WeiTheng Lau

Dr. WeiTheng Lau

orcid

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

8Years (2019-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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13 March 2025 in Sustainability
Verified
Journal Article
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TLTing Li
Ting Li
WLWeiTheng Lau
WeiTheng Lau
MYMohamed Hisham Dato Haji Yahya
Mohamed Hisham Dato Haji Yahya
The integration of blockchain (BC), artificial intelligence (AI), and green finance (GF) to promote sustainable investments and tackle environmental issues is examined in this study. By employing sophisticated analytical methods, the study seeks to pinpoint the main forces behind GF growth, especially in the field of renewable energy. To guarantee reliable statistical analysis, financial data from Taiwanese companies listed on the stock exchange between 2000 and 2020 are examined using the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM). Furthermore, to make use of AI’s potential to pinpoint the key elements affecting GF development and investment, attention-based convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are used. The links between GF, BC, and AI are analyzed and visualized using a novel method called the Financial Filtered Graph (FFG). The results of the study demonstrate that by increasing the precision of investment forecasts and identifying critical factors that affect GF growth, AI-driven solutions can greatly improve the sustainability of green finance strategies. The suggested methodology effectively supports sustainable investment decisions, as evidenced by its remarkable 98.8% classification accuracy. According to the findings, integrating AI and BC has a lot of potential to enhance green finance’s accountability, transparency, and decision-making processes, all of which will support long-term economic and environmental sustainability.


9 April 2024 in The Economics and Finance Letters
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Journal Article
Open access
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YNYee Ling Ng
Yee Ling Ng
WLWeiTheng Lau
WeiTheng Lau
WSWei Ni Soh
Wei Ni Soh
NRNazrul Hisyam Ab Razak
Nazrul Hisyam Ab Razak
The purpose of this study is to examine whether ESG plays a positive moderating role in the negative relationship between financial constraint, the Kaplan-Zingales (KZ) and Whited and Wu (WW) indexes, and firm performance: Return of Asset (ROA) and Return of Equity (ROE). This study uses information from the Thomas Refinitiv database, which covers the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN-5): Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines non-financial firms from 2011 to 2019. Fixed-effects (FE) are used as the baseline model, and random-effects (RE) act as the robustness of methods. The results show that the main effect of financial constraints is to act as an obstacle to firm performance. However, the marginal effects of financial constraints can be improved in the presence of ESG. Firms with a high ESG score are better at alleviating the adverse impact of financial constraints as compared to those with a low ESG score. When the ESG score is further broken down into three sub-pillar dimensions, the S-score is of the greatest magnitude in its moderating role in the ESG breakdown. The findings have important implications: effective financial support and the source of funding from the government are crucial to supporting firm performance. ESG-compliant strategies should also be formulated to encourage ESG disclosure, which leads to increased capital allocation efficiency. The firms should be stringent on S-score, which helps drive the company as employees respond by giving their best. Governments and firms need to deploy ESG guidelines in order to succeed in thriving competitive firm performances.

28 March 2024 in Comparative Economic Research. Central and Eastern Europe
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Journal Article
Open access
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YNYee Ling Ng
Yee Ling Ng
WLWeiTheng Lau
WeiTheng Lau
WSWei Ni Soh
Wei Ni Soh
NRNazrul Hisyam Ab Razak
Nazrul Hisyam Ab Razak
The paper assesses the moderating role of firm age in the relationship between financial constraints, as measured by the KZ index, and the WW index on three alternative measures of firm growth (Asset growth, ROA, and ROE) in the ASEAN–6 region. This study employs a sample of ASEAN–6 listed firms over the period 2009–2019 using Fixed Effects and the System GMM model. Firm age is found to interact positively with financial constraints in their effects on firm growth. The negative impact of financial constraints on firm growth is less severe with older age firms.

18 June 2025 in International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues
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Journal Article
Open access
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WLWeiTheng Lau
WeiTheng Lau
NRNazrul Hisyam Ab Razak
Nazrul Hisyam Ab Razak
YCYik-Khoon Chang
Yik-Khoon Chang
SNSin-Huei Ng
Sin-Huei Ng
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors are increasingly recognized as critical to corporate sustainability and value creation. Such ESG concerns have also sparked extensive research interest among academia and investors. This study explores the relationship between ESG performance and firm value, emphasizing the moderating role of cash flow in the Asia Pacific region. Using ESG pillar scores for the years 2017-2023 from 14 countries, the panel data regression reveals a nuanced impact of ESG initiatives on the performance of about 2000 firms. Firms with strong cash flow consistently experience a positive value-enhancing effect from ESG efforts, while those with weaker cash flows often encounter a value-diminishing impact. The environmental pillar drives value enhancement predominantly in emerging markets, whereas the social and governance pillars demonstrate consistent positive effects across sub-regions under favorable financial conditions. These findings highlight the conditional nature of ESG's influence, suggesting that financial health is a critical determinant of the effectiveness of ESG initiatives. This study underscores the need for integrating ESG considerations with firm-specific financial conditions to achieve sustainable value creation. It aims to contribute to the ongoing discourse on ESG by providing practical guidance tailored to the dynamics of the Asia Pacific market.

1 January 2019 in Jurnal Pengurusan
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
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MBMohd Ashari Bakri
Mohd Ashari Bakri
BNBany Ariffin Amin Noordin
Bany Ariffin Amin Noordin
MTMatemilola Bolaji Tunde
Matemilola Bolaji Tunde
WLWeiTheng Lau
WeiTheng Lau
Moderating Effects of Governance Quality on the Relationship between Stock Liquidity and Dividend in Emerging Market Countries