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Monday, 30 November 2009
College course to help groom China’s scions
A leading Chinese university has launched a special business programme to help groom the scions of China’s growing number of wealthy families into future tycoons, state media reported.
Tie-ups with top foreign schools to equip future tycoons with key business skills
SHANGHAI: A leading Chinese university has launched a special business programme to help groom the scions of China’s growing number of wealthy families into future tycoons, state media reported.
The Shanghai Jiao Tong University course, which started last week, features tie-ups with the famed West Point military academy in the US, Cambridge University, and business schools around Europe. Students learn about the finer points of leadership, managing family business, succession techniques, and corporate strategies, the reports said.
Nearly 30 people from Shanghai, Zhejiang, Guangdong and Beijing - China’s wealthiest cities and provinces - are enrolled in the course, Shanghai’s Youth Daily reported. Each of them pays about 340,000 yuan (S$69,000) for the 3 1/2-year course, including attachment stints overseas.
‘We believe that entrepreneurs can be trained with the proper approach. We hope to cultivate more entrepreneurs who can commit to the responsibilities of the family as well as society, while mastering advanced business knowledge and management skills,’ Mr. Wang Hongxin, the executive dean of the Overseas Education College at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, was quoted by the Xinhua news agency as saying. ‘I think this project will soon be popular as it’s very timely.’
From being virtually non-existent in 1978, China’s private sector has grown in the past 30 years to reach a combined value of 19 trillion yuan last year - contributing 65 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product - according to a report by China Central Television. Private companies also employ 75 per cent of the workforce, and pay about half of the government’s tax revenue.
Thus, as the first generation of entrepreneurs approaches retirement, it is important to ensure that the successors - known as fu er dai, or ‘rich second generation’ - are ready to take charge.
Mr. Niu Sifeng, 26, a participant in the Shanghai Jiao Tong University scion programme, is one such magnate in the making. On weekdays, he works at his family’s food company as an executive assistant. Weekends are spent attending classes.
‘I know many friends in my position are very hard workers. We actually pile more pressure on ourselves,’ Mr. Niu told Xinhua. ‘I hope to develop a more international vision through the study, which can contribute to my family business.’
Like Mr. Niu, most of the students are aged between 25 and 30, work as executives in their family business, and already have either bachelor’s or master’s degrees. Over half of them have studied overseas, officials at the university’s enrolment department said.
These driven heirs present a very different image from some of their generation. In recent years, the phrase ‘rich second generation’ has taken on a negative connotation as wealthy offspring hit the news with irresponsible behaviour such as drink driving.
And while some 90 per cent of China’s more than three million private enterprises are family businesses, only 30 per cent of those are passed down to the second generation, according to a report by the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce. And the percentage dwindles to only 10 to 15 per cent for third-generation-run companies.
Sociology professor Wen Jun of East China Normal University told Xinhua that courses tailored for scions will help to prepare the youngsters for an increasingly competitive market.
‘The education of entrepreneurs can’t rely only on family experiences. Self-development and professional institutions are necessary and important,’ he said.
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College course to help groom China’s scions
Tie-ups with top foreign schools to equip future tycoons with key business skills
SHANGHAI: A leading Chinese university has launched a special business programme to help groom the scions of China’s growing number of wealthy families into future tycoons, state media reported.
The Shanghai Jiao Tong University course, which started last week, features tie-ups with the famed West Point military academy in the US, Cambridge University, and business schools around Europe. Students learn about the finer points of leadership, managing family business, succession techniques, and corporate strategies, the reports said.
Nearly 30 people from Shanghai, Zhejiang, Guangdong and Beijing - China’s wealthiest cities and provinces - are enrolled in the course, Shanghai’s Youth Daily reported. Each of them pays about 340,000 yuan (S$69,000) for the 3 1/2-year course, including attachment stints overseas.
‘We believe that entrepreneurs can be trained with the proper approach. We hope to cultivate more entrepreneurs who can commit to the responsibilities of the family as well as society, while mastering advanced business knowledge and management skills,’ Mr. Wang Hongxin, the executive dean of the Overseas Education College at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, was quoted by the Xinhua news agency as saying. ‘I think this project will soon be popular as it’s very timely.’
From being virtually non-existent in 1978, China’s private sector has grown in the past 30 years to reach a combined value of 19 trillion yuan last year - contributing 65 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product - according to a report by China Central Television. Private companies also employ 75 per cent of the workforce, and pay about half of the government’s tax revenue.
Thus, as the first generation of entrepreneurs approaches retirement, it is important to ensure that the successors - known as fu er dai, or ‘rich second generation’ - are ready to take charge.
Mr. Niu Sifeng, 26, a participant in the Shanghai Jiao Tong University scion programme, is one such magnate in the making. On weekdays, he works at his family’s food company as an executive assistant. Weekends are spent attending classes.
‘I know many friends in my position are very hard workers. We actually pile more pressure on ourselves,’ Mr. Niu told Xinhua. ‘I hope to develop a more international vision through the study, which can contribute to my family business.’
Like Mr. Niu, most of the students are aged between 25 and 30, work as executives in their family business, and already have either bachelor’s or master’s degrees. Over half of them have studied overseas, officials at the university’s enrolment department said.
These driven heirs present a very different image from some of their generation. In recent years, the phrase ‘rich second generation’ has taken on a negative connotation as wealthy offspring hit the news with irresponsible behaviour such as drink driving.
And while some 90 per cent of China’s more than three million private enterprises are family businesses, only 30 per cent of those are passed down to the second generation, according to a report by the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce. And the percentage dwindles to only 10 to 15 per cent for third-generation-run companies.
Sociology professor Wen Jun of East China Normal University told Xinhua that courses tailored for scions will help to prepare the youngsters for an increasingly competitive market.
‘The education of entrepreneurs can’t rely only on family experiences. Self-development and professional institutions are necessary and important,’ he said.
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