资本) |
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5:15-5:25pm | Closing Remarks Maggie Jiang ─ President, TCFA; SVP, Bank of China New York |
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5:25-6:10pm | TCFA Annual Election Jian Hu─ Senior Advisor and Former President of TCFA; Managing Director, Moody’s Daphne Fan─ Executive Vice President, TCFA; Director, Wells Fargo |
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6:15-7:30pm | Networking Reception |
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A number of companies are planning to recruit on-site or on-line at the job fair offered by the Annual Conference. The following companies will attend the job fair on-site:
CIC中投
Bank of China 中国银行
Homaer Financial 荷马金融
Taikang Asset Management 泰康集团
HC Financial Service Group 恒昌集团
Haitou Capital 海投资本
The list is growing as more companies confirm their interest. Please stay tuned for updated company list and job listings.
Please note only registered guests can have access to the on-site job fair.
To job applicants: please send resume to tcfajobfair@gmail.com. We will keep you information in our database and distribute resumes to relevant recruiting firms.
There is a great variety of accommodations in New York City. However if you prefer to stay at the Marriott Marquis, you can make reservations with the conference rate for rooms that Marriott has blocked for our Annual Conference. The hotel rooms will be released on Oct 20 if not used, so please reserve your room early.
The hotel registration link and phone number: https://aws.passkey.com/go/ChineseFinAsscNov2017
Reservations Line: 1-877-303-0104 // 1-212-398-1900
Conference rate guaranteed before October 20: Single room: $339; Double room: $339, before tax.