On March 21, 2025, at 16:00 pm, the 38th Forum on Digital Technology and Economic Finance Frontiers was successfully held. The theme of the lecture was "Frontiers in FinTech Research and Python Implementation", and the guest speaker was Professor Jiaquan Yao from Jinan University.The lecture was chaired by Associate Professor Xianming Sun, Associate Professor of the Finance School and executive Deputy Director of the Innovation and Talent Base for Digital Technology and Finance. More than 30 teachers and students from the School of Finance participated in this lecture.

The lecture commenced with a brief opening address by Associate Professor Xianming Sun. Professor Jiaquan Yao began by contextualizing the global digital transformation of the economy and provided an in-depth analysis of the latest research trends in financial technology (FinTech). He focused on three key directions: alternative data, machine learning and artificial intelligence, and blockchain and digital currencies, offering critical methodological insights into the future development of FinTech.

Professor Jiaquan Yao then systematically elaborated on the potential of alternative data in extracting financial insights across four dimensions: text, images, videos, and audio. He emphasized that as data sources diversify and data volumes grow exponentially, extracting valuable information from massive unstructured datasets has become paramount. The application of multimodal technologies and large language models, he noted, enables more precise insights for investment decision-making and risk management.

Next, Professor Jiaquan Yao summarized the broad applications of machine learning and artificial intelligence in finance, including robo-advisory services, credit assessment, and market forecasting. He also discussed the innovative applications of blockchain in supply chain finance and cross-border payments from both technical and economic perspectives, alongside the potential impacts of digital currencies on monetary policy, financial stability, and international payments.

In closing, Professor Jiaquan Yao outlined future priorities for FinTech development, stressing the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration. He called for establishing a more systematic and comprehensive research framework to address the complex challenges posed by FinTech innovation. Attendees unanimously expressed that the lecture was highly enlightening. The event concluded successfully.

Speaker Introduction

Jiaquan Yao is a Professor of Finance at Jinan University, specializing in FinTech, digital economy, and AI economics. He holds a Bachelor’s in Information Engineering and a Master’s in Theoretical Econometrics from Xi’an Jiaotong University, and a Ph.D. in Finance from Nanyang Technological University (Singapore). His research has been published in leading journals such as Review of Financial Studies, Management Science, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Management World, and Journal of Management Science in China, as well as top computer science conferences (WWW, KDD). He serves as Associate Editor for International Journal of Finance and Economics (ABS 3-star) and authored the textbook Python for Economic Big Data Analysis (Higher Education Press).

Frontier Forum for Digital Technology and Finance introduction

Recent years have witnessed a dramatic acceleration in a digital revolution in economic sectors and a rapid adoption of the new generation of information technologies, such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing, big data, etc. These technologies effectively set off the digital economy. It has become a key driving force in creating global economic growth, improving the modernization level of governance capabilities, and promoting high-quality economic development in China. In particular, digital finance is the most important part of the digital economy. To explore the development direction of the cross-integration of digital technology and finance, the Innovation and Talent Base for Digital Technology and Finance is hosting the “Frontier Forum for Digital Technology and Finance”, in collaboration with the School of Finance, Wenlan School of Business, Economics School, School of Information and Safety Engineering, School of Statistics and Mathematics, School of Public Finance and Taxation of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law (ZUEL). This lecture series will invite the well-known scholars at home and abroad in digital technology, digital economy, digital finance, and other related fields as guest speakers, providing an open and cutting-edge academic exchange platform for interdisciplinary research on digital technology and finance.