Research from a recently released HSBC report entitled “The Value of Education: Higher and Higher” reveals how parents’ attitudes towards and spending on their children’s education varies across the globe. In particular, it looks at parents’ attitudes towards university education abroad and online education, as well as their spending and investment in education. The following is a review and summary of core data and conclusions.

This research also shows that Chinese parents are among the most committed to their children’s education when compared to parents around the globe. They are among the most willing to support their children’s education up to the post-graduate level and spend as much on average as parents from several much wealthier nations.

In addition, the report reveals broad trends regarding parents’ attitude towards education abroad, online education, and education spending globally.

Chinese parents are broadly committed to ensuring a good education for their child; to this end, they are much more likely than average to prepare financially for significant education expenditures, consider post-graduate education for their children, and pay for private schooling. They are among the most willing to send their children abroad for university, as well.

Attitudes towards online education

Global attitudes towards online education are mixed, with most parents simultaneously expressing some willingness to consider an online degree because of the cost savings and increased flexibility…

… And expressing caution at the potential downsides of such degrees, including the lack of interaction with peers and professors, limits on networking opportunities, and questions about suitability for some subjects.

Nonetheless, most parents, in the end, say that they would consider an online university degree for their child, with the highest percentages coming from large developing economies such as India, Indonesia, and China.

Beyond school: Educational experiences

Beyond a normal university education, many parents would consider allowing children to engage in other related experiences, such as study abroad programs, school exchanges, or work placement programs.

Attitudes towards education abroad

By far the most common such “experience”, however, is allowing a child to go to a full university program abroad, something widely considered by parents globally, most especially in the developing world.

Many parents are concerned about the costs of such an education, not just monetary but also in terms of safety and homesickness, but against this, they must weigh benefits including allowing their children to acquire new language skills, experience working abroad, and greater confidence and independence, as well as exposure to foreign cultures.

Many parents have specific universities in mind when they consider sending their children abroad; in evaluating these schools, they most frequently consider the quality of the teaching and education, the universities’ prestige, and post-graduation employment opportunities.

Additionally, parents who send their children abroad for university have clear preferences for certain countries; the top four common destinations are the four developed nations of the Anglosphere, with the US in the lead. Closely trailing them are other major developed economies, with Germany, France, and Japan among them.

Despite the doubts discussed above, a majority of parents in developing countries would consider sending their children abroad for university. Meanwhile, parents in developed nations are less likely to want their children to go abroad for university, possibly because they have fewer qualms about the quality of the education available at home.

Majors, post-graduate education, and careers

Parents show a strong preference for majors such as medicine, business, finance, and engineering, which seems linked to their belief that education is a route to better employment prospects. Chinese parents are most likely to prefer business and finance majors, with a full 20% responding in favor.

Parents’ belief in the value of education in the job market is especially strong regarding post-graduate education; over 90% of Chinese parents think post-graduate education will provide better job opportunities to their children, and 95% would consider sending their children, among the highest percentage of any nation’s parents.

Educational Spending

Globally, the average parent spends some US$44,221 on a child’s education, split roughly evenly between primary, secondary, and university education.

Average spending among Chinese parents is very close to the global average, despite China being much less wealthy on average than the other countries surveyed. For example, Chinese parents were apt to spend more on their children’s education than parents in Australia, the UK, Canada, or France, and only marginally less than those in the US and Taiwan.

Meanwhile, culturally Chinese Hong Kong topped the list, with the average parent spending more than US$130,000 on a child’s education.

Beyond their finances, parents also make other sacrifices to support a child’s education, including reducing their “me-time”, cutting back on holidays, and changing their working styles and times.

Private education is also very common, especially in the developing world, and most especially in the Sinosphere. Parents in developed economies are less likely to pay private tuition, preferring public schools, but parents in developing economies may send their children to private school in the absence of a strong public school option.

In China, public schools are generally of reasonable quality, but parents pay for private tutors and after-school programs to give their children a leg-up in the cutthroat competition for university spots and jobs.

Education: An investment in the future

Most parents invest in education for their children because they’re optimistic about their children’s prospects and want them to have a better life than they otherwise would.

In part because the competition is so fierce, developing world parents have high aspirations for their children, that they will beat the average and have a better future than their peers.

Investment in education, for these parents, is a way to help their children achieve this brighter future.

Google launched Android Pay yesterday in Hong Kong to speed through purchases in stores and in apps.

Hongkongers can now use Android Pay at over 5,000 locations in Hong Kong where contactless payments are accepted, including stores such as at 7-Eleven, Circle K, Fortress, Mannings, Maxim’s Cakes, MX, McDonald’s, Pacific Coffee, PARKnSHOP, SmarTone, Watsons, Wellcome and more. Android Pay also stores your gift cards, loyalty cards and special offers right on your phone.

Android Pay works with MasterCard and Visa cards from BEA, DBS, Dah Sing Bank, Hang Seng Bank, HSBC, and Standard Chartered Bank in Hong Kong.

The number of Chinese tourists traveling abroad increased 19.5% YoY to 120 million in 2015 and the number was 13 times higher than that of 1998 according to China National Tourism Administration. Data of Feng Li & Fung Group Research Center showed that consumption of Chinese tourists totaled US$229 billion in 2015.

The number of Chinese visitors to Singapore increased by 20% to 2.07 million person-trips in 2015 and the number is expected to increase to 2.35 million this year. The growth rate will slow down according to HSBC.

In contrast, Chinese tourists visiting Japan and Thailand are expected to increase by 46.2% and 41.7% respectively in 2016 which will maintain a strong growth rate in visitor arrivals.

Singapore was not a good desirable place for Chinese tourist doing shopping compared with Japan and Korea. According to a research covering 300,000 Chinese social media users by HSBC, the United States (46%) was the most desirable tourism locations for Chinese people, followed by Japan (26%) and Hong Kong (21%). Only 5% of respondents chose Singapore.

Chinese tourists were more likely to buy luxury products, cosmetics, clothing and watches in those countries according to 6Estates. And they preferred to buy local brands, such as Charles & Keith in Singapore, Uniqlo in Japan, Sasa in Hong Kong, and Coach in the US.

Also read: China Outbound Travelers Shopping Overview 2015

Purchasing managers index (PMI) data, released by HSBC covering both manufacturing and services, signalled a further expansion of Chinese business activity in September 2014.

HSBC’s PMI data for September signalled slightly weaker expansions of both manufacturing and services business activity. And, the latest PMI data indicated the weakest increase in manufacturing output in the current four-month sequence of expansion. Meanwhile, service sector business activity growth eased from August’s recent peak but remained solid overall. The latter was signalled by the HSBC China Services Business Activity Index posting at 53.5 in September, down from 54.1 in August.

New business intakes continued to increase across both the manufacturing and service sectors in September. However, the rate of new order growth at manufacturing firms was only moderate. Meanwhile, new order books expanded at a solid pace at service sector companies, despite the rate of increase easing since August’s 19-month high.

Staffing levels rose for the thirteenth successive month at service providers in September, while workforce numbers declined modestly at manufacturers. The rate of job creation at service sector firms was similar to that recorded in the preceding three months and moderate overall. At the composite level, employment declined for the second month in a row, albeit marginally.

Backlogs of work rose for the fourth month running at manufacturers in September. In contrast, unfinished business declined for a third consecutive month at service sector firms. That said, the rate of backlog depletion eased from August’s 21-month record and was only modest. As a result, unfinished work volumes were unchanged from August at the composite level.

Service sector firms in China saw a further rise in average input costs in September. However, the rate of inflation was moderate and the weakest since April. Meanwhile, cost burdens faced by manufacturers fell at a solid pace.

Consequently, input costs declined for the first time in five months at the composite level, though only slightly. Latest data signalled divergent output prices trends across the manufacturing and service sectors, with charges falling markedly at manufacturing firms, while service providers raised their tariffs for the second straight month. That said, the rate of inflation was similar to August and only fractional.

At the composite level, output prices fell modestly over the month. Service providers were optimistic towards the 12-month business outlook, with the degree of positive sentiment rising to a six-month high in September. Moreover, 31% of panellists forecast increased activity over the next year.