Recruiting in China

Wednesday April 5, 10:00 am ET

New Partnership With China Minsheng Bank Will Lead Branch Managers Through Comprehensive Management Development Program

PHILADELPHIA, April 5, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania has announced a new Executive Education program in China for China Minsheng Banking Corporation. The partnership was made official at a signing ceremony on March 21, 2006 in Beijing. China Minsheng Banking Corporation, the country's only privately-held bank, is expected to become one of the leading retail banks in China in the next few years.

Between March 2006 and May 2007, three cohorts of 60 senior executives from China Minsheng Banking Corporation will complete eight modules, spanning various aspects of management development, with specific reference to the banking industry. Examples of topics to be covered include:

-- strategy
-- leadership skills
-- financial innovation
-- international accounting standards

The program will be taught in Shanghai by Wharton faculty with sequential translation into Chinese. Participants will include branch managers from various locations of China Minsheng Banking Corporation.

``Wharton Executive Education is very excited about this partnership with China Minsheng Banking Corporation and we believe that this is the beginning of a long relationship,'' commented Peter Degnan, executive director of Wharton Executive Education. ``Wharton has significant expertise in delivering executive education for the banking industry. We look forward to this opportunity to support China Minsheng Banking Corporation's efforts in becoming a world-class retail bank.''

``The Wharton School brings to this task unparalleled intellectual resources, in the existing work of our faculty, and also in our eagerness to learn more about China's tremendous potential for growth and development,'' said Wharton Deputy Dean David Schmittlein at the launch ceremony.

Shao Ping, executive vice president of Minsheng Bank and president of the Minsheng Bank-Shanghai Branch, stated that the competition in the financial service sector of the 21st century lies in innovation and human resources. ``The Wharton-Minsheng program will build a new body of knowledge, widen strategic perspectives, and develop innovative thinking to make the core team of Minsheng Shanghai Branch outstanding among its competitors.''

``By the end of 2006, China will have to fulfill (its) WTO commitments for a more open banking sector,'' commented Xu Jie, general manager for international iusiness at Minsheng Shanghai Branch. ``I feel comforted that this Wharton program for senior executives can guide us in probing the right questions to arrive at the critical insights and answers as Minsheng looks to the future.''

Additionally, Wharton and Minsheng signed a strategic agreement to work together in the following areas: promotion of the Chinese edition of Knowledge at Wharton, the School's online business journal; Minsheng human resource development; and Wharton faculty research and consulting.

The Wharton School is committed to developing its relationships in China. It recently opened an office in Shanghai and launched the Chinese edition of Knowledge at Wharton.

About China Minsheng Banking Corporation

Founded on Jan. 12, 1996 in Beijing, China Minsheng Banking Corp., Ltd. (Minsheng) is the first national joint-stock commercial bank in China with stocks mainly held by non-state-owned enterprises. It also is a standard joint-stock financial institution set up strictly in accordance with the Company Law and the Commercial Bank Law, which distinguishes itself significantly from state-owned banks and other Chinese banks. Since its establishment 10 years ago, Minsheng has become well known to domestic and overseas financial markets.

About the Wharton School

The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania -- founded in 1881 as the first collegiate business school -- is recognized globally for intellectual leadership and ongoing innovation across every major discipline of business education. The most comprehensive source of business knowledge in the world, Wharton bridges research and practice through its broad engagement with the global business community. The school has more than 4600 undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, and doctoral students; more than 8,000 annual participants in executive education programs; and an alumni network of more than 81,000 graduates.