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| Citi Foundation grants form a significant part of Citi's community investment in Asia Pacifiic. |
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| View Citi Foundation grants |
| Citi Malaysia's citizenship focus is on financial and economic education, youth education, and employee volunteerism |
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| Business Presence |
| Citi Malaysia was established in 1959 and locally incorporated in 1994. Its operations include corporate and investment banking, consumer banking and private banking. Citi Malaysia has more than 3,500 employees, 7 branches in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang and Johor, and offers offshore financial services from its office in Labuan. |
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| Citizenship History |
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Since 2004, Citi Malaysia has given RM2.8 million (US$860,000) for financial and economic education initiatives, benefiting 96,000 primary and secondary school students, 200 teachers, and 2,000 university students.
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Citi was the first bank in Malaysia to introduce large-scale financial education initiatives for youth including the Agent Penny series www.kidswealthfoundation.org, Making Sense of Money, and Citi Stock Challenge, in partnership with the Learning Society www.learningsociety.org and the Malaysian Invention and Design Society www.minds.org.my.
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In 2005, Citi and Bank Negara Malaysia jointly hosted the Financial Education Summit in Kuala Lumpur, which helped to set the road map for financial education initiatives in the
country.
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Citi also partners with the University of Malaya www.um.edu.my and Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman www.utar.edu.my to run the University Banking Series and the Citi Intervarsity Case Challenge, which help develop future business leaders in Malaysia. |
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| Nurturing the Next Generation of Malaysian Entrepreneurs |
| The importance of diverse and competitive small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is reflected in several national development agendas in Malaysia, and cultivating entrepreneurship from a young age is a key factor in ensuring the country's future sustainable economic growth. |
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| Although commerce is taught in schools, theory-based courses are not enough to provide young people with a proper understanding of how to set up and operate a business successfully. |
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Since 2004, Citi has partnered with the American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) www.amcham.com.my for the Young Enterprise (YE) Program and provided Citi Foundation grants worth RM380,000 (US$115,000). This project is designed to complement the efforts of Bank Negara Malaysia, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development to promote entrepreneurship in Malaysia.
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The YE Program involves teams of four students (aged 16) setting up and managing their own small businesses over a nine-month period at their respective schools while tapping into the knowledge and experiences of industry experts. In 2007, around 1,150 students from 38 schools in Penang and Klang Valley enrolled in the YE Program.
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| In addition to funding, 21 employees from Citi Malaysia's Small and Medium Enterprise business volunteered as advisors to students from three schools in Penang - Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) USJ13, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Katholik High, and Methodist Girls School. |
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| Each school had a minimum of seven advisors, and each advisor was responsible for up to 30 |
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| Students from SMK USJ13 in Penang get some hands-on experience during a chocolate factory visit that was part of the Citi-funded Young Enterprise Program in 2007. |
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| students. The Citi volunteers visited schools every fortnight over the nine-month period to give advice and help the students to develop sound business and marketing strategies. In addition, students were given training through workshops on financial management to gain a better understanding of the value of money and to learn about financial planning. |
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Puan Phang, a teacher from SMK Katholik High, said, "Through this project, the students are given a chance to apply their knowledge and creativity, while being mentored and advised by experienced professionals. This kind of practical experience is lacking in schools, so it's very refreshing for the students. It also helps them to develop critical thinking skills and devise innovative strategies that are crucial for future business success."
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In 2007, Citi engaged one of its clients, Beryl's Chocolate & Confectionary Sdn Bhd, in the project by organising a field trip for 30 students from SMK USJ13. The chocolate factory visit was not only tremendous fun, but also gave students valuable insights into Beryl's corporate culture, management structure, business operations, and marketing strategies.
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"We really enjoyed the trip to Beryl's. We saw for ourselves how an enterprise operates and that values such as determination, integrity and hard work are three very important ingredients for a successful business", said Sonia Soon of SMK USJ 13.
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| For more information about Citi Malaysia and its citizenship activities, please go to: www.citibank.com.my |
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