Reality show to bank on

A bank of information

"Investment banking is a booster for industry innovation, technological upgrade and the progressing of social values," says Jia Guangyu, one of the mentors in the show.

"It requires comprehensive capabilities, such as excellent communication and presentation skills."

The tasks in the show are the same as real work flow. The first task sees the competitors update a company prospectus, followed by other projects like industry research, pitch preparation and due diligence.

The last two group assignments are Initial Public Offering pricing and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, which evaluate interns based on the comprehensive skills needed in the industry, some of which are beyond their experience.

One of the highlights of the show is the three-level mentorship. It helps all the interns to rapidly grow under stressful and challenging conditions while attempting to complete their assignments, as well as showcasing how real-life investment banking professionals work at different seniority levels.

Mentors and coaches are two new roles that have been introduced to the second season in addition to the three senior supervisors, who have more than 10 years of work experience in the securities industry and are highly accomplished in their respective professional fields.

For the first four tasks, two mentors, Jia Guangyu and Xiao Jiasong, are assigned to help the candidates. The last two tasks are accomplished under the guidance of two coaches who are joined by two junior staff members who assist the interns. One of them is Lin Yinggu, an offer-winner from the previous season who has since switched his role from a student.

Jia thinks the show accurately represents the real lives of investment banking professionals and, in some cases, the tasks are even more intensive.

"As investment banking professionals, we are on business trips 90 percent of the time," Jia says.

"I hope this internship will help all the candidates learn more about the sector, and improve their capabilities in presentation and communication," she adds.

With a decade of experience, Jia started her career in investment banking as an intern.

Jia coached He and her two teammates Huang Huju and Wang Rui. During the due diligence task, Jia tutored them remotely and the trio's presentation was highly praised by the mentors. After each task, she led the team in reviewing their work to find out what could be done better during the next challenge.

With over a year's internship experience in investment banking, Wang Rui thinks the final task, the mergers and acquisitions, is the most challenging.

"It's one of the most difficult sections in investment banking and it requires negotiations between multiple parties,"Wang says.

The 24-year-old discovered an interest in the stock market during childhood and decided to pursue a career in investment banking when he finished his bachelor's degree in finance at Renmin University of China two years ago.

"I think investment banking is helping with China's technological development, and we can help a batch of excellent Chinese tech companies to grow, which gives me a sense of achievement," Wang says.

Five companies took part in the show as potential clients. Bai says the show is using the investment banking industry as a kaleidoscope for the audience to see the economic vitality and operational details of many industries in China, including digital new media, the consumer sector and healthcare.