5th Feb 2008
by Joan Ng of The Edge Singapore
Chew Hua Seng, the CEO of private education provider Raffles Education Corp, has seen the market value of his personal stake in the company shrivel to S$940 million (RM2.16 billion) currently from close to S$1.4 billion, when the stock hit a high of S$3.40 last November. But investors have no reason to doubt the company’s potential to keep growing at the blistering pace it has set over the last few years, he says. “Nothing has changed on our part.”
On the contrary, the company’s enrolment numbers have continued to rise and Chew is now planning for the next phase of expansion. Late last Friday, the company made known its plans to take subsidiaries Hartford Education Corp and China Education private and consolidate their operations under the Raffles Education brand name. Meanwhile, the company is also proposing to spin off its China assets and list them in a separate vehicle on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, a move that was announced on Jan 21. The listing will allow the group to raise money for its China operations, and free up capital to expand elsewhere around the world. >>>> More
