By DALJIT DHESI | Mar 5, 2010
Raffles to invest RM200m in Iskandar
daljit@thestar.com.my
LANGFANG (China): Singapore-based Raffles Education Corp Ltd (REC), which aims to set up a multi-institutional education campus at Iskandar Malaysia by 2011, hopes to invest about RM200mil in the proposed venture over the next five years as part of its move to fortify its education business in the region.
Chairman and CEO Chew Hua Seng said in order to set up the campus, they needed to get the approval from Higher Education Ministry which would take about six to nine months.
“After that, we need also to register the programmes which will be offered and, in all, the approval for a licence will take a year or so,” he said after a media tour of REC’s campus – Oriental University City (OUC) – here.
“For investment, REC will need to factor the cost of land and buildings, among others, and we estimate the investment in Iskandar will probably be about RM200mil spread over a five-year period. During this period, we hope to enrol about 5,000 students.”
Oriental University City Ltd (which owns OUC) is a wholly owned subsidiary of REC. For the proposed development, REC would be collaborating with Education@Iskandar Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned unit of Iskandar Investment Bhd, which in turn is 60% owned by Khazanah Nasional Bhd.
The development, to be known as Raffles University Iskandar, would include the launch of Raffles University as part of its first phase of development. The university would be developed on a 26-ha site and would offer a range of undergraduate programmes.
Raffles University would be built and operated by a joint-venture company formed between REC and Education@Iskandar. Asked on the equity stake in the joint venture, Chew said REC would be a key shareholder.
REC is the largest private education provider in the Asia Pacific and its key markets are China, India and South-East Asia.
To another question on whether the campus plan was a pre-arranged matter between REC and Khazanah, after the latter agreed to buy a 10% stake in Oriental University City Ltd, Chew said it was not but due to the potential of the education market there.
Khazanah executive director Ben Chan said it was not a back-to-back deal as its units handling the deal involving OUC and Raffles University were different entities.
Asked what role Khazanah would assume by buying the 10% stake, Chan said it would exercise its right as a shareholder which included participating at board level meetings and leave the education part to REC’s expertise.
Chan said he hoped the acquisition of a stake in Oriental University City Ltd would be finalised by the first half of this year. Upon completion of the deal, Khazanah and REC would list OUC on the Hong Kong exchange by Aug 31, 2013.
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