Corporate Governance of Chinese Fund Management
Companies
A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
Celina Ping Yu
Bachelor of Marketing
Master of Accounting
School of Economics, Finance and Marketing
College of Business
RMIT University
February 2013
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DECLARATION
I certify that except where due acknowledgement has been made, the work is that of the
author alone; the work has not been submitted previously, in whole or in part, to qualify for
any other academic award; the content of thesis is the result of work which has been carried
out since the official commencement date of approved research program; and any editorial
work, paid or unpaid, carried out by a third party is acknowledged.
Signed:
Celina Ping Yu
February 2013
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The completion of this thesis really signals a new beginning of my research life. It has been
an exciting experience for me to learn to do research in an international environment. I like to
be a scholar not only because I could explore and develop new ideas but also to become a
teacher in a university environment. After spending four years of invaluable learning
experiences, I have come to be what I am today. I would like to take this opportunity to
acknowledge the contributions, support, encouragement, and love that I have received in
abundance on my way to today during my PhD journey.
Firstly, I would like to thank my principal supervisor Professor On Kit Tam for his
invaluable and unfailing advice, support, guidance, and encouragement throughout my PhD
research. His attitude towards research and insistence on carefully doing every job and paying
extremely thoughtful attention to the big picture as well as the details of research really
inspire how I approach my research, and also my attitude towards being a person. Without
him being there all the time, I could not achieve what I have achieved today. He gives me so
much guidance, support and counsel in many ways and helps me shape who I am today.
I would also like to thank my second supervisor, Professor Tony Naughton, for his great
support, valuable advice and comments for my research. To my advisers, Professor Heather
Mitchell, Professor Tim Fry, Professor Richard Heaney, Professor Kouqing Li, Dr Monica
Tan, Dr Larry Li, Yongqiang Li, Dr Mari An, I thank them for their great support and advice
for my thesis and research.
The encouragement and help from Professor Xiongsheng Yang, Xiang Li and Shu Lin
from Nanjing University are most appreciated in many ways. I thank Ms Prue Lamont and Ms
Kalpana Lalji from the Business Research Office in the College of Business at RMIT
University for their consistent help.
I thank the constant encouragement and support from all my good friends, in Australia
and China, to whom I will always be indebted. Although I am unable to name them all here, I
would like to convey my warmest gratitude to Dan Wang, Ling Qi, Tina Wang, Wenjie Wu,
Xiao Liu, Jiong Jin, Di Wang, Bin Liu, George Qiao, Tony Zhang, Susan Chen from
Australia; and Xin Liu, Jing Zhou, Jessica Sun, Jing Guo, Jing Chen in China. They have
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always been with me through thick and thin and when I would lose hope or doubt myself. I
will always cherish our eternal friendship that has been strengthened both in happiness and
sorrow.
My heartfelt gratitude also goes to Andrew Colman, Richard Zhou, Guoliang Zhu, Yun
Yang, Guosheng Chen, David Wang, Charlie Xue and He Ren for their guidance and advice
in my personal life.
Last but not the least, this thesis could not have been done without the unwavering
support from my family, for which I am forever grateful. I give my sincerest and loving
thanks to my father Chunfang Yu, mother Xiumei Sun, brother Yongjun Yu and sister Juan
Yu, for their constant encouragement and understanding and for always being there for me
when I needed them most.
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TABLE OF CONTENT
DECLARATION .............................................................................................. 1
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................. 2
TABLE OF CONTENT ................................................................................... 4
LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................... 9
LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................... 11
LISTS OF ACRONYMS ................................................................................ 12
ABSTRACT .................................................................................................... 13
CHAPTER 1 ................................................................................................... 16
INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 16
1.1Background ....................................................................................................... 16
1.2Research Motivation and Objectives of the Thesis .......................................... 16
1.3Structure of the Thesis ...................................................................................... 20
BACKGROUND ............................................................................................ 22
2.1Introduction ...................................................................................................... 22
2.2Corporate Governance in general ..................................................................... 22
2.3Definition and Issues of Corporate Governance .............................................. 23
2.4Theories of Corporate Governance .................................................................. 24
2.5Effectiveness of Board of Directors ................................................................. 33
2.6Corporate Governance in Asia ......................................................................... 35
2.7The Role of Institutional Investor in Capital Markets Development and
Corporate Governance of Investee Firms ................................................................. 41
2.8Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 45
