"As a former visiting researcher at the BOFIT, it is my great pleasure and honour to be invited to get involved in this grand event. I visited the BOFIT during the period between September and October, 2016. I recall with gratitude the warmest welcome that I received from Iikka, Zuzana, Tia, Liisa, and other lovely colleagues at the BOFIT upon my arrival, which made me feel at home. My office was well furnished with a beautiful view of nature (see photos on the right side), which was quite inspirational in particular when I was slow in my research.
On top of the excellent working environment, the BOFIT also has dense academic atmosphere. I joined several research seminars during my visit and also presented my paper on “The Quality and Quantity of Bank Intermediation and Economic Growth: Evidence from Asia Pacific”, which was then published in Applied Economics. Besides, my work on “Varieties in state capitalism and corporate innovation: Evidence from an emerging economy” was also developed at the BOFIT, which was then published in Journal of Corporate Finance. Moreover, I met Prof. K.C. Fung, Professor of Economics from the University of California, Santa Cruz during my visit. He is a leading scholar with rich and diversified research experiences. As a result, a series of collaborative papers were then derived from our fruitful discussions at the BOFIT. For example, “Internationalization of the Use of Chinese Currency: Perspectives from the New and the Ancient Silk Roads”, “Digital silk road, Silicon Valley and connectivity”, “Silicon trade policies and a comparative analysis of China-U.S. and Japan-U.S. trade conflicts”, which were published in Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies.
Finally, I was deeply touched by the amazing farewell party arranged for me with so much love and care. Once again, I’d like to take this opportunity to extend my heartfelt appreciation and felicitations to Iikka and your incredible team for invaluable support during my visit. I sincerely wish the 30th anniversary celebration a fruitful and memorable event! I’d also like to wish the BOFIT continuing success in the future endeavours and the many more brilliant milestones to come."