Why Zhonggong Education Is the Top Civil Service Exam Leader
To compete by any means necessary, offering debt-fueled student loans. Students take out "Ideal Loan" to fund their exam prep; if they don't pass, Zhonggong Education covers the principal and interest. Only after passing do students repay it themselves. This strategy squeezes out competitors and leaves room for other agencies to survive, then pivots to an upfront-fee model with installment refunds upon passing (anyone with common sense knows not everyone can land a civil service job). This model accumulates users to inflate stock prices, cashing in on investors' money and filling their own pockets, all while paying lip service to public-service exam charity (the upfront-fee installment-refund scheme is pure exploitation—those in the know know). It twists an education company into a financial institution.
Then it shifts into disguised private fundraising wrapped in the guise of civil service exam education (student tuition becomes long-term interest-free loans; installment refunds upon passing attract more enrollments; if you can't afford tuition, they help you secure a loan to pay it). It operates as a financial institution, then funnels the money through related subsidiaries into real estate and lending businesses (essentially moving money from one pocket to another).
The fervor around civil service exams precisely reflects how garbage China's market economy has become.