ChinaEdu Corporation Signs Agreements with Two New University Partners
BEIJING, March 15 -- ChinaEdu Corporation (NASDAQ:CEDU) ("ChinaEdu" or "the Company"), an educational services provider in China, today announced that it has signed an exclusive technology and service agreement with Huazhong Normal University and an exclusive collaborative alliance agreement with Jiangxi Normal University.
Huazhong Normal University is currently licensed as one of the 68 universities that are approved to provide online degree education by the Ministry of Education in China. Under the agreement, the Company will provide exclusive technology and support services to Huazhong Normal University's online college for the next three years.
Jiangxi Normal University is currently applying for approval to provide online degree education by the Ministry of Education in China. Under the agreement, the Company will provide exclusive technology and support services to Jiangxi Normal University's adult education programs for the next four years prior to the approval for the online degree program. Once the online degree approval is granted, the Company will provide Jiangxi Normal University with exclusive technology and support services through the mutually formed joint venture for a period of 20 years.
Julia Huang, Chief Executive Officer of ChinaEdu Corporation, commented, "We are pleased to be working with two of the top universities in China. Our partnerships with Huazhong Normal University and Jiangxi Normal University are examples of our successful and flexible business model in leading the growth of China's online degree education sector. We will continue to add value in working alongside our partners for the expansion of China's distance education for the long run."
About the universities
Huazhong Normal University is located in the city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province. It has a campus of over 2,000 acres with a construction area of more than 600,000 square meters on Guizishan, a hill bordering the East Lake and the South Lake. The university was first founded in 1903 and was formally named Huazhong University in 1985. Huazhong Normal University comprises of 18 schools, 9 departments and 82 research institutes and offers 53 doctoral programs and 94 master's degree programs. At present the university has a student body of over 20,000, of whom 2,000 are postgraduates.
Jiangxi Normal University is located in the city of Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi province. The university covers an area of 33 hectares. The buildings cover a total floor space of more than 350,000 square meters. Founded in 1940, it was officially named Jiangxi Normal University in 1983. The university has enrolled graduate students in 33 programs relating to 122 fields of study. Jiangxi Normal University comprises of 17 colleges, offers 37 fields of study, including 19 teacher training specialties.
About ChinaEdu
ChinaEdu Corporation is an educational services provider in China, incorporated as an exempted limited liability company in the Cayman Islands. Established in 1999, the Company's primary business is to provide comprehensive services to the online degree programs of leading Chinese universities. These services include academic program development, technology services, enrollment marketing, student support services and finance operations. The Company's other lines of businesses include the operation of private primary and secondary schools, online interactive tutoring services and providing marketing and support for international curriculum programs.
The Company believes it is the largest service provider to online degree programs in China in terms of the number of higher education institutions that are served and the number of student enrollments supported. The Company currently has 17 long-term, exclusive contracts that generally vary from 10 to 50 years in length. ChinaEdu also performs recruiting services for 15 universities through our nationwide learning center network.
Forward-Looking Statement
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including certain plans, expectations, goals, and projections, which are subject to numerous assumptions, risks, and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond our control which may cause actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward- looking statements due to a number of factors, including those described under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2008, and in documents subsequently filed by the Company from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Unless required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to (and expressly disclaim any such obligation to) update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
S. Jimmy Xia, IR Manager
ChinaEdu Corporation
Phone: +86-10-8418-6655 x1150
Email: ir@chinaedu.net
Source: ChinaEdu Corporation
CONTACT: Lily Liu, CFO of ChinaEdu Corporation, +86-10-8418-6655 x1002,
or ir@chinaedu.net; S. Jimmy Xia, IR Manager of ChinaEdu Corporation, +86-10-
8418-6655 x1150, or ir@chinaedu.net