Our mission is to empower our students to pursue better futures by helping them choose the right career path and by being their learning partner regardless of their chosen career path.
We commenced operations in 2000, and launched our first online professional education course
in March 2001 through our www.chinaacc.com website offering online accountancy courses. With
the success of our online accounting courses, in 2003 we began to expand our course
offerings into other areas. In January 2005, we launched a website to provide training and
licensure examination courses for various healthcare professions, including doctors, nurses
and pharmacists. Currently, we have 14 websites, including one portal website www.
cdeledu.com and 13 other websites, each dedicated to a specific industry, profession or
subject area, and accessible from our portal website. |
|
We offer a wide large range of online education and test preparation courses, and other related services and products. The courses are designed to help professionals and others obtain and maintain the skills, licenses and certifications necessary to pursue careers in China in the areas of different industries. |
|
We use regional sales agents to sell our pre-paid study cards, which represents the primary method for our selling and receiving payment for our courses. In addition to our online
education courses, we also sell books and reference materials through third-party
bookstores and distributors across China, and, to a lesser extent, through our online
bookstore and our offices in Beijing. In addition, we also, from time to time, provide
course production services for certain customers at their request.
The growth of China's education market is driven by several factors, including favorable
demographic and economic trends, benefits of higher and professional education, overall
growth in educational spending and increased growth in private education. CDEL is ready to tackle on this unique market opportunity. We see our growth strategies as a multi-pronged approach. Our aim is to increase enrollments in our existing offering courses, expand offerings into new subject areas and finally, to develop a lifelong learning programs for our students.
|
|
Our customers are professionals and other course participants who needs to obtain and maintain the skills, licenses and certifications necessary to pursue careers in China in the areas of accounting, law, healthcare, construction engineering, information technology and other industries. According to the China Statistical Yearbook (2007), in 2006 approximately 686 million people in China were between the ages of five and 39, an age group that ranges from school-age children to working adults who we believe are most likely to pursue education opportunities and continuing professional training and certification. |
|
Our partners are Regional Sales Agents and Online Agents. We use regional sales agents to sell our pre-paid study cards and our online agents are typically Internet companies and website operators in China that market our course offerings on their websites. As of March 31, 2008, we had approximately 1,500 regional sales agents throughout China and 900 online agents. |
|
We offer a wide range of online education and test preparation courses, and other related services and products.To get the details, please see "Education Websites" from "Company Information."
We also sell both our own proprietary and third-party books and reference
materials relating to various professional courses and exam subjects. We engage third-party
publishers to publish our guidebooks. We distribute these books and materials through third
-party bookstores and distributors across China, as well as through our online bookstore
located within our accounting website and our offices in Beijing.
We also provide course
production services to certain customers on a contractual basis.
|
|
We face competition from providers of traditional offline education and test preparation services, and expect to face increasing competition from existing competitors and new market
entrants in the online professional education and test preparation market. |
|
China Distance Education is located on the 18th floor, Xueyuan International Tower, No. 1 Zhichun Road, Haidian District, Beijing, China. |
|
We have 435 full-time employees as of September 30, 2008.
|
|
| As of September 30, 2008, there are 141,897,737 ordinary shares outstanding. |
|
CDEL¡¯s Shareholders and Stock Information |
| We are listed on NYSE under the ticker symbol of DL. |
|
| We furnish to Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas as depositary of our ADSs.
|
|
| You can find earnings announcement dates on the page of "IR Calendar" in our website. |
|
| They are denominated in U.S. Dollars. |
|
CDEL¡¯s Financials, Earnings Information |
| Its fiscal year ends on September 30 of each year. |
|
| Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu CPA Ltd is CDEL¡¯s independent accountant. |
|
| All of company's 12,996,000 preferred shares that were outstanding prior to the Company's IPO on NYSE Arca (the ¡°IPO¡±) were converted into 14,963,594 ordinary shares on July 29, 2008, immediately prior to the IPO. As a result, since the time of the Company's IPO and listing on NYSE Arca, there are no longer any preferred shares outstanding and the Company only has ordinary shares outstanding. Therefore, there is no potential dilution from the then preferred shares. |
|
| There were no cash payment obligations by the Company as a result of any of the company's pre-IPO equity financing transactions. The Company did not, nor will it, nor is it obligated to make any payments to any of its investors, including the former holders of the Company's previously-existing preferred shares.
|
|
CDEL¡¯s Contact Information |
| The Company strictly complies with the relevant SEC requirements on loans to directors and officers. In addition, the Company policies strictly prohibit management from borrowing from the Company other than the normal cash advances to carry out their duties as a company employee.
|
|
|