Leader in Chinese Private Education Enters New Growth Market
BEIJING, Nov. 13 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- New Oriental Education and
Technology Group Inc. (NYSE: EDU), the largest provider of private
educational services in China, today announced the establishment of the
Beijing New Oriental North Star Training School. The new school is the first
step in New Oriental’s expansion into the professional certification
preparation field, which includes preparation for the PRC bar, Certified
Public Accountant (CPA) and civil service exams.
“China’s rapid growth in recent years has created large demand for
certified professionals by Chinese and multinational companies as well as
government agencies,” said New Oriental’s Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer, Mr. Michael Yu. “The result has been a corresponding increase in
demand for high quality professional certification preparation courses and
materials, which New Oriental is in a unique position to provide.”
In 2006, approximately 280,000 individuals took the PRC bar exam, 560,000
individuals took the CPA exam, and about two million individuals took the
civil service exam in China. Due to the importance of the examinations, a
majority of these professional certification exam takers have taken at least
one preparation course. New Oriental will seek to leverage its educational
platform to target senior college students and working adults, who together
represent the majority of those seeking professional certifications.
“We also expect this new business line to complement the existing New
Oriental education portfolio by offering higher average sales prices and less
seasonality than the traditional overseas and domestic test preparation
businesses,” added Louis T. Hsieh, New Oriental’s Chief Financial Officer.
“For example, a typical bar exam preparation course often features class
sizes of 50 to 300 or more, runs for six months, and has an approximate
blended average sales price of US$500.”
“Our entry into the professional certification field is an important
step in our efforts to continue expanding New Oriental’s business,”
continued Mr. Yu. “The existing market for professional certification exam
preparation in China is immature and highly fragmented, offering an excellent
opportunity for New Oriental to create a leading professional certification
brand.”
“We do not expect the new school to contribute significant, if any,
revenues in the 2007 fiscal year, but we will incur setup costs as a result
of the new business,” concluded Mr. Hsieh.
About New Oriental
New Oriental is the largest provider of private educational services in
China based on the number of program offerings, total student enrollments and
geographic presence. New Oriental offers a wide range of educational
programs, services and products consisting primarily of English and other
foreign language training, test preparation courses for major admissions and
assessment tests in the United States, the PRC and Commonwealth countries,
primary and secondary school education, development and distribution of
educational content, software and other technology, and online education.
New Oriental’s ADSs, each of which represents four common shares, currently
trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “EDU.”
Safe Harbor Statement
This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements
are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be
identified by terminology such as “will,” “expects,” “anticipates,”
“future,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates” and similar
statements. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements
about New Oriental’s beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and
uncertainties. Information regarding these risks and uncertainties is
included in our registration statement on Form F-1 and other documents filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission. New Oriental does not undertake
any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required
under applicable law. All information provided in this press release is as of
November 13, 2006, and New Oriental undertakes no duty to update such
information, except as required under applicable law.
