The three-year HSBC-Tsinghua "Financial Development in China's Rural Areas" Research Program has successfully concluded as the program workshop 2009 was held on June 13. The conclusion report of the program “Financial Development in China's Rural Areas” was released at the workshop.

He Jiankun, Vice Chairmen of the Council of Tsinghua University; Qian Yingyi, Dean of Tsinghua SEM; Duan Yingbi, President of China Foundation For Poverty Alleviation; Zang Jingfan, Director of China Banking Regulatory Commission 's cooperative finance supervision department; and Zheng Haiquan, the Executive of Asia of the HSBC Group were present at the workshop.

The HSBC-Tsinghua "Financial Development in China's Rural Areas" Research Program was launched in March, 2006. The HSBC has sponsored Tsinghua with a funding of RMB 10 million on this program which runs for three years. The aim of the program is to enable Tsinghua students to better understand the financial service in Chinese rural areas, thus contributing to the economic development of China's rural areas and the building of new socialist countryside. The program also provides opportunities for Tsinghua students to go deep into the countryside and approach rural citizens.

“Tsinghua SEM has been attaching great importance to students’ social practice, hoping the students could make their personal development combined with the national and social progress. The HSBC-Tsinghua program has yielded fruitful results after three-year efforts. Students have enhanced their practical capabilities and their sense of social responsibilities has been strengthened as well. Tsinghua SEM will continue such summer field trip in rural areas in future years”, said Qian Yingyi, Dean of Tsinghua SEM.

Zheng Haiquan expressed his thanks for the great influence to HSBC brought by this program, saying “we will never think about opening banks in China’s rural areas without this plan”; “we discussed the significance of this plan with Tsinghua faculty and student, and read the government policy on ‘agriculture, rural areas and farmers’. I think HSBC should do something for our country”.

Over the past three years, a total of 610 faculty members and students have participated in the program. Student collected a large amount of valuable data through their investigation and research on more than 5100 households, over 150 enterprises and more than 150 financial agencies; their trips have covered 16 provinces/regions, and 72 cities/counties respectively located in northwestern, northeastern and middle part of China. Their research reports have been collected in the book "HSBC-Tsinghua SEM undergraduate research program on financial issues in China's rural areas"(three volumns).

In April, 2008, the Tsinghua-HSBC Program and China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation joined forces to launch a Microcredit Foundation Pilot Program in Hebei Province. The program aims to provide financial assistance to poor people in the pilot region through microcredit service; help the farmer in pilot region enhance their self-reliance and self-developing capabilities by providing management, training and technology service for them; realize the fund's sustainable development by effective management; provide reliable data for Financial Development in China's Rural Areas Research Program; and serve as a social practice base for Tsinghua SEM.