(Photo : Tsinghua University in Beijing)

The Times Higher Education Alma Mater Index, which ranks universities by how many graduates have become Chief Executive Officers (CEO) of global companies, has included 15 universities in mainland China and one in Hong Kong as among the best places to study for those who want to become CEOs.

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Tsinghua University in Beijing ranked 13 in the top 100 lists with seven Fortune 500 CEOs who graduated. Shandong University came in 30th place while China Europe International Business School was ranked 42nd.

Communist Party Central School ranked 47th while Southwest Jiaotong University settled for the 67th spot, the Alma Mater Index revealed. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University was ranked 72nd in the list.

China Produced 40 CEOs in Fortune Global 500

According to the Times Higher Education Alma Mater Index, the 15 mainland Chinese universities produced a total of 40 of the Fortune Global 500 CEO. The list is dominated by Harvard University of the US, which produced 25 CEOs, while the University of Tokyo took the second spot with 13 global CEOs.

Stanford University of the US came at third with 11 CEOs while Ecole Polytechnique of France grabbed the 4th spot with 12 CEOs. The Alma Mater Index also showed that 47 CEOs, or 9 per cent of the total, were educated in BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) nations.

Two of China's top CEOs - Li Yue of China Mobile and Chang Xiaobing of China United Network - were educated at the Polytechnic University, with doctorates in business administration. A university spokesman said Polytechnic was proud of the achievements of its graduates.

Chinese Universities Rank Well

Phil Bay, editor of Times Higher Education magazine said Chinese universities ranked exceptionally well in the list due to the number of Chinese companies that are included on the Fortune 500 list.

The Alma Mater Index Top 10 are the following:

1. Harvard University (United States)

2. University of Tokyo (Japan)

3. Stanford University (United States)

4. Ecole Polytechnique (France)

5. HEC Paris (France)

6. ENA, Ecole Nationale d'Administration (France)

7. University of Pennsylvania (United States)

8. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (United States)

9. Keio University (Japan)

10. Seoul National University (Korea)