BEIJING, March 11 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- ATA Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAI) ("ATA", or the "Company"), the largest provider of computer-based testing services in China, today announced that it has signed an agreement of cooperation with Educational Testing Services (ETS), the world's largest educational research and assessment organization, whereby ATA will be the exclusive agent for ETS's Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC(R)) business in China. This important strategic alliance between ATA and ETS will provide millions of Chinese English language learners with access to high quality testing services by leveraging ATA's proven testing technology and broad distribution reach, and will help establish an authoritative assessment standards framework for professional English in China.
At a press event held in Beijing today, both parties announced that going forward ATA will be the exclusive distributor for ETS's TOEIC test in mainland China, and will operate and market the TOEIC business in the region. The current TOEIC operations team will migrate to ATA and will continue to carry on and support the TOEIC business, while the existing TOEIC product and services team is expected to be expanded and upgraded. Please note that, the released test schedules and the existing test operations will not be affected by this adjustment and will remain unchanged.
"China's role in the global economy is increasingly important, with Chinese companies making significant progress in global business development. This success has increased the demand for employees with professional English proficiency at Chinese enterprises and organizations, which in turn is expanding the need to access English proficiency," said Dr. Phillip Tabbiner, Senior Vice president of ETS Global. "ETS recognizes the value of working together with local Chinese partners to leverage the resources and expertise of both companies to provide high-quality assessments to the developing Chinese market. ETS believes that ATA's competitive advantages in the testing services industry make it the ideal partner for effectively expanding TOEIC business in China, increasing the test's recognition by Chinese firms and institutions and enhancing support of TOEIC clients in China."
"We are pleased to work with such a prominent global test sponsor, "said Mr. Lin Wang, President of ATA. "As our first exclusive test delivery service agreement for a global test title, this marks a milestone in ATA's development in leveraging our competitive advantages and strong market position in China. TOEIC is already a well recognized global English assessment brand in the world and amongst foreign enterprises in China. Our goal is to enhance our service to our established customer base while expanding our addressable market by bringing the TOEIC English assessment standard to a broader range of Chinese businesses. Our cooperation agreement with ETS will help raise the measurement of professional English proficiency in China to world-class levels."
About ATA Inc.
ATA is the leading provider of computer-based testing services in China. The Company offers comprehensive services for the creation and delivery of computer-based tests based on its proprietary testing technologies and test delivery platform. The Company's computer-based testing services are used for professional licensure and certification tests in various industries, including information technology, or IT, services, banking, teaching, securities, insurance and accounting. ATA's test center network comprised 1,918 authorized test centers located throughout China as of December 31, 2008, which the Company believes is the largest test center network of any commercial testing service provider in China. Combined with its test delivery technologies, this network allows ATA's clients to administer large-scale nationwide tests in a consistent, secure and cost-effective manner. ATA has delivered over 27 million tests including 17.8 million billable tests since it commenced operations in 1999, and in June 2008 delivered tests to approximately 470,000 test takers over a single weekend for the China Banking Association through its test delivery platform. For further information, please visit: http://www.ata.net.cn .
About Educational Testing Services (ETS)
At nonprofit ETS, we advance quality and equity in education for people worldwide by creating assessments based on rigorous research. ETS serves individuals, educational institutions and government agencies by providing customized solutions for teacher certification, English-language learning, and elementary, secondary and post-secondary education, as well as conducting education research, analysis and policy studies. Founded in 1947, ETS develops, administers and scores more than 50 million tests annually -- including the TOEIC(R) and TOEFL(R) tests, the GRE(R) test and The Praxis Series(TM) assessments -- in more than 180 countries, at over 9,000 locations worldwide.
ETS and its related ETS Global subsidiaries have offices around the world to meet the needs of non-U.S.-based entities in Asia, Canada, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. In serving individuals, businesses, educational institutions, government agencies and membership organizations worldwide, ETS offers valid and reliable assessments, research and related services such as customized solutions, workforce products and services, and research-based teaching and learning tools. For more information, please go to https://ets.org/etsglobal .
About Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC)
Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) was originally designed in 1979 by Educational Testing Services (ETS) for government agencies and corporations. It measures the ability of non-native speakers of English to communicate in English in the workplace. With a long 30-year history of development, TOEIC has become the global choice for English proficiency measurement in the global workplace. The test has been used by over 9,000 organizations around the world in more than 90 countries. The number of TOEIC tests administered exceeded 5 million in 2008. TOEIC has become the top professional English assessment tool around the world.
Safe-Harbor Statement
This announcement may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "look forward to," "outlook," "forecast," "will," "expect," "anticipate," "future," "intend," "plan," "believe," "estimate" and similar terminology. These and any other forward-looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable and accurate, the Company cannot assure you that those expectations will turn out to be correct. For additional information on these and other important factors that could adversely affect the Company's business, financial condition, results of operations and future prospects, please refer to a more detailed discussion of the Company's risk factors in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
For more information, please contact:
ATA Inc.
Carl Yeung
Phone: +86-10-6518-1122 x5107
Email: ir@ata.net.cn
URL: http://www.ata.net.cn
CCG Investor Relations
Crocker Coulson, President
Phone: +1-646-213-1915
Email: crocker.coulson@ccgir.com
Ed Job, CFA
Phone: +1-646-213-1914
Email: ed.job@ccgir.com
URL: http://www.ccgir.com
