FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C)
April 25, 2007
Citibank Launches “The Adventures of Agent Penny, Featuring Will Power” in China
First-Ever Financial Education Comic Book for Primary School Students
Shanghai – Citibank, in partnership with The Learning Society, today announced the launch of “The Adventures of Agent Penny, Featuring Will Power,” the first-ever comic book designed to convey a correct understanding of the value of money and to promote financial literacy to primary school children aged 8-12 years old.
In this first of its kind financial education comic book, Agent Penny and her faithful sidekick Will Power go on a fun-filled adventure into the world of budgeting, saving and more.
To further bring the concepts of the comic book to life, Citibank also worked with a professional drama company to produce a play in Mandarin based on the stories in the comic book that depict scenarios illustrating the importance of saving and budgeting. The debut show was performed in the Lyceum Theatre following the launch event, attended by seniors from Citibank and Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, along with over 600 children from local primary schools.
Mr. Huang Xiaoguang, President of Citibank (China) Co. Ltd., said, “Children today tend to mature earlier and are more likely to be exposed to consumerism earlier in their lives. As a global leader in financial education, Citibank believes it is key to jumpstart their financial education by teaching them the correct concepts about money matters at an early age and help them become financially responsible individuals.
“Creating likeable comic book superheroes that the students can look up to helps break down the resistance and barriers to learning the concepts that seem to belong to the adults’ world only, such as saving up for a rainy day, building up personal finances, budgeting, and so on,“ Mr. Huang explained.
Funded by the Citi Foundation, the comic book is part of Citibank’s financial education series in China to promote financial literacy among youngsters of different ages. Citibank shares the belief that a strong financial education raises the quality of life for individuals, families and institutions, and strengthens communities around the world.
In this pilot launch in Shanghai, a total of 19 shows will be performed in Lyceum Theater during the upcoming May holiday, which is expected to attract more than 12,000 children. At the same time, 13,000 copies of the comic book have been printed and will be distributed to these children after the show.
Citibank also plans to roll out the program to other major cities including Beijing, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Chengdu, to further expand the reach of the program.
“The Adventures of Agent Penny, Featuring Will Power” was first launched in Singapore in February 2005. Today the program runs in Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Shanghai. For more information about the program, please visit www.kidswealthfoundation.org.
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Citi Foundation
The Citi Foundation focuses its grants primarily in three areas: financial education, educating the next generation, and building communities and entrepreneurs. Additional information may be found at www.citigroupfoundation.com.
Citi Financial Education Program
Based on the belief that knowledge is your greatest asset, the Citi Financial Education Program is a global, company-wide effort to identify, support and implement initiatives that help give individuals, families and communities the tools needed to make sound financial decisions. Citi’s ten-year, $200 million global commitment is focused in three areas: Personal, Small Business and Institutional Financial Education. Additional information about Citi Financial Education Program, including Citigroup Foundation guidelines, links and resources and the Citi Financial Education Program Curriculum and Facilitator’s Guide may be found at http://financialeducation.citigroup.com.
Citi China
Citi first established an office in China on May 15, 1902, in Shanghai. Today Citi is the premier foreign bank operating in China, offering the broadest product range of any foreign bank in China. Citi currently operates six corporate & investment bank branches - Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, and Chengdu, sixteen consumer bank outlets in Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Chengdu, and one representative office in Xiamen. With operations in more than 100 countries around the world, Citi is the most global of all foreign banks in China.
Learning Society
The Learning Society was established in 2000 as a public-service organization with the goals of promoting and supporting progressive educational programs for adults and children and engaging in charitable education and helping to administrate some of the Citigroup Foundation grants in financial education in the Asian region. More information can be found at: http://www.learningsociety.org.sg.