FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C)
April 25, 2007
Citibank & ET Business College Launch “The Next Generation of Elite Personal Finance Program 2007”
Hong Kong – Citibank and ET Business College (ETBC) jointly launched “The Next Generation of Elite Personal Finance Program” for the fourth consecutive year. This year the program extends beyond Hong Kong to also include Shanghai, with the objective of promoting and enhancing financial management knowledge for teenagers aged 18 – 22 in the two cities. More than 2,000 teenagers from the two cities will participate in this program. For the first time, the program will use BLOGS as a platform to conduct a competition for teenagers from the two cities. The winning team from Shanghai will be invited to Hong Kong for the final contest.
Mr. Ricky Lin, Director of Wealth Management, Citibank Global Consumer Group, said: “Citibank is committed to promoting financial education in order to raise the awareness of financial management in the community, particularly among teenagers. It is very important to start learning financial management at an early age to help individuals achieve their financial goals in life. Both Hong Kong and Shanghai are international cities and are increasingly becoming international financial hubs. Today’s breed of teenagers will significantly impact the two cities’ future development. Thus, Citibank has extended the program to Shanghai to better understand the habits and attitude towards financial management for teenagers in the two cities. This will help us better educate them on financial issues.”
Citibank and ETBC conducted an online survey on “Financial Quotient (FQ) of Teenagers in Hong Kong and Shanghai” in late March to gauge teenagers’ concept of financial management and spending pattern. A total of 861 teenagers, 441 and 420 from Hong Kong and Shanghai respectively, completed the online questionnaires. Findings show that teenagers of both cities understand the importance of financial management and a significant number have proper attitudes on financial management and spending behavior.
The survey highlights included:
- Approximately 66% of teenagers in Hong Kong believe it is good to start financial management during the primary or secondary school stages. Most Shanghai teenagers (74%) report that higher education or after graduation is the appropriate time to start financial management.
- The majority of teenagers in the two cities do not have a loan (68%) but some of them use credit cards (Hong Kong – 17%, Shanghai – 22%).
- About 13% of the respondents from Shanghai use the cash advance feature in credit cards.
- An estimated15% from Hong Kong use credit cards for purchases.
- 80% of Hong Kong teenagers and 75% of Shanghai teenagers believe that they would earn their first HK$1 million before the age of 35. Hong Kong teenagers generally view “first in saving and then by investing” as the most effective way to achieve this goal (44%). 40% of Shanghai teenagers viewed “running a business” as the most effective way to achieve this goal.
- Most of the teenagers would invest to “prepare for their future families” but Hong Kong teenagers are more focused on retirement. About 68% of Hong Kong teenagers and 30% of Shanghai teenagers perceive that investment is for their retirement stage.
- 51% of the Hong Kong teenagers and 68% of Shanghai teenagers believe that the reason for investment is “to earn extra money from their regular salary to enjoy their spending spree.”
- 14% of Hong Kong teenagers and 27% of Shanghai teenagers revealed that “investment is for fun”.
Ms. Fanny Pang, Executive Director of ET Business College, said, “The survey showed that teenagers in both cities are confident of their ability to accumulate wealth and they also understand the importance of financial management. Further, teenagers view investment as ‘fun’ and do not have regular saving patterns. In order to successfully achieve their financial goals, teenagers should learn to establish a sensible plan for spending, saving and investing, and assess their risk appetite to guide their investment decisions. Teenagers should not rely on ‘intuition’ or the ‘sixth sense’ when investing. It is very important for teenagers to develop financial management skills and establish a healthy attitude towards personal financial management.”
“The Next Generation of Elite Personal Finance Program 2007” is a program under the Citi Financial Education Series, and will last for four months. It consists of three key events: “Survey on Financial Quotient (FQ) of Teenagers in Hong Kong and Shanghai,” “The Hong Kong and Shanghai Junior Financial Expert Blog Contest,” and “Seminar on the Next Generation of Elite Personal Finance Program.”
The official website of “The Next Generation of Elite Personal Finance Program 2007” is www.etbc.com.hk/citibank/elite.
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Citi
Citi, the leading global financial services company, has some 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries, providing consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Citi's major brand names include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Citi Smith Barney and Banamex. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.