BEIJING, April, 2018 – Recently, Home Credit Consumer Finance Company (“Home Credit China”) reached cooperation with top Chinese universities, including Central University of Finance and Economics, Tsinghua University and Fudan University, by providing support for series of consumer finance related studies and projects. The cooperation is aimed to establish a solid ground for the sustainable development of consumer finance industry in China, while cultivating young talents to bring more innovative thinking into the industry.

After years’ exploration in China market, Home Credit China well understands that the sustainable development of the consumer finance industry would benefit each player in the field, and as a responsible consumer finance provider, Home Credit China should make its own contribution. Universities play a significant role in developing theoretical foundations for the sustainable industry development with their strong capacity of research and study. Meanwhile, the cooperation between university and companies can help incubate talents for the industry through offering opportunities of practice to students. Therefore, Home Credit China has been continuously seeking collaboration with Chinese universities in the past years.

In January 2018, Home Credit China and the Research Center of Financial Consumer Protection at Central University of Finance and Economics jointly launched the National Financial Literacy Program for Urban Young Professionals, aiming to explore a systematic methodology of improving financial literacy of urban young professionals specifically. The three-year program will develop well-tailored content, approaches and activities to improve financial literacy of the target group, to give directions to further financial literacy programs, and in turn to contribute to the sustainable development of financial industry.

In the same month, Tsinghua University’s Center for China in the World Economy (CCWE) released the Chinese Consumer Credit Market Research 2017, which was concluded based on the data and information provided by Home Credit China and other leading consumer finance companies in China. In this report, CCWE summed up the experience and challenges in the development of China’s consumer finance industry and explored the path of the healthy and sustainable growth in future. In 2017, CCWE started an in-depth research on China’s consumer credit market through comprehensive and systematic analysis of the market trends, product portfolio of consumer credit providers, policies and regulations, and emerging opportunities. As a pioneer and leader in China’s consumer finance industry, Home Credit China has provided valuable data and resources by virtue of its rich experience, best practices and huge database, which significantly contributed to the comprehensiveness and authority of the report.

The cooperation with Tsinghua University and Central University of Finance and Economics is not the first of this kind of efforts made by Home Credit China. While supporting the academic research and studies, the company pays special attention to young talent cultivation as well.

Home Credit China has a long-term cooperation with Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management, by jointly organizing the annual “Home Credit Cup” consumer finance practice competition to encourage college students to develop practical knowledge and experience about consumer finance. Every year, students from universities around China teamed up to carry out in-depth studies on their subjects about different aspects of consumer finance. The competition offers a platform for students to deepen their understanding and comprehension on consumer finance and enhance their academic accomplishment and research ability, which not only helps build a talent pool for relevant fields but also infuse fresh ideas and vitality into the consumer finance industry.

While building financial inclusiveness, Home Credit China also spares no effort to promote educational inclusiveness in underdeveloped areas. In 2017, Home Credit China started its cooperation with the School of Economics at Fudan University, by supporting the student volunteer teaching projects in remote villages in Fujian Province in July 2017 and Heilongjiang Province in January 2018. As volunteer teachers, the students from the School of Economics at Fudan University not only taught the basic courses like Chinese and math, but also included basic knowledge about finance and economics into the curriculum, so that the local students could develop basic understanding of modern finance and in future they could enjoy the convenience of financial services and protect their rights and interests.

Mr. Ondrej Frydrych, CEO of Home Credit China, says: “We are happy to see our cooperation with Chinese universities are generating positive results for the development of the consumer finance industry. Since Home Credit Group started its operation in China in 2007, we have been investing efforts not only in the growth of the company, but also in building a better and sustainable environment for the whole industry. We are honored to collaborating with the outstanding universities in China to build financial inclusiveness, and we will keep working to fulfill our mission and promote the industry development as always.”