English-training school to list on Wall Street
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 centres 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.
词汇：
1. Securities and Exchange Commission：[SEC] 证券管理委员会（证管会）
2. initial public offering (IPO) ：首次公开募股
3. pay off：v. 还清(债务等)付清,
4. disclose：vt. 透露
5. enrol：vt.登记, 入学
相关链接：
上海东方早报记者昨日获悉，中国最大的私立教育服务机构新东方教育技术集团已于8月22日向美国证券交易委员会提交了上市申请，计划发行750万股美国存托凭证，融资规模在9000万美元左右。
上海东方早报记者在昨天拿到的一份新东方IPO申请材料中看到，新东方此次计划发行750万股美国存托凭证，预计募集资金规模在9000万美元左右。目前，新东方已聘请高盛、瑞士信贷及PiperJaffray作为主承销商。承销商还可选择购买除配额之外的112.5万股新东方美国存托凭证(每股美国存托凭证相当于四股普通股)。
材料显示，在截至5月31日的过去三个财政年内，新东方营收分别为4.418亿、6.433亿和7.703亿元人民币。教育项目是新东方收入的主要来源，分别占97.4%、94.3%、93.7%。此外，新东方还有图书出版等其他收入来源。截至今年5月底，新东方有3300万美元现金储备和1280万美元长期债务。在募集资金投向方面，新东方将用1850万美元来偿还债务，用2000万美元来扩大学校的网络，其余的资金则支付其他一般性的运营费用。
另据外电报道，新东方计划在9月初于纽约证交所上市，交易代码为“EDU”。考虑到9月8日起，中国政府针对外国投资者投资境内企业的新政策将开始实施，新东方此次IPO预计在9月4日进行。
新东方创建于1993年，号称是中国最大私立教育服务机构。自创办以来，累计已有300万名学生参与新东方培训，仅今年就有87.2万名。截至2006年5月31日，新东方拥有25所学校、111个学习中心和13个书店，大约有1700名教师分布在24个城市。与此同时，新东方还拥有网络虚拟社区，大约有200万注册用户。
目前，新东方CEO俞敏洪拥有公司31.18%的股权，作为投资者的老虎环球基金占14.91%，此外，还有15%的股份分给CapitalRiverGroup、PeakIdeaInterna-tional和ForthrightTraining三个投资方。
