CIBT to Establish Two Additional Student Hotel & Housing Units in Greater Vancouver
January 7th 2014 CIBT Education Group Inc. (TSX: MBA, OCTQX International: MBAIF) (“CIBT Group”) is pleased to announce that its newly established student housing investment and management arm, Global Education City Holdings Inc. (“GEC”) has signed a memorandum of understanding (“MOU”) with a Vancouver real estate developer to establish two student housing projects in Vancouver and Richmond respectively. These two new projects are named GEC Langara and GEC Capstan. The aggregate development budget for these two projects is $48 million.
GEC Langara is planned to consist of approximately 95 apartment rental units with two bedrooms, one bath and a full kitchen totaling 234 beds. GEC Langara is expected to be able to accommodate 234 students during the academic season from September to June, and 468 students during the summer camp season from July to August with double occupancy per room.
GEC Capstan is planned to consist of 62 student hotel suites capable of accommodating 124 students during the academic season from September to June, and 248 students during the summer camp season from July to August. As a leading education provider with a special focus on international education for 20 years, CIBT Group is transforming and expanding its business model to vertically and horizontally integrating a full array of student services from education to student housing and international student recruitment services.
In 2012, CIBT Group expanded its education services from operating career colleges and university in Canada and Asia, to a new student recruitment division called Global Education Alliance (“GEA”). Since inception, GEA has achieved significant traction by recruiting a large number of international students to study at GEA partner schools in North America as well as CIBT Group subsidiary schools in Canada. In addition, GEA successfully signed recruit agreements with 20 public and private schools covering the entire education infrastructure from public and private kindergartens to primary schools, secondary schools, career colleges, language schools and universities. Additional agreements with 10 other schools are under negotiation. Through GEA’s partnership arrangement with these schools, as well as CIBT Group’s wholly owned subsidiary schools in Canada and Asia, CIBT Group has access to over 20,000 international students studying in Vancouver, each paying approximately $10 – $12,000 per year for their housing needs, totaling over $200 million in housing revenue per year. CIBT Group’s integrated strategy is to create a global recruitment platform and pipeline to attract international students to study in North America while utilizing CIBT’s international housing division as part of the enhanced strategy to attract foreign students to pursue world class education in Canada coupled with a safe, secure and comfortable living experience in Vancouver.
Based upon data from 2011, approximately 100,000 foreign students are living in the Greater Vancouver area contributing over $5 billion in tuition revenue to the B.C economy. In addition, total housing revenue generated by these foreign students is estimated to be over $1 billion per year, an average of $10,000 per student per year. This figure excludes domestic Canadian students wishing to migrate from other provinces to study in Vancouver.
“According to statistic and government data, we foresee the growth of the foreign student market as substantial”, commented Toby Chu, Vice Chairman, President and CEO of CIBT Group. “We feel that our initial three projects including the GEC Education Super Center in Richmond, GEC Capstan and GEC Langara can only supply a small fraction of a significant demand. CIBT Group is now actively pursuing a number of new GEC locations along the Vancouver Skytrain route in the Greater Vancouver area. Our initial plan is to build student housing to accommodate 1,400 foreign students which will serve less than 1.4% of the total foreign student population in Vancouver.”
About CIBT Education Group:
CIBT Education Group Inc. is an education management company focused on the global education market since 1994. Listed in Canada on the Toronto Stock Exchange and in the U.S on the OTCQX International, CIBT Group owns and operates a network of business, technical and language colleges in North America and Asia. CIBT Group offers cooperative joint programmes in 12 countries with campuses, recruitment offices and training centers enrolling over 5,000 students annually. Its education business is operated through Sprott Shaw College (established in 1903), Acsenda School of Management, CIBT School of Business China, and A-Plus Education Centers in China. Through these subsidiaries, CIBT Group offers Western and Chinese accredited business and management degrees, programmes in college preparation, healthcare, hotel management and tourism, English language training, English Teacher Certifications, junior and high school preparation programmes for overseas study, and other career/vocational training. CIBT Group also owns Irix Design Group, a leading design and advertising company based in Vancouver, Canada, Global Career Center (“GCC”), Global Education Alliance (“GEA”) and Global Education City Holdings Inc (“GEC”). GCC is a job placement call center located in the Philippines dedicated to providing employment services to CIBT Group graduates for free throughout their careers. GEA recruits international students for many elite kindergarten, primary, secondary schools and universities in North America. GEC is an investment holding and management company with a special focus on education related real estate projects in Canada. Visit us online at www.cibt.net.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
Toby Chu
Vice-Chairman, President & CEO
Investor Relations Contact: 1-604-871-9909 ext. 318 | Email: info@cibt.net
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:
Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information (the “forward-looking statements”) about CIBT Education Group Inc. (“CIBT Group”) and its future plans. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. The forward-looking statements in this news release are subject to various risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause the company’s actual results or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by forward-looking statements. With respect to the statement in this news release as to expectations and plans for the Global Education City (“GEC”) project, these risks, uncertainties and other factors include, without limitation, uncertainty as to the company’s ability to achieve the goals and satisfy the assumptions of management, including uncertainties as to the ability to enter into agreements with property owners and developers and complete construction of the GEC; to attract students to reside in the Dormitory Hall; to secure other educational institutions and professional service providers as tenants for the GEC; demand for the programs offered; and general economic factors and other factors that may be beyond the control of the company. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, opinions and expectations of the company’s management at the time they are made, and CIBT Group does not assume any obligation to update its forward-looking statements if those beliefs, opinions or expectations, or other circumstances, should change.