CHINESE education companies, especially those providing online services, are rushing to list in Hong Kong, reflecting the positive potential of the emerging segment, according to experts.

This month, major domestic online players Koolearn, a subsidiary of New Oriental Education and Technology Group Inc., and Shanghai-based Hujiang submitted their prospectuses for their initial public offerings (IPOs).

Offline education providers China Xinhua Education Group Ltd., 21st Century Education Group Ltd. and Tianli Education International Holdings Ltd. all listed in Hong Kong this year.

More than 10 education companies are currently waiting in line, according to industry data.

Li Daxiao, chief economist at Shenzhen-based Yingda Securities, said the trend reflects the rapid development of the Chinese education market.

“There is great demand for education-related products among Chinese customers,” he said. “Products such as training courses can be supplementary to the current traditional school education system.”

IPOs are an important way for these companies to make better use of the capital market to realize quick expansion, Li said.

The State Council is encouraging schools, companies and other institutions to develop online education with more Internet courses and resources that can combine knowledge teaching and application services, according to a document released in August last year.

The transaction scale of the Chinese online education market reached 240.2 billion yuan (US$35.43 billion) last year, up 54 percent year on year.

(China Daily)