TOPMBA
City Guide
MBA in Hong Kong
Hong Kong, a small pinprick next to the colossus that is China accommodates several top-ranked business schools. A former British colony and, since 1997, afforded the status of Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (HKSAR), Hong Kong is often viewed as a gateway between East and West.
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Why an MBA in Hong Kong?
With its state-of-the-art business infrastructure and a buoyant financial sector, including one of the highest concentrations of banks in the world, Hong Kong offers excellent employment opportunities for those seeking to work within the finance and consulting industries.
In the most recent edition of the QS Applicant Survey, Hong Kong displaced Japan to take a comfortable seat among the world's top 20 MBA destinations. This trend towards Hong Kong as a popular destination for MBA students is approved by academics who in QS's latest Global 200 report gave institutions in the region the highest average academic score among all entrants from Asia-Pacific, beating Singapore, mainland China, Australia and India in the process.
For a closer look at three of the business schools which leverage this first-rate MBA education, please click on the 'top business schools' tab.
Top business schools in Hong Kong
HKUST Business School
HKUST Business School, like the two business schools yet to be presented, vigorously targets international students with over 90% of its MBA cohort coming from overseas. Ranked third in Asia-Pacific, by QS’s latest account, HKUST offers a leading business learning center. A total of 80% of HKUST’s recent MBA graduates chose to remain in Asia once they had completed their MBA, with 36% of graduates staying on in Hong Kong.
If feeling constrained to Asia is a worry, HKUST also offers an executive MBA (EMBA) in conjunction with the US’s Kellogg School of Management, which invites senior executives (with 10 or more years of prior work experience) to take electives across six continents.
The Faculty of Business and Economics, University of Hong Kong (HKU)
Founded in 1911, HKU is the oldest university in Hong Kong. The Faculty of Business and Economics offers a full-time intensive MBA program over the course of 14 months, and in which electives towards the end of the program can be pursued at London Business School, Columbia Business School or Fudan University. A part-time MBA – which can be taken in different formats in two to four years – is also available. HKU's faculty in the disciplines of business and economics vie, with its regional counterparts, to integrate international corporate culture and practices with regional expertise.
Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Business School
CUHK is the second-oldest university in Hong Kong and CUHK Business School is the first to have offered MBA and executive MBA programs in the region. As the Hong Kong veteran of MBA offerings, CUHK boasts an alumni network of over 32,000 members – the region’s largest. With the slogan, 'Asian focus, global impact,' for its full-time MBA, CUHK, like its counterparts above embraces a largely international cohort. The university also proudly announces that it is the first to offer a Hong Kong MBA with an entrepreneurship concentration, providing courses that focus on business startups and venture capital.
Further opportunities to study an MBA in Hong Kong
The three business schools above do not stand in isolation. If your goal is to study an MBA in Hong Kong and to be an integrated member of the region's dynamic business center, further MBA offerings are available at City University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Hong Kong Baptist University.
See the 'MBA careers and ROI' tab to get an idea of how a Hong Kong MBA at a top business school can boost your employment prospects.
Business schools in Hong Kong and ROI
In the QS Applicant Survey 2015, the tally of respondents considering studying their MBA in Europe was equal to those considering Hong Kong. This is most likely due to Hong Kong's position as a hub with the Asia-Pacific region, and to the fact that international MBA students are so strongly embraced by its leading institutions.
According to the QS TopMBA.com Jobs & Salary Trends Report 2015/16, class of 2014 graduates of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) secured the second-highest salary in the Asia-Pacific region with an average wage of US$94,400. The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) also placed in the Asia Pacific’s top 10 in this respect. The jobs and salary trends report also indicates that average earnings for MBA graduates taking positions in Hong Kong amount to US$76, 700, with a noteworthy bonus of US$22,500 added on top. The finance and consulting industries continue to be the biggest MBA employers in Hong Kong, however the technology sector is gathering pace, as evidenced by the fact that the top three business schools now send an average of 10% of their graduates into this market.
Competitive corporate tax rates, lower income taxes, and Hong Kong's reputation for reliable, international practice also makes the territory a good proposition for MBA graduates seeking employment.
