China's largest English-training school is seeking to raise funds by listing on the New York Stock Exchange Big Board.

 

Beijing-based New Oriental Education and Technology Group Inc registered on August 22 with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to raise US$112 million through an initial public offering (IPO) under the symbol "EDU."

 

The company has helped hundreds of thousands of Chinese students get into US universities.

 

According to its website, the company expects to price its IPO around next Wednesday. It plans to offer 7.5 million American depositary shares foreign company shares traded in the United States at an estimated price of US$11 to US$13 per share.

 

With the money raised, the company plans to use US$18.5 million to pay off its debts and some US$20 million to expand its teaching network in China, according to its SEC prospectus.

 

Yu Minhong (also known as Michael Yu), the company's board chairman, told China Daily in an email yesterday that he is currently "on business in the United States." He did not disclose any other details.

 

Founded in 1993 by Yu, New Oriental has grown from a class of only 30 students to China's largest private education service provider. It has a network of 25 schools and 111 learning centers in 24 cities as well as an online network that has attracted 2 million registered users.

 

Before setting up the school, Yu was an English teacher at Peking University for seven years with a monthly salary of just US$12.

 

Denied a visa to study in the United States, Yu started his own test-preparation classes to coach others to pass the Test of English as a Foreign Language, known as TOEFL, and the Graduate Record Examinations, or GRE, the two tests required for foreign students to gain admission to US graduate schools.

 

The school has benefited from Chinese students' increasing desire to study overseas. Figures from the school show that it had about 872,000 students enrolled for the 2006 fiscal year that ended May 31. Since its establishment, the school has taught more than 3 million students.

 

(China Daily August 31, 2006)