Four Seasons Education is the latest Chinese education company to tap the U.S. market, making its debut on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday. While the stock finished the day below its $10 IPO price, chief financial officer and board member Joanne Zuo sees opportunities for growth ahead. The executive points out that most of the big players in Chinese education each concentrate in different segments so aren't directly competing with one another. Four Seasons, for example, is focused on math. And as a result, Zuo says they're not crowding each other out of the market and predicts more will go public. “There remains huge room for young companies like us,” she said. Consulting firm Deloitte recently described the Chinese education market as entering a “golden age.” The company noted that, since 2015, there’s been a stream of social capital invested in the industry, whether through private fundings or mergers and acquisitions. “Open policies, economic development, and international culture communication has gradually increased the foreign capital flow into China's education industry,” the firm said in a statement. And the country's tight policies and strict government regulations may actually benefit the company in the long run, says Zuo. “The government enhances the requirements for compliance, and that will help us to gain more market share from those small players, who don’t really provide good facilities for students,” she said.

Share:
More In Business
Is U.S. Restaurants’ Breakfast Boom Contributing to High Egg Prices?
It’s a chicken-and-egg problem: Restaurants are struggling with record-high U.S. egg prices, but their omelets, scrambles and huevos rancheros may be part of the problem. Breakfast is booming at U.S. eateries. First Watch, a restaurant chain that serves breakfast, brunch and lunch, nearly quadrupled its locations over the past decade to 570. Fast-food chains like Starbucks and Wendy's added more egg-filled breakfast items. In normal times, egg producers could meet the demand. But a bird flu outbreak that has forced them to slaughter their flocks is making supplies scarcer and pushing up prices. Some restaurants like Waffle House have added a surcharge to offset their costs.
Trump Administration Shutters Consumer Protection Agency
The Trump administration has ordered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to stop nearly all its work, effectively shutting down the agency that was created to protect consumers after the 2008 financial crisis and subprime mortgage-lending scandal. Russell Vought is the newly installed director of the Office of Management and Budget. Vought directed the CFPB in a Saturday night email to stop work on proposed rules, to suspend the effective dates on any rules that were finalized but not yet effective, and to stop investigative work and not begin any new investigations. The agency has been a target of conservatives since President Barack Obama created it following the 2007-2008 financial crisis.
Load More