Student Finance for Chinese Universities
Chinese universities have recently started to attract a lot of students from abroad. The trend began in the 1950s and recent statistics shows that there were close to 410000 students studying in China as at end of the last decade. There were students from 125 countries and regions. There are undergraduates, postgraduates, doctoral students, trainees, scholars, and students pursuing research coming to China. China is one of the attractive education hubs. Infact, statistics shows that China was the 10th most popular destination for US students going abroad and third most popular non-western nation. However, foreign students cannot be employed in China while at study. Therefore, students must be able to support themselves and arrange for student finance before enrolling in a Chinese university. If you are one of them, how do you go about getting China university student finance? Read on.
Government help to students seeking finance to study in a Chinese University
Good news is that the Chinese government is encouraging its colleges and universities to expand the scholarship amounts and widen the horizon of fellowships and scholarships to foreign students and China university student finance. They are also encouraged to collaborate with private sector and come up with attractive scholarships for outstanding foreign students.
Already the Chinese government has approved finance worth $362 million to around 350,000 students looking to study in Chinese universities since the introduction of subsidized loans since 1999. The extent of subsidy provided by the government is 50% of the interest amount which is paid by the government and the remaining is paid by the students along with the principal.
However the government itself recognizes that the percentage of students who actually got the loan approved stands at 31.2% which is low and the government would like to grow this figure. The main cause for the low percentage is attributed to the fact that the private sector banks are not too keen on providing finance to students who want to study in Chinese universities as the loans are not required to be backed by collateral. Whether loans will be given out or not is determined based on the credit worthiness of the students and the absence of collateral is a deterrent in providing finance. As of now the People’s Bank of China has appointed four main commercial banks to provide finance to Chinese students which are Bank of China, China Construction Bank, the Agricultural Bank of China and Industrial and Commercial Bank of china.
However such finance schemes which look at subsidizing interest repayments are at present only available to Chinese students who are Chinese citizens and have passed the requisite academic examinations
I am not Chinese, can I still get finance to study in a Chinese University or China university student finance?
There are finance programs available to international students who want to study in a Chinese University. One of the popular sources which the students are using today is to go to china by enrolling in an exchange program in a university that offers this option. Normally a host of universities have exchange programs going in which students from their universities visit universities abroad and students from universities abroad come and study in their colleges. These schemes exist not only for students who want to study but also for students interested in internship and working in these countries.
The main requirements of getting finance are credit worthiness, passing the requisite tests and getting through interviews and in some cases having collateral against the loan as well. However in the case of China some universities additionally put up the condition that the students should have a working knowledge of Chinese or Mandarin to be eligible.
There is a growing number of American students who are now interested in studying in China while in the past this was to gain exposure culturally and most of the students were of Chinese origin born in American the trend is changing now. More and more students are coming to China not only to gain cultural knowledge but also advance their careers professionally when they get back home. As a result commercial banks have also designed specialized finance programs with the needs of the students in mind and it is becoming increasingly easy for students to find such loans as China’s Universities are becoming popular as an international destination for further education.
Why Early-Stage Startup Companies Should Hire a Lawyer
Many startup companies believe that they do not need a lawyer to help them with their business dealings. In the early stages, this may be true. However, as time goes on and your company grows, you will find yourself in situations where it is necessary to hire a business lawyer and begin to understand all the many benefits that come with hiring a lawyer for your legal needs.
The most straightforward approach to avoid any future legal issues is to employ a startup lawyer who is well-versed in your state’s company regulations and best practices. In addition, working with an attorney can help you better understand small company law. So, how can a startup lawyer help you in ensuring that your company’s launch runs smoothly?
They Know What’s Best for You
Lawyers that have experience with startups usually have worked in prestigious law firms, and as general counsel for significant corporations.
Their strategy creates more efficient, responsive, and, ultimately, more successful solutions – relies heavily on this high degree of broad legal and commercial knowledge.
They prioritize learning about a clients’ businesses and interests and obtaining the necessary outcomes as quickly as feasible.
Also, they provide an insider’s viewpoint and an intelligent methodology to produce agile, creative solutions for their clients, based on their many years of expertise as attorneys and experience dealing with corporations.
They Contribute to the Increase in the Value of Your Business
Startup attorneys help represent a wide range of entrepreneurs, operating companies, venture capital firms, and financiers in the education, fashion, finance, health care, internet, social media, technology, real estate, and television sectors.
They specialize in mergers and acquisitions as well as working with companies that have newly entered a market. They also can manage real estate, securities offerings, and SEC compliance, technology transactions, financing, employment, entertainment and media, and commercial contracts, among other things.
Focusing on success must include delivering the highest levels of representation in resolving the legal and business difficulties confronting clients now, tomorrow, and in the future, based on an unwavering dedication to the firm’s fundamental principles of quality, responsiveness, and business-centric service.
Wrapping Up
All in all, introducing a startup business can be overwhelming. You’re already charged with a host of responsibilities in which you’re untrained as a business owner. Legal problems are notoriously difficult to solve, and interpreting “legalese” is sometimes required. Experienced business lawyers know these complexities and can help you navigate them to avoid stumbling blocks.
Although many company owners wait until the last minute to deal with legal issues, they would benefit or profit greatly from hiring an experienced startup lawyer even before they begin. Reputable startup lawyers can give essential legal guidance, assist entrepreneurs in avoiding legal hazards, and improve their prospects of becoming a successful company.
Think Twice Before Getting Financial Advice From Your Bank
This startling figure comes from a recent review of the financial advice offered from the big four banks by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC).
Even more startling: 10% of advice was found to leave investors in an even worse financial position.
Through a “vertically integrated business model”, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, Westpac, ANZ and AMP offer ‘in house’ financial advice, and collectively, control more than half of Australia’s financial planners.
It’s no surprise ASIC’s review found advisers at these banks favoured financial products that connected to their parent company, with 68% of client’s funds invested in ‘in house’ products as oppose to external products that may have been on the firms list.
Why the banks integrated financial advice model is flawed
It’s hard to believe the banks can keep a straight face and say they can abide by the duty for advisers to act absolutely in the best interests of a client.
Under the integrated financial advice model, there are layers of different fees including adviser fees, platform fees and investment management fees adding up to 2.5-3.5%
The typical breakdown of fees is usually as follows: an adviser charge of 0.8% to 1.1%, a platform fee of between 0.4% and 0.8%, and a managed fund fee of between 0.7% and 2.1%. These fees are not only opaque, but are sufficiently high to limit the ability of the client to quickly earn real rates of return.
Layers of fees placed into the business model used by the banks means there is not necessarily an incentive for the financial advice arm to make a profit, because the profits can be made in the upstream parts of the supply chain through the banks promoting their own products.
This business model, however, is flawed, and cannot survive in a world where people are demanding greater accountability for their investments, increased transparency in relation to fees and increased control over their investments.
It is noteworthy that the truly independent financial advisory firms in Australia that offer separately managed accounts have done everything in their power to avoid using managed funds and keep fee’s competitive.
The banks have refused to admit their integrated approach to advice is fatally flawed. When the Australian Financial Review approached the Financial Services Council (FSC), a peak body that represents the ‘for-profit’ wealth managers, for a defence if the layered fee arrangements, a spokesman said no generalisations could be made.
There are fundamental flaws in the advice model, and it will be interesting to see what the upcoming royal commission into banking will do to change some of the contentious issues surround integrated financial advice.
Many financial commentators are calling for a separation of financial advice attached to banks, with obvious bias and failure to meet the best interests of clients becoming more apparent.
Chris Brycki, CEO of Stockspot, says “investors should receive fair and unbiased financial advice from experts who will act in the best interests of their client. What Australians currently get is product pushing from salespeople who are paid by the banks.”
Brycki is calling for structural reform to fix the problems caused by the dominant market power of the banks to ensure that consumers are protected, advisers are better educated and incentives are aligned.
Stockspot’s annual research into high-fee-charging funds shows thousands of customers of banks are being recommended bank aligned investment products despite the potential of more appropriate alternatives being available.