Wealthy Asian families are increasingly sending their younger generations to study at homegrown universities, as the regionâs powerful economies present greater opportunities for business connections â and business expansion. Where once rich dynasties favoured American and European establishments for their childrenâs undergraduate and postgraduate studies, advisers report that many are now opting for the highly-ranked universities in mainland China, Hong Kong and the wider Asia Pacific region.
âThere is definitely a growing interest and trend for Asia to become a preferred destination for higher education,â says Winnie Qian Peng, director of the Roger King Center for Asian Family Business and Family Office at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
âFor a long time, Asia was far behind the US. Now itâs not,â Peng explains. âItâs therefore very natural that people would view Asia as a good place to study and to work, because that could be the future growth driver.â While the traditionally leading universities of the US and UK are still highly sought after by many wealthy Chinese families, for both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, Peng says a growing number of rich mainland Chinese families want their children to study at institutions in the region because they have become highly rated internationally. Hong Kong is home to five of the worldâs top 100 universities according to the latest edition of QSâs world university rankings, including HKUST, while mainland China has another five, including Tsinghua and Peking universities. Singapore has two in the top 100: the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University.
Peng points out that the number of applications for HKUSTâs Master of Science in Finance programme this year was double the pre-pandemic level â with many now coming from mainland China. âYou may find people with similar backgrounds from all those wealthy families, children studying together and becoming classmates,â she says. âThis becomes guanxi â a connection â people actually value this a lot, especially in the Asian context.â Children studying together and becoming classmatesâ.â.â.âthis becomes guanxi â a connection â people actually value this a lot, especially in the Asian context Winnie Qian Peng, director of the Roger King Center for Asian Family Business and Family Office at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology US-China tensions, which made it more difficult for some mainland Chinese students to apply to study in the US, have prompted more to look to Hong Kong and Singapore. Japan and South Koreaâs universities are also gaining momentum, Peng adds. Hong Kongâs low tax rates are a further attraction for global families. Meanwhile, Singapore remains a hotspot following an influx of Chinese investors during the pandemic â even though the city-state recently doubled its property tax for foreigners. It is particularly appealing to wealthy Chinese families who wish their second and third generations to gain overseas residency and passports.
Chi-man Kwan, chief executive of Raffles Family Office, a multi-family office dually based in Hong Kong and Singapore, says that, when it comes to deciding on a higher education destination, many wealthy parents will factor in where their family businesses are based, and where they plan to expand their business footprint. âIf I am an entrepreneur in Greater China, and I am looking to expand to south-east Asia, the best place to make my headquarters is very likely Singapore,â Kwan says. âIf you are a European family or an American family, [and] your family business is doing very wellâ.â.â.âeventually â maybe this generation but for sure the next generation â Asia and Greater China is definitely going to play a big part of it.â
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