At Executive Mandarin, the number of investment bankers studying Chinese has risen 30 percent in the past year, said Cheung, 39.
Chinese is one of the toughest languages to learn, said Qing Zhang, a professor of linguistics at the University of Texas.
Cheung estimates a non-native would have to study Mandarin full-time for five years to pass the securities exam. Since the test began in 2005, fewer than 10 foreigners have passed, according to a list of successful candidates posted on the Securities Association's Web site.
China's approach is unusual. Neither Japan nor Hong Kong test top managers at securities firms. In both places, specialists such as analysts and fund salesmen must pass job-specific tests that can be taken in English.
"The government may be trying to raise the status of spoken and written Chinese as an international business language," said Zhang, 38. "The message is: If you want to do business here, you have to learn our language."
RSS