FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C)
January 15, 2008
Hong Kong: Overwhelming Student Response to Citi Youth Investment Education Program 2008
Hong Kong – Launched on January 12, the Citi Youth Investment Education Program (CYIEP) 2008 has been very well received with applications from over 2,000 students from 152 secondary schools. This represents an 18% increase in participation from last year.
Sponsored by the Citi Foundation, the CYIEP is jointly organized by Citi, the School Economic Times, Learning Society, and co-organized by the HKSAR Education Bureau. As part of Citi's ongoing commitment to financial education, the program helps Hong Kong students in F.4-F.7 (aged 16-19) to improve their understanding of investment concepts and also test their investment skills.
"With the growing awareness of the need for financial education, Citi is glad to share its financial expertise, such as smart investing, with the wider community. We strongly believe that students should learn good money management habits at an early age so they are better able to make informed financial decisions throughout their lives," said Sim S. Lim, Citi Country Officer for Hong Kong.
The CYIEP 2008 includes three levels of activity run over five months.
Stage One: Students introduced to investment concepts and good practices at the CYIEP seminar held on January 12. Guest speakers included: Joe Lo, Senior Economist, Citi Hong Kong; Simon Lee, Lecturer, Department of Accountancy and Law, Hong Kong Baptist University; and Arthur Shek, Associate Publisher of the Hong Kong Economic Times. Seminar topics included the fundamentals of financial management, financial markets and stock analysis.
Divided into six groups, the students will then attend one of the CYIEP workshops on January 19, January 26 and February 2. Students will learn about investment research methods and analytical skills through investment portfolio case studies.
Stage Two: Following the workshops, students will have the chance to put their learning into practice through an online trading game. The student teams will be given stock trading accounts to trade online from February 4 to April 25. In this period, they'll be able to trade Hang Seng Index (HSI) and China Enterprises Index (CEI) stocks, Hang Sang H shares Exchange-traded Fund (ETF) (2828) and Tracker Fund (2800). As part of the program, students will be required to explain their trading strategy.
Stage Three: The highlight is the Financial Quotient (FQ) event in May that combines a workshop and awards ceremony. FQ not only tracks financial knowledge, but also the ability for people to apply it in real life. At the event, financial management experts will evaluate the performance of the students during the program and also share their investment experiences.
The top performing teams in terms of analysis and profit will be awarded certificates and prizes. For full details of the Citi Youth Investment Education Program 2008, please visit www.econschool.com/invest0708.
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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, Smith Barney and Banamex. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.
Citi Foundation
The Citi Foundation supports organizations that help people improve their lives, businesses to grow, and communities to prosper around the world. The Citi Foundation focuses its grants primarily in three areas: financial education, educating the next generation, and building communities and entrepreneurs. Additional information can be found at http://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 Citi Foundation guidelines, links and resources and the Citi Financial Education Program Curriculum and Facilitator's Guide may be found at http://financialeducation.citigroup.com.
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. The current focus of our efforts is in early childhood education and teacher development and financial literacy projects with corporate partner Citi Foundation within the Asia region. More information can be found at www.learningsociety.org.