The couple who founded SOHO China, a high-profile Chinese property development company, are planning to set up a US$100 million scholarship fund for underprivileged Chinese students to study at leading universities across the globe.
The SOHO China scholarships initiative was launched this week by Zhang Xin, SOHO China’s chief executive, and her husband Pan Shiyi, with the signing of a US$15 million gift agreement with President Drew Faust of Harvard University in the US.
Zhang Xin, now a billionaire, previously worked in a factory in Hong Kong before gaining full scholarships to study in the UK at Cambridge University and the University of Sussex. After her studies, Zhang went on to become an investment banker at Goldman Sachs, ahead of founding SOHO China in Beijing. Speaking of the initiative, she says, “It’s my turn to be generous to others.”
Both Zhang Xin and Pan Shiyi have a long history of support for education, most notably with the establishment of the SOHO China Foundation, a philanthropic organization that, among many other schemes, helps to build schools in rural areas of western China, particularly the impoverished provinces of Qinghai and Gansu where Pan Shiyi grew up.
Nowadays the pair are key players in the Chinese property industry, have big followings on social media and, according to research firm Hurun Report, share an estimated wealth of US$3.6 billion.
SOHO China scholarships aim to support underprivileged Chinese students
Zhang Xin’s reasoning behind the US$100 million scholarship fund is the fact that many Chinese students who are chosen to study at leading universities in the US are already living within the country, sent there by parents who can afford to do so. And although Harvard University runs a need-blind admissions policy, Zhang Xin states that there are many bright Chinese students from poorer families who are often hesitant to apply to leading universities because of lack of funds.
The SOHO scholarship fund money is directed at these underprivileged families and, if the students are good enough, Zhang urges them to apply.
Harvard University is Zhang Xin’s first port of call
Thanks to its reputation as one of the world’s leading universities, Harvard University has long been a favored target for education philanthropists, particularly those from China, and is the university where President Xi Jinping’s daughter completed her undergraduate studies. While universities of this standing often offer a large amount of financial aid for underprivileged and underrepresented students, there are many others that simply don’t have the scholarship funds available.
With this in mind, Zhang Xin and her husband are planning to target a number of other institutions besides Harvard University. Their aim is to set up similar scholarship funds for underprivileged Chinese students in other leading universities in the US and across the world.
Currently, Chinese students make up the largest contingent of international students studying in the US, with more than 235,000 choosing to study there between 2012 and 2013 – a 20% increase on the previous academic year. As their numbers continue to climb, Zhang Xin sees it as vital that all Chinese students, regardless of their family circumstances, are given the opportunity for international study. Talking to The Wall Street Journal, Ms. Zhang Xin said, “Getting the best education should not only be for those who have the means – it should be for those with the talent.”