More than 12,000 Beijing students have registered for the Masters of Business Administration (MBA) examinations this year, 30 percent more than last year.

The number is above 10,000 for the first time, and is increasing faster than all Master's degree majors, according to an official with the Beijing Education Commission.

"We need knowledge of modern business administration to meet the demands of economic growth and China's accession to the WTO," says Lin Hua, an MBA student at the prestigious Tsinghua University.

The demand for highly educated professionals and the high incomes paid to them are the major reasons for the interest in the MBA. Most Beijing students with an MBA diploma are sought after by businesses before graduation. Their annual salary is more than 100,000 yuan (US$12,000).

The MBA education market in Beijing is growing rapidly. At the end of July, the number of Chinese MBA graduates had reached 15,000, and more than 30,000 students were taking the courses.

Many well-off people who have years of working experience drive limousines to Tsinghua or Beijing universities to take the MBA courses. The young people are looking forward to better future.

(People's Daily December 14, 2001)