On the afternoon of April 13, the 8th "Bai-Qinxian University Lecture by Overseas Prestigious Scholars" at Liaoning University (LNU) was held at the Puhe Campus. Professor Liu Hening, Professor of Finance at the Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, was invited to deliver an academic report titled "Financing Innovation under Ambiguity". Professor Qiu Huanguang, Member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and Vice President of LNU, attended the lecture. The lecture was chaired by Professor Dong Baomin, Deputy Director of the Division of Economics of LNU.
In his report, Professor Liu systematically addressed the core controversies and frontier issues in the field of innovation financing. He noted that traditional views often argue that debt contracts are ill-suited for financing innovation projects, and that the intangible nature of R&D activities limits collateral value and weakens the debt capacity of innovative firms. However, recent empirical studies have shown that optimizing debt financing can effectively accelerate corporate innovation, and the relationship between debt and innovation still requires further clarification. Using a growth option model incorporating jumps and ambiguity, Professor Liu elaborated on the mechanism through which debt promotes innovation: debt lowers the investment threshold and shortens the expected waiting time, increasing project value through the power-law "first hitting time" effect. Ambiguity (model uncertainty) delays investment and reduces project value under both all-equity and debt financing, but optimal debt financing significantly mitigates this negative impact, and the marginal value gain from debt is more pronounced when ambiguity is higher. He further distinguished between drift ambiguity and jump ambiguity, emphasizing that jump ambiguity has a greater impact on disruptive innovation, and that limited data for start‑ups increases perceived ambiguity. These conclusions are robustly validated through parameter calibration and quantitative analysis.
During the interactive session, faculty and students enthusiastically asked questions on topics such as financing schemes for different types of innovation projects and capital structure design for technology-based start‑ups. Professor Liu answered each question carefully, sharing insightful perspectives based on international cutting‑edge research and practical cases, creating a strong academic atmosphere.
After the lecture, the university presented Professor Liu with the " Bai-Qinxian University Lecture by Overseas Prestigious Scholars" commemorative certificate, a university cap, and a group photo.
The lecture was organized by the Division of Economics of LNU and hosted by the School of Finance and Trade. Over 80 faculty and student representatives from units within the the Division of Economics attended the lecture.
