There has been a flurry of adoption of dual-class structure (DCS) especially in Asian jurisdictions in recent years. The pros and cons about DCS have been discussed for decades and empirical evidence is abundant as well. Yet, with high-tech companies increasingly going public in DCS since the turn of the century, the focus of the studies on DCS also seems to be revamped. In this seminar, Prof. Zhang Wei will briefly review the major points that have appeared in the DCS discussion, the empirical evidence bearing on these points, and introduce new findings in this area especially regarding sunset clauses, built on my latest research.

About the Speaker:

Zhang Wei is an Associate Professor and Associate Dean of the Singapore Management University, School of Law.  He earned his LL.B. from Fudan University, M.A. in Civil Law from Waseda University, LL.M. from Harvard Law School and Ph.D. in Jurisprudence and Social Policy from UC Berkeley.  Dr. Zhang specializes in corporate and commercial law, law and economics, property law, and Chinese law.  He focuses on quantitative empirical studies of law and the effects of legal system on our society.  His works have been published in various peer-reviewed journals in U.S., U.K., mainland China and Taiwan.  He presents routinely at major international conferences in law and economics and empirical legal studies.  Dr. Zhang has also been invited as a visiting professor or guest speaker to top universities and regulatory agencies in China, including Peking University, Tsinghua University, Fudan University, as well as the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges and the Shanghai Financial Court.