OREANDA-NEWS. December 25, 2013. Following the well-received comic books and drama plays, the Citisupported 'Agent Penny' Financial Education Program today unveiled a cartoon series, marking the latest efforts in communicating important financial knowledge to upper-primary school students.

Nearly 150 attendees including representatives from Citi China, local education bureau, media, school teachers, students and parents attended the ceremony at the No.3 Primary School of Pingliang Road in Shanghai, during which the program's 2013 progress was also highlighted.

The Agent Penny program aims to promote financial literacy through innovative ways, and illustrates basic financial concepts such as financial planning, smart spending and saving, in an interesting and easy-to-absorb context. According to the organizer, Shanghai Better Education Development Center ("Better Education"), the program has now reached over 50,000 primary school students in nine cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Chengdu and Jinan) to build a solid foundation in financial attitude and habits, since 2009 in China.

Mark Chiu, Citi China's Head of Credit Card and Unsecured Personal Loans, said, "As a global leading financial services company, Citi shares the belief that strong financial education raises the quality of life for individuals, families and institutions, and strengthens communities around the world. We are delighted to launch the cartoon to educate students about financial decisions they must make in different stages of their lives." Mark also noted that Citi colleagues from around China volunteered for the dubbing of the episodes in seven Chinese dialects.

Principle Zheng Xiaoyan from the No.3 Primary School of Pingliang Road said, "Financial literacy is a necessary life-skill and a lifelong learning process. The Agent Penny program not only educates, but also develops students' capabilities in other aspects. For example, after participating in the program in 2012, our school established a student society on financial literacy. This year, we developed a textbook on financial education which we will promote to the students."

At today's event, students from the school also staged an Agent Penny play titled "Mysterious Cards", teaching a vivid lesson on credit card to attending fellow students, teachers, parents and guests.

Funded by Citi Foundation, the Agent Penny program forms part of Citi's financial education series in China to promote financial literacy among youngsters of different ages. The corresponding cartoon series comprises of 32 episodes, of which nine have been dubbed in local dialects. The cartoon DVDs will be provided to all participating schools and the video can be viewed or downloaded from the official website (http://beini.licaiyoudao.org) for free.