Fury as Chinese bank offers to help rich clients' kids gain top internships
A Chinese bank has triggered outrage by offering to help its rich customers secure prestigious internships for their children, prompting a heated debate about privilege and inequality on social media.
Industrial Bank, a regional lender from Fujian province, said in a now-deleted post on the social platform WeChat that it could arrange for its clients' offspring to gain work experience at top firms including Google and JP Morgan, according to screenshots circulating online.
To qualify for the scheme, households would need to deposit large new sums with the bank: 10 million yuan (US$1.4 million) for non-private banking customers and 5 million yuan for private banking clients, the post added.
The scheme quickly went viral and triggered intense backlash on Chinese social media. The reaction has been particularly fierce given China's
sky-high youth unemployment rate and a spate of recent scandals involving
nepotism in the job market
On Tuesday, Industrial Bank announced it had paused the offer and apologised for any 'misunderstandings caused by incomplete descriptions', according to the state-run news outlet Securities Times.
In the statement, the company claimed it had not directly arranged internships for its customers' children, but had merely intended to refer them to external recruitment consultants, Securities Times reported.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
Xia Baolong holds closed-door talks with Hong Kong business leaders during visit
Beijing's top official overseeing Hong Kong affairs held a three-hour closed-door face-to-face discussion with local tycoons and business leaders during the third day of his inspection trip to the city on Friday. Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, reportedly visited Ocean Park in the afternoon before checking out Lamma Island. The exchanges on Friday morning, held at the government headquarters in Admiralty, marked the first time since last November that Xia had direct talks with local business elites in Shenzhen. Tycoons at the meeting included Peter Lee Ka-kit, chairman and managing director of Henderson Land Development; Gordon Wu Ying-sheung, chairman of Hopewell Holdings; Stephen Ng Tin-hoi, chairman and managing director of the Wharf Holdings; and Sonia Cheng Chi-man, executive director of New World Development. Wingco Lo Kam-wing, president of the Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong, and Jonathan Choi Koon-shum, chairman of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, were also among those seen streaming into the venue. Financial sector elite, including Carlson Tong Ka-shing, chairman of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, and Haywood Cheung Tak-hay, chairman of Hong Kong Gold Exchange, also showed up.
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
Chinese and EU trade officials hold talks after von der Leyen outburst
Chinese commerce minister Wang Wentao and European trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic held a video call on Thursday, as the two sides strive to keep a lid on simmering economic tensions and pave the way for a leaders' summit in Beijing. Advertisement 'Both sides agreed to work together to lay the groundwork for key economic and trade items on the China-EU agenda this year,' the Ministry of Commerce said in an online statement released on Friday. The two officials discussed a series of topics during the call, including export controls, market access, and the European Union's tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles , it added. The call came just days after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivered a hawkish critique of China during the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Canada on Monday. During a session on the global economy at the G7 summit, which was also attended by US President Donald Trump, von der Leyen accused Beijing of offering 'massive subsidies with the aim to dominate manufacturing and supply chains', calling it a 'distortion with intent'. Advertisement She also raised concerns over China's industrial overcapacity and accused Beijing of 'weaponising' its dominant position in the rare earth supply chain to 'undermine competitors in key industries'.
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
China grants Hong Kong new yuan quota as Payment Connect kicks off for 315 million users
China's financial authorities have granted Hong Kong residents a new daily remittance quota for the yuan, as a cross-border electronic transactions service prepares to kick off, linking 315 million users between the city and the mainland. Starting from noon on Sunday, the 17 million registered users of Hong Kong's Faster Payment System (FPS) will be able to remit up to HK$10,000 (US$1,282) per day for each bank account to 298 million users on the mainland's Internet Banking Payment System (IBPS) via the Payment Connect. The scheme, supported by six banks each on the mainland and in Hong Kong, will let users transfer money across borders to pay for travel, meals, education, medical services, salaries and other daily activities, according to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA). 'We will continue to explore other use cases,' said Nelson Chow, the HKMA's executive director for financial infrastructure, during a briefing on Friday. 'The infrastructure of cross-border payment is now up, like a highway for payments. We just need to continue to explore more use cases in future.' Eddie Yue Wai-man, the chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), during the launch of the Payment Connect scheme with the People's Bank of China in Shanghai on June 20, 2025. Photo: PBOC The scheme, in development since August last year by the HKMA and the People's Bank of China , will revolutionise cross-border remittances for individuals and businesses, while boosting Hong Kong's status as an international financial centre and a trading hub for offshore yuan, said the HKMA's chief executive Eddie Yue Wai-man. Mainland residents are still limited to US$50,000 in annual overseas remittances, while Hong Kong residents are subject to an 80,000 yuan (US$11,129) ceiling in daily transfers to accounts of the same name on the mainland. Using Payments Connect, transfers for medical bills, tuition fees or daily needs can be unlimited. Employers can also remit salaries across borders, subject to pre-approvals by banks, said Stephen Pang, the HKMA's senior manager for financial infrastructure development.
