UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 20-F
(Mark One)
¨ | REGISTRATION STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(B) OR 12(G) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
OR
x | ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011.
OR
¨ | TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
OR
¨ | SHELL COMPANY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
Date of event requiring this shell company report
For the transition period from to
Commission file number: 001-32993
NEW ORIENTAL EDUCATION & TECHNOLOGY GROUP INC.
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
N/A
(Translation of Registrants name into English)
Cayman Islands
(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)
No. 6 Hai Dian Zhong Street
Haidian District, Beijing 100080
The Peoples Republic of China
(Address of principal executive offices)
Louis T. Hsieh, President and Chief Financial Officer
Tel: +(86 10) 6260-5566
E-mail: louishsieh@xdf.cn
Fax: +(86 10) 6260-5511
No. 6 Hai Dian Zhong Street
Haidian District, Beijing 100080
The Peoples Republic of China
(Name, Telephone, E-mail and/or Facsimile number and Address of Company Contact Person)
Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of Each Class |
Name of Exchange on Which Registered | |
American depositary shares, each representing one common share* |
New York Stock Exchange | |
Common shares, par value US$0.01 per share | New York Stock Exchange** |
* | Effective August 18, 2011, the ratio of ADSs to our common shares was changed from one ADS representing four common shares to one ADS representing one common share. |
** | Not for trading, but only in connection with the listing on New York Stock Exchange of the American depositary shares. |
Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None
(Title of Class)
Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act:
None
(Title of Class)
Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the Issuers classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report. 158,379,387 common shares, par value US$0.01 per share, as of May 31, 2011.
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes x No ¨
If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Yes ¨ No x
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x No ¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes x No ¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of accelerated filer and large accelerated filer in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):
Large accelerated filer x Accelerated filer ¨ Non-accelerated filer ¨
Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:
U.S. GAAP x | International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board ¨ | Other ¨ |
If Other has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow. Item 17 ¨ Item 18 ¨
If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ¨ No x
(APPLICABLE ONLY TO ISSUERS INVOLVED IN BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDINGS DURING THE PAST FIVE YEARS)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed all documents and reports required to be filed by Sections 12, 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 subsequent to the distribution of securities under a plan confirmed by a court. Yes ¨ No ¨
1 | ||||||
2 | ||||||
ITEM 1. |
2 | |||||
ITEM 2. |
2 | |||||
ITEM 3. |
2 | |||||
ITEM 4. |
26 | |||||
Item 4A. |
44 | |||||
ITEM 5. |
44 | |||||
ITEM 6. |
64 | |||||
ITEM 7. |
70 | |||||
ITEM 8. |
72 | |||||
ITEM 9. |
73 | |||||
ITEM 10. |
74 | |||||
ITEM 11. |
80 | |||||
ITEM 12. |
81 | |||||
82 | ||||||
ITEM 13. |
82 | |||||
ITEM 14. |
MATERIAL MODIFICATIONS TO THE RIGHTS OF SECURITY HOLDERS AND USE OF PROCEEDS |
82 | ||||
ITEM 15. |
82 | |||||
ITEM 16A. |
83 | |||||
ITEM 16B. |
84 | |||||
ITEM 16C. |
84 | |||||
ITEM 16D. |
84 | |||||
ITEM 16E. |
PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES BY THE ISSUER AND AFFILIATED PURCHASERS |
84 | ||||
ITEM 16F. |
84 | |||||
ITEM 16G. |
84 | |||||
85 | ||||||
ITEM 17. |
85 | |||||
ITEM 18. |
85 | |||||
ITEM 19. |
85 |
Unless otherwise indicated and except where the context otherwise requires, references in this annual report on Form 20-F to:
| we, us, our company or our refers to New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc., its predecessor entities and subsidiaries and, in the context of describing our operations and consolidated financial data, also include New Oriental China; |
| China or PRC refers to the Peoples Republic of China, and for the purpose of this annual report, excludes Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; |
| New Oriental China refers to our consolidated affiliated entity in the PRC, Beijing New Oriental Education & Technology (Group) Co., Ltd., and its subsidiaries; |
| student enrollments refers to the cumulative total number of courses enrolled in and paid for by our students, including multiple courses enrolled in and paid for by the same student but excluding courses offered at our primary and secondary schools; |
| shares or common shares refers to our common shares, par value US$0.01 per share; |
| ADSs refers to our American depositary shares. Prior to August 18, 2011, each of our ADSs represented four common shares. On August 18, 2011, we effected a change in the ratio of our ADSs to common shares from one ADS representing four common shares to one ADS representing one common share. Except as otherwise noted, this change in our ADS to common share ratio has been retroactively reflected in all net income per ADS data included in this annual report on Form 20-F; and |
| RMB or Renminbi refers to the legal currency of China and $, dollars, US$ or U.S. dollars refers to the legal currency of the United States. |
We refer to our teaching facilities in this annual report as either schools or learning centers, based primarily on a facilitys functions. Generally, our schools consist of classrooms and administrative facilities with student and administrative services, while our learning centers consist primarily of classroom facilities.
Glossary of Major Admissions and Assessment Tests
ACT | American College Test (US) | |
BEC | Business English Certificate (US) | |
CET 4 | College English Test Level 4 (PRC) | |
CET 6 | College English Test Level 6 (PRC) | |
GMAT | Graduate Management Admission Test (US) | |
GRE | Graduate Record Examination (US) | |
IELTS | International English Language Testing System (Commonwealth countries) | |
LSAT | Law School Admission Test (US) | |
PETS | Public English Test System (PRC) | |
SAT | SAT College Entrance Test (US) | |
TOEFL | Test of English as a Foreign Language (US) | |
TOEIC | Test of English for International Communication (US) | |
TSE | Test of Spoken English (US) |
1
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This annual report contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical facts are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made under the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.
You can identify these forward-looking statements by words or phrases such as may, will, expect, is expected to, anticipate, aim, estimate, intend, plan, believe, is/are likely to or other similar expressions. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:
| our anticipated growth strategies; |
| our future business development, results of operations and financial condition; |
| expected changes in our revenues and certain cost and expense items; |
| our ability to increase student enrollments and course fees and expand program, service and product offerings; |
| competition in the language training, test preparation, primary and secondary education, educational content, software and other technology development and online education markets; |
| risks associated with our offering of new educational programs, services and products and the expansion of our geographic reach; |
| the expected increase in expenditures on education in China; and |
| PRC laws, regulations and policies relating to private education and providers of private educational services. |
You should read thoroughly this annual report and the documents that we refer to herein with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from and/or worse than what we expect. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements. Other sections of this annual report include additional factors which could adversely impact our business and financial performance. Moreover, we operate in an evolving environment. New risk factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible for our management to predict all risk factors, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements.
You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The forward-looking statements made in this annual report relate only to events or information as of the date on which the statements are made in this annual report. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.
ITEM 1. | IDENTITY OF DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND ADVISERS |
Not applicable.
ITEM 2. | OFFER STATISTICS AND EXPECTED TIMETABLE |
Not applicable.
ITEM 3. | KEY INFORMATION |
A. | Selected Financial Data |
2
Our Selected Consolidated Financial Data
The following selected consolidated condensed financial data as of May 31, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 and for the years ended May 31, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements. The selected consolidated condensed financial data should be read in conjunction with, and are qualified in their entirety by reference to, our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes and Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects included elsewhere in this annual report. Our audited consolidated financial statements are prepared and presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, or U.S. GAAP. Effective December 1, 2007, we changed our reporting currency from RMB to the U.S. dollar in order to improve research analysts and investors ability to compare our financial results with other publicly-traded companies and to simplify our earnings release presentation. In order to allow for comparison to the financial results for the years ended May 31, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011, the financial data for the year ended, and as of, May 31 2007 has been restated to reflect U.S. dollars as the reporting currency according to the policy described in Note 2Significant Accounting PoliciesForeign currency translation in the notes accompanying our financial statements which are included at the end of this annual report.
For the Years Ended May 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
(in thousands of US$, except share, per share and per ADS data) |
2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | |||||||||||||||
Consolidated Statement of Operations Data: |
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Net revenues: |
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Educational programs and services |
123,543 | 183,917 | 266,389 | 352,857 | 508,439 | |||||||||||||||
Books and others |
9,060 | 17,086 | 26,178 | 33,450 | 49,433 | |||||||||||||||
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Total net revenues |
132,603 | 201,003 | 292,567 | 386,307 | 557,872 | |||||||||||||||
Operating costs and expenses(1): |
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Cost of revenues |
(53,744 | ) | (77,219 | ) | (112,011 | ) | (147,261 | ) | (222,625 | ) | ||||||||||
Selling and marketing |
(16,549 | ) | (25,617 | ) | (38,947 | ) | (58,396 | ) | (82,797 | ) | ||||||||||
General and administrative |
(36,218 | ) | (52,832 | ) | (80,689 | ) | (103,336 | ) | (155,412 | ) | ||||||||||
Loss on disposal of subsidiaries |
| | | | (1,537 | ) | ||||||||||||||
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Total operating costs and expenses |
(106,511 | ) | (155,668 | ) | (231,647 | ) | (308,993 | ) | (462,371 | ) | ||||||||||
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Operating income |
26,092 | 45,335 | 60,920 | 77,314 | 95,501 | |||||||||||||||
Other income (expense): |
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Interest income |
4,730 | 8,035 | 6,599 | 6,474 | 13,017 | |||||||||||||||
Interest expense |
(416 | ) | | | | | ||||||||||||||
Miscellaneous income (expense), net |
(105 | ) | (886 | ) | 590 | (252 | ) | 1,257 | ||||||||||||
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Income before provisions for income taxes and noncontrolling interest |
30,301 | 52,484 | 68,109 | 83,536 | 109,775 | |||||||||||||||
Provision for income taxes: |
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Current |
(2,231 | ) | (3,839 | ) | (8,399 | ) | (7,845 | ) | (9,390 | ) | ||||||||||
Deferred |
401 | 195 | 1,143 | 1,871 | 1,154 | |||||||||||||||
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Provision for income taxes |
(1,830 | ) | (3,644 | ) | (7,256 | ) | (5,974 | ) | (8,236 | ) | ||||||||||
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Net income |
28,471 | 48,840 | 60,853 | 77,562 | 101,539 | |||||||||||||||
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Add: Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest(2) |
128 | 173 | 163 | 227 | 235 | |||||||||||||||
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Net income attributable to New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. |
28,599 | 49,013 | 61,016 | 77,789 | 101,774 | |||||||||||||||
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Net income per share and net income per ADS attributable to New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. basic(3) |
0.21 | 0.33 | 0.41 | 0.52 | 0.66 | |||||||||||||||
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Net income per share and net income per ADS attributable to New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. diluted(3) |
0.20 | 0.31 | 0.40 | 0.50 | 0.65 | |||||||||||||||
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Shares used in calculating basic net income per share |
134,218,191 | 149,992,200 | 149,090,088 | 150,952,249 | 153,253,065 | |||||||||||||||
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Shares used in calculating diluted net income per share |
142,093,794 | 156,449,101 | 153,528,383 | 154,831,633 | 156,071,833 | |||||||||||||||
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(1) | Share-based compensation expenses are included in our operating costs and expenses as follows: |
3
For the Years Ended May 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
(in thousands of US$) |
2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | |||||||||||||||
Cost of revenues |
277 | 707 | 316 | 657 | 900 | |||||||||||||||
Selling and marketing |
109 | 226 | 225 | 117 | | |||||||||||||||
General and administrative |
4,261 | 7,809 | 16,209 | 15,409 | 14,145 | |||||||||||||||
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Total |
4,647 | 8,742 | 16,750 | 16,183 | 15,045 | |||||||||||||||
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(2) | Amounts in relation to noncontrolling interests, formerly named minority interest, for the years ended May 31, 2007, 2008 and 2009 are reclassified in accordance with authoritative guidance regarding the noncontrolling interests, which we adopted on June 1, 2009. |
(3) | Each ADS represents one common share. Effective August 18, 2011, the ratio of ADSs to our common shares was changed from one ADS representing four common shares to one ADS representing one common share. |
The following table presents a summary of our consolidated balance sheet data as of May 31, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011:
As of May 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
(in thousands of US$) |
2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | |||||||||||||||
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet Data: |
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Cash and cash equivalents |
204,396 | 208,440 | 254,772 | 281,104 | 317,260 | |||||||||||||||
Total assets |
316,090 | 396,743 | 469,402 | 596,420 | 863,370 | |||||||||||||||
Total current liabilities |
68,872 | 97,886 | 117,761 | 168,705 | 288,000 | |||||||||||||||
Total liabilities |
68,872 | 97,886 | 117,918 | 168,842 | 289,147 | |||||||||||||||
Total shareholders equity |
246,980 | 298,680 | 351,246 | 427,567 | 574,223 | |||||||||||||||
Noncontrolling interest |
238 | 177 | 238 | 11 | | |||||||||||||||
Total equity |
247,218 | 298,857 | 351,484 | 427,578 | 574,223 |
Exchange Rate Information
Our business is primarily conducted in China and substantially all of our revenues are denominated in RMB. This annual report contains translations of RMB amounts into U.S. dollars at specific rates solely for the convenience of the reader. Unless otherwise noted, including in Note 2Significant Accounting PoliciesForeign currency translation in the notes accompanying our financial statements, all translations from RMB to U.S. dollars and from U.S. dollars to RMB in this annual report were made at a rate of RMB6.4786 to US$1.00, the noon buying rate in The City of New York for cable transfers of RMB as certified for customs purposes by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, or the noon buying rate, on May 31, 2011. We make no representation that any RMB or U.S. dollar amounts could have been, or could be, converted into U.S. dollars or RMB, as the case may be, at any particular rate, the rates stated below, or at all. The PRC government imposes control over its foreign currency reserves in part through direct regulation of the conversion of RMB into foreign exchange and through restrictions on foreign trade. On October 7, 2011, the noon buying rate was RMB6.3745 to US$1.00.
The following table sets forth information concerning exchange rates between the RMB and the U.S. dollar for the periods indicated. Fiscal year refers to our fiscal year ended on May 31. These rates are provided solely for your convenience and are not necessarily the exchange rates that we used in this annual report or will use in the preparation of our periodic reports or any other information to be provided to you.
4
Noon Buying Rate | ||||||||||||||||
Period |
Period End | Average(1) | High | Low | ||||||||||||
(RMB Per US$ 1.00) | ||||||||||||||||
Fiscal Year 2007 |
7.6516 | 7.8473 | 7.6463 | 8.0225 | ||||||||||||
Fiscal Year 2008 |
6.9400 | 7.3368 | 6.9377 | 7.6680 | ||||||||||||
Fiscal Year 2009 |
6.8278 | 6.8298 | 6.7800 | 6.9633 | ||||||||||||
Fiscal Year 2010 |
6.8305 | 6.8276 | 6.8229 | 6.8371 | ||||||||||||
Fiscal Year 2011 |
6.4786 | 6.6556 | 6.4786 | 6.8323 | ||||||||||||
2011 |
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April |
6.4900 | 6.5267 | 6.4900 | 6.5477 | ||||||||||||
May |
6.4786 | 6.4957 | 6.4786 | 6.5073 | ||||||||||||
June |
6.4635 | 6.4746 | 6.4628 | 6.4830 | ||||||||||||
July |
6.4360 | 6.4575 | 6.4360 | 6.4720 | ||||||||||||
August |
6.3778 | 6.4036 | 6.3778 | 6.4401 | ||||||||||||
September |
6.3780 | 6.3885 | 6.3780 | 6.3975 | ||||||||||||
October (through October 7, 2011) |
6.3745 | 6.3752 | 6.3745 | 6.3780 |
Source: Federal Reserve Statistical Release
(1) | Annual averages are calculated from the average of daily rates. Monthly averages are calculated using the average of the daily rates during the relevant period. |
B. | Capitalization and Indebtedness |
Not applicable.
C. | Reasons for the Offer and Use of Proceeds |
Not applicable.
D. | Risk Factors |
Risks Related to Our Business
If we are not able to continue to attract students to enroll in our courses without a significant decrease in course fees, our revenues may decline and we may not be able to maintain profitability.
The success of our business depends primarily on the number of student enrollments in our courses and the amount of course fees that our students are willing to pay. Therefore, our ability to continue to attract students to enroll in our courses without a significant decrease in course fees is critical to the continued success and growth of our business. This in turn will depend on several factors, including our ability to develop new programs and enhance existing programs to respond to changes in market trends and student demands, expand our geographic reach, manage our growth while maintaining the consistency of our teaching quality, effectively market our programs to a broader base of prospective students, develop and license additional high-quality educational content and respond to competitive pressures. If we are unable to continue to attract students to enroll in our courses without a significant decrease in course fees, our revenue may decline and we may not be able to maintain profitability.
We depend on our dedicated and capable faculty, and if we are not able to continue to hire, train and retain qualified teachers, we may not be able to maintain consistent teaching quality throughout our school network and our brand, business and operating results may be materially and adversely affected.
Our teachers are critical to maintaining the quality of our programs, services and products and maintaining our brand and reputation, as they interact with our students on a daily basis. We must continue to attract qualified teachers who have a strong command of the subject areas to be taught and meet our qualification. We also seek to hire teachers who are capable of delivering innovative and inspirational instruction. There are a limited number of teachers in China with the necessary experience and language proficiency to teach our courses and we must provide competitive compensation packages to attract and retain qualified teachers. In addition, criteria such as commitment and dedication are difficult to ascertain during the recruitment process, in particular as we continue to expand and add teachers to meet rising student enrollments. We must also provide continuous training to our teachers so that they can stay up to date with changes in student demands, admissions and assessment tests, admissions standards and other key trends necessary to effectively teach their respective courses. We may not be able to hire, train and retain enough qualified teachers to keep pace with our anticipated growth while maintaining consistent teaching quality across many different schools, learning centers and programs in different geographic locations. Shortages of qualified teachers or decreases in the quality of our instruction, whether actual or perceived, in one or more of our markets may have a material and adverse effect on our business.
5
Our business depends on our New Oriental brand, and if we are not able to maintain and enhance our brand, our business and operating results may be harmed.
We believe that market awareness of our New Oriental brand has contributed significantly to the success of our business. We also believe that maintaining and enhancing the New Oriental brand is critical to maintaining our competitive advantage. We offer a diverse set of programs, services and products to primary and middle school students, college students and other adults throughout many provinces and cities in China. As we continue to grow in size, expand our program, service and product offerings and extend our geographic reach, maintaining quality and consistency may be more difficult to achieve.
In recent years, we have invested significantly in brand promotion initiatives. We cannot assure you that these or our other marketing efforts will be successful in promoting our brand to remain competitive. If we are unable to further enhance our brand recognition and increase awareness of our programs, services and products, or if we incur excessive marketing and promotion expenses, our business and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. In addition, any negative publicity relating to our company or our programs and services, regardless of its veracity, could harm our brand image and in turn adversely affect our business and operating results.
We face risks related to health epidemics and other outbreaks, which could result in reduced attendance or temporary closure of our schools, learning centers and bookstores.
Our business could be materially and adversely affected by the outbreak of avian influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, or other epidemics. In April 2009, a new strain of influenza A virus subtype H1N1, commonly referred to as swine flu, was first discovered in North America and quickly spread to other parts of the world, including China. In early June 2009, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak to be a pandemic, while noting that most of the illnesses were of moderate severity. The PRC Ministry of Health subsequently reported several hundred deaths caused by the influenza A (H1N1). The influenza A (H1N1) outbreak adversely affected our business and results of operations in the first and second fiscal quarters of 2010 as we experienced slower-than-usual student enrollment growth and large numbers of cancellations and deferments in enrollments from registered students. In addition, we had to cancel classes whenever an enrolled student was diagnosed with influenza A (H1N1), as required by applicable health regulations. Any future outbreak of avian influenza, SARS, the influenza A (H1N1) or other adverse public health developments in China may have a material and adverse effect on our business operations. These occurrences could cause cancellations or deferments of student enrollments and require the temporary closure of our schools, learning centers and bookstores, thus severely disrupting our business operations and adversely affecting our results of operations.
Failure to effectively and efficiently manage the expansion of our school network may materially and adversely affect our ability to capitalize on new business opportunities.
We have increased the number of our schools in China from three in 2001 to 54 by the end of May 2011, and we increased the number of our learning centers in China from 23 in 2001 to 433 by the end of May 2011. We plan to continue to expand our operations in different geographic locations in China. Our expansion has resulted, and will continue to result, in substantial demands on our management, faculty and operational, technological and other resources. Our planned expansion will also place significant demands on us to maintain the consistency of our teaching quality and our culture to ensure that our brand does not suffer as a result of any decreases, whether actual or perceived, in our teaching quality. To manage and support our growth, we must continue to improve our existing operational, administrative and technological systems and our financial and management controls, and recruit, train and retain additional qualified teachers, management personnel and other administrative and sales and marketing personnel, particularly as we expand into new markets. We cannot assure you that we will be able to effectively and efficiently manage the growth of our operations, recruit and retain qualified teachers and management personnel and integrate new schools and learning centers into our operations. Any failure to effectively and efficiently manage our expansion may materially and adversely affect our ability to capitalize on new business opportunities, which in turn may have a material adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations.
If we fail to successfully execute our growth strategies, we may not be able to continue to attract students to enroll in our courses without a significant decrease in course fees, and our business and prospects may be materially and adversely affected.
6
Our growth strategies include expanding our program, service and product offerings and our network of schools, learning centers and bookstores, updating and expanding the content of our programs, services and products in a cost-effective and timely manner, as well as maintaining and continuing to establish strategic relationships with complementary businesses. The expansion of our programs, services and products in terms of types of offerings and geographic locations may not succeed due to competition, failure to effectively market our new programs, services and products and maintain their quality and consistency, or other factors. In addition, we may be unable to identify new cities with sufficient growth potential to expand our network, and we may fail to attract students and increase student enrollments or recruit, train and retain qualified teachers for our new schools and learning centers. Some cities in China have undergone development and expansion for several decades while others are still at an early stage of urbanization and development. In more developed cities, it may be difficult to increase the number of schools and learning centers because we and/or our competitors already have extensive operations in these cities. In recently developed and developing cities, demand for our programs, services and products may not increase as rapidly as we expect. Furthermore, we may be unable to develop or license additional content on commercially reasonable terms and in a timely manner, or at all, to keep pace with changes in market demands. If we fail to successfully execute our growth strategies, we may not be able to continue to attract students to enroll in our courses without a significant decrease in course fees, and our business and prospects may be materially and adversely affected.
We may not be able to achieve the benefits we expect from recent and future acquisitions, and recent and future acquisitions may have an adverse effect on our ability to manage our business.
As part of our business strategy, we have pursued and intend to continue to pursue selective strategic acquisitions of businesses that complement our existing businesses. Acquisitions expose us to potential risks, including risks associated with the diversion of resources from our existing businesses, difficulties in successfully integrating the acquired businesses, failure to achieve expected growth by the acquired businesses and an inability to generate sufficient revenue to offset the costs and expenses of acquisitions. If the revenue and cost synergies that we expect to achieve from our acquisitions do not materialize, we may have to recognize impairment charges. For example, in June 2008 we acquired a 60% equity stake in Beijing Haidian Mingshitang Exam Training Education School, or Mingshitang School, a Beijing-based private school that specializes in tutoring students seeking to retake the Chinese college entrance examination, and in September 2008 we acquired Changchun Tongwen Gaokao Training Education School, or Tongwen Gaokao School, which provides services similar to those of Mingshitang School. In the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010, we recognized a goodwill impairment loss of US$76,000 arising from the acquisitions of Mingshitang School and Tongwen Gaokao School. We disposed Mingshitang School in April 2011 and recorded a loss of US$1.2 million on the disposal. As another example, in September 2010, we completed the acquisition of a 100% equity interest in Newave Education, a K-12 English language school in Shanghai. Due to breach of contract by the seller of Newave Education, we submitted a request for arbitration to the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission for full refund of the purchase consideration which we had paid. The case was accepted in August 2011.
If any one or more of the aforementioned risks associated with acquisitions materialize, our acquisitions may not be beneficial to us and may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Third parties have in the past brought intellectual property infringement claims against us based on the content of the books and other teaching or marketing materials that we or our teachers authored and/or distributed and may bring similar claims against us in the future.
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We may be subject to claims by educational institutions and organizations, content providers and publishers, competitors and others on the ground of intellectual property rights infringement, defamation, negligence or other legal theories based on the content of the materials that we or our teachers author and/or distribute as course materials. These types of claims have been brought, sometimes successfully, against print publications and educational institutions in the past, including ourselves. For example, in January 2001, the Graduate Management Admission Council, or GMAC, and Educational Testing Service, or ETS, filed three separate lawsuits against us in the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate Peoples Court, alleging that we had violated the copyrights and trademarks relating to the GMAT test owned by GMAC and relating to the GRE and TOEFL tests owned by ETS by duplicating, selling and distributing their test materials without their authorization. In September 2003, the trial court found that we had violated GMACs and ETSs respective copyrights and trademarks in connection with those admissions tests. The trial courts judgment was partially affirmed in a final judgment issued by the Beijing Higher Peoples Court in December 2004. The Beijing Higher Peoples Court held that we had not misused the trademarks of GMAC or ETS. However, it also found that the TOEFL and GRE tests were the original works of ETS and the GMAT test was the original work of GMAC, all of which are protected under the PRC Copyright Law. The Beijing Higher Peoples Court held that our duplication, sale and distribution of the test materials relating to these tests without ETSs and GMACs prior permission were not a reasonable use of the test materials under the PRC Copyright Law, and that we, therefore, had infringed upon ETSs and GMACs respective copyrights. We were ordered to pay damages in an aggregate of approximately RMB6.5 million cease all infringing activities and destroy all copyright-infringing materials in our possession, all of which we have done. Since the Beijing Higher Peoples Court issued the final judgment in 2004, we have endeavored to comply with the court order and applicable PRC laws and regulations relating to intellectual property, and we have adopted policies and procedures to prohibit our employees and contractors from engaging in any copyright, trademark or trade name infringing activities. However, we cannot assure you that every teacher or other personnel will strictly comply with these policies at our schools, learning centers or other locations or media through which we provide our programs, services and products.
We have also been involved in other claims and legal proceedings against us relating to infringement of third parties copyrights in materials distributed by us and the unauthorized use of a third partys name in connection with the marketing and promotion of one of our programs, and may be subject to further claims in the future, particularly in light of the uncertainties in the interpretation and application of PRC intellectual property laws and regulations. Furthermore, if printed publications or other materials that we or our teachers author and/or distribute contain materials that government authorities find objectionable, these publications may have to be recalled, which could result in increased expenses, loss in revenues and adverse publicity. Any claims against us, with or without merit, could be time-consuming and costly to defend or litigate, divert our managements attention and resources or result in the loss of goodwill associated with our brand. If a lawsuit against us is successful, we may be required to pay substantial damages and/or enter into royalty or license agreements that may not be based upon commercially reasonable terms, or we may be unable to enter into such agreements at all. We may also lose, or be limited in, the rights to offer some of our programs, services and products or be required to make changes to our course materials or websites. As a result, the scope of our course materials could be reduced, which could adversely affect the effectiveness of our teaching, limit our ability to attract new students, harm our reputation and have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial position.
We may lose our competitive advantage and our reputation, brand and operations may suffer if we fail to prevent the loss or misappropriation of, or disputes over, our intellectual property rights.
We consider our trademarks and trade name invaluable to our ability to continue to develop and enhance our brand recognition. We have spent over a decade building our New Oriental brand by emphasizing quality and consistency and building trust among students and parents. From time to time, our trademarks and trade name have been used by third parties for or as part of other branded programs, services and products unrelated to us. We have sent cease and desist letters to such third parties in the past and will continue to do so in the future. However, preventing trademark and trade name infringement, particularly in China, is difficult, costly and time-consuming and continued unauthorized use of our trademarks and trade name by unrelated third parties may damage our reputation and brand. In addition, we have spent significant time and expense developing or licensing and localizing the content of certain educational materials, such as books, software, CD-ROMs, magazines and other periodicals, to enrich our product offerings and meet students needs. The measures we take to protect our trademarks, copyrights and other intellectual property rights, which presently are based upon a combination of trademark, copyright and trade secret laws, may not be adequate to prevent unauthorized use by third parties. Furthermore, the application of laws governing intellectual property rights in China and abroad is uncertain and evolving, and could involve substantial risks to us. If we are unable to adequately protect our trademarks, copyrights and other intellectual property rights, we may lose these rights, our brand name may be harmed, and our business may suffer materially.
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We face significant competition in each major program we offer and each geographic market in which we operate, and if we fail to compete effectively, we may lose our market share and our profitability may be adversely affected.
The private education sector in China is rapidly evolving, highly fragmented and competitive, and we expect competition in this sector to persist and intensify. We face competition in each major program we offer and each geographic market in which we operate. For example, we face nationwide competition for our IELTS preparation courses from Global IELTS School, which offers IELTS preparation courses in many cities in China. We face regional competition for our English for children program from several competitors that focus on childrens English training in specific regions, including English First. We face competition for our Elite English program primarily from Wall Street Institute and EF English First, both of which offer English training courses for adults in many cities in China. Wall Street Institute began providing high-end English training courses to adults in major cities several years before we entered this market and enjoys a first-mover advantage. We also face competition from companies that focus on providing international and/or PRC test preparation courses in specific geographic markets in China.
Our student enrollments may decrease due to intense competition. Some of our competitors may have more resources than we do. These competitors may be able to devote greater resources than we can to the development, promotion and sale of their programs, services and products and respond more quickly than we can to changes in student needs, testing materials, admissions standards or new technologies. In addition, we face competition from many different smaller sized organizations that focus on some of our targeted markets, and they may be able to respond more promptly to changes in student preferences in these markets. In addition, the increasing use of the Internet and advances in Internet- and computer-related technologies, such as web video conferencing and online testing simulators, are eliminating geographic and cost-entry barriers to providing private educational services. As a result, many of our international competitors that offer online test preparation and language training courses, such as The Princeton Review, Inc. and Kaplan, Inc. may be able to more effectively penetrate the China market. Many of these international competitors have strong education brands, and students and parents in China may be attracted to the offerings of international competitors based in the country that the student wishes to study in or in which the selected language is widely spoken. Moreover, many smaller companies are able to use the Internet to quickly and cost-effectively offer their programs, services and products to a large number of students with less capital expenditure than previously required. We may have to reduce course fees or increase spending in response to competition in order to retain or attract students or pursue new market opportunities. As a result, our revenues and profitability may decrease. We cannot assure you that we will be able to compete successfully against current or future competitors. If we are unable to maintain our competitive position or otherwise respond to competitive pressures effectively, we may lose our market share and our profitability may be adversely affected.
Failure to adequately and promptly respond to changes in testing materials, admissions standards and technologies could cause our programs, services and products to be less attractive to students.
Admissions and assessment tests undergo continuous change, in terms of the focus of the subjects and questions tested, the format of the tests and the manner in which the tests are administered. For example, certain admissions and assessment tests in the United States now include an essay component, which required us to hire and train teachers to be able to analyze written essays that tend to be more subjective in nature and require a higher level of English proficiency. In addition, some admissions and assessment tests that were previously offered in paper format only are now offered in a computer-based testing format. These changes require us to continually update and enhance our test preparation materials and our teaching methods. Further, we understand the Chinese Ministry of Education has been discussing reforms of the curriculum of primary and secondary schools. Therefore, school curriculum will likely undergo changes, and our tutoring programs and materials will need to be adapted for such changes. Any inability to track and respond to these changes in a timely and cost-effective manner would make our programs, services and products less attractive to students, which may materially and adversely affect our reputation and ability to continue to attract students without a significant decrease in course fees.
If colleges, universities and other higher education institutions reduce their reliance on admissions and assessment tests, we may experience a decrease in demand for our test preparation courses and our business may be materially and adversely affected.
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We provide preparation courses for both overseas and domestic admissions and assessment tests. In the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, we derived a significant portion of our revenues from test preparation courses. The success of our test preparation courses depends on the continued use of admissions and assessment tests as a requirement for admission or graduation. However, the use of admissions tests in China may decline or fall out of favor with educational institutions and government authorities. For example, in early 2005, the PRC Ministry of Education started reforming the CET 4 and the CET 6 exams. The reform, among other things, limited these exams only to college students starting from 2007 and has effectively limited the pool of potential students for our CET 4 and CET 6 exam preparation courses to college students only. More recently, educational institutions and government authorities in China have initiated discussions and conducted early experiments in China on school admissions. Generally, these discussions and experiments exhibit a trend of basing admissions decisions less on entrance exam scores and more on a combination of other factors, such as past academic record, extracurricular activities and comprehensive aptitude evaluations. There have been certain changes in some geographic areas in the way the high school entrance exam is administered. In 2009, 76 universities and colleges were allowed to recruit up to 5% of their students through independently administered tests according to a notice promulgated by the MOE, although students admitted in this manner still need to meet certain thresholds in the national college entrance exam. It has been reported that the number of such universities and colleges will further increase. If the use of admissions tests in China declines or falls out of favor with educational institutions and government authorities and if we fail to respond to these changes, the demand for certain of our services may decline, and our business may be materially and adversely affected.
In the United States, there has been a continuing debate regarding the usefulness of admissions and assessment tests to assess qualifications of applicants and many people have criticized the use of admissions and assessment tests as unfairly discriminating against certain test takers. If a large number of educational institutions abandon the use of existing admissions and assessment tests as a requirement for admission, without replacing them with other admissions and assessment tests, we may experience a decrease in demand for our test preparation courses and our business may be seriously harmed.
We have experienced and may continue to experience a decrease in our margins.
Many factors may cause our gross and net margins to decline. For example, there is a recent trend that the short-term language training and test preparation markets are moving towards smaller class sizes, especially for students between the ages of five and 12. This may have resulted from discretionary income increases for families in China, which cause students to be more willing and able to pay higher course fees for the more individualized attention that smaller classes can offer. In our fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, the average class size for our short-term language training and test preparation courses was approximately 15 students per class, which decreased from approximately 21 students per class in the previous fiscal year. Although our smaller-sized classes are highly profitable, they are marginally less profitable on average than our large classes. Our net margin for our fiscal year ended May 31, 2011 was 18.2%, down from 20.1% in the previous fiscal year. This decrease was partly due to the increase in demand for our smaller-sized classes. In addition, our new investments and acquisitions may also cause our margins to decline before we successfully integrate the acquired businesses into our operations and realize the full benefits of these investments and acquisitions. There is a risk that our margins could continue to decline in the future due to increasing demand for our smaller-sized classes and/or other factors.
New programs, services and products that we develop may compete with our current offerings.
We are constantly developing new programs, services and products to meet changes in student demands and respond to changes in testing materials, admissions standards, market needs and trends and technological changes. While some of the programs, services and products that we develop will expand our current offerings and increase student enrollments, others may compete with or make irrelevant our existing offerings without increasing our total student enrollments. For example, our online courses may take away students from our existing classroom-based courses, and our new schools and learning centers may take away students from our existing schools and learning centers. If we are unable to expand our program, service and product offerings while increasing our total student enrollments and profitability, our business and growth may be adversely affected.
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Our business is subject to fluctuations caused by seasonality or other factors beyond our control, which may cause our operating results to fluctuate from quarter to quarter. This may result in volatility and adversely affect the price of our ADSs.
We have experienced, and expect to continue to experience, seasonal fluctuations in our revenues and results of operations, primarily due to seasonal changes in student enrollments. Historically, our courses tend to have the largest student enrollments in our first fiscal quarter, which runs from June 1 to August 31 of each year, primarily because many students enroll in our courses during the summer vacation to enhance their foreign language skills and/or prepare for admissions and assessment tests in subsequent school terms. In addition, we have generally experienced larger student enrollments in our third fiscal quarter, which runs from December 1 to February 28 of each year, primarily because many students enroll in our language training and other courses during the winter school holidays. Our expenses, however, vary significantly and do not necessarily correspond with changes in our student enrollments and revenues. We make investments in marketing and promotion, teacher recruitment and training, and product development throughout the year. In addition, other factors beyond our control, such as special events that take place during a quarter when our student enrollment would normally be high, may have a negative impact on our student enrollments. For example, the Beijing Olympic Games held in August 2008 negatively impacted our business in the fiscal quarter ended August 31, 2008 due to transportation and security logistics arrangements in Beijing and some distractions from classes as the nation enjoyed the Olympic Games. We expect quarterly fluctuations in our revenues and results of operations to continue. These fluctuations could result in volatility and adversely affect the price of our ADSs. As our revenues grow, these seasonal fluctuations may become more pronounced.
Our historical financial and operating results are not indicative of our future performance; and our financial and operating results are difficult to forecast.
Our financial and operating results may not meet the expectations of public market analysts or investors, which could cause the price of our ADSs to decline. In addition to the fluctuations described above, our revenues, expenses and operating results may vary from quarter to quarter and from year to year in response to a variety of other factors beyond our control, including:
| general economic conditions; |
| regulations or actions pertaining to the provision of private educational services in China; |
| changes in consumers spending patterns; and |
| non-recurring charges incurred in connection with acquisitions or other extraordinary transactions or unexpected circumstances. |
Due to these and other factors, we believe that quarter-to-quarter comparisons of our operating results may not be indicative of our future performance, and therefore you should not rely on them to predict the future performance of our ADSs. In addition, our past results may not be indicative of future performance because of new businesses developed or acquired by us.
Our business is difficult to evaluate because we have limited experience generating net income from some of our newer services.
Historically, our core businesses have been English language training for adults and test preparation courses for college and graduate students. We started professional certification preparation programs in 2007, which include preparation for the PRC bar exam, certified public accountant exam, and the civil service exam. Also in 2007, we established our pre-school business with the opening of our first kindergarten in Beijing. In 2008, we launched our New Oriental U-Can (Non-English) training program, which targets middle and high school students in China from ages 13 to 18 who are preparing for the college entrance examination in China, known as the gaokao. The gaokao is required for admission to bachelor degree programs and most associate degree programs at colleges and universities in China. Some of these operations have not generated significant or any profit to date, and we have less experience responding quickly to changes, competing successfully and maintaining and expanding our brand in these areas without jeopardizing our brand in other areas. Consequently, there is limited operating history on which you can base your evaluation of the business and prospects of these relatively more recent operations.
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Our success depends on the continuing efforts of our senior management team and other key personnel, and our business may be harmed if we lose their services.
Our future success depends heavily upon the continuing services of the members of our senior management team, in particular, our founder, chairman and chief executive officer, Michael Minhong Yu, who has been our leader since our inception in 1993. If one or more of our senior executives or other key personnel are unable or unwilling to continue in their present positions, we may not be able to replace them easily or at all, and our business may be disrupted and our financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. Competition for experienced management personnel in the private education sector is intense, the pool of qualified candidates is very limited, and we may not be able to retain the services of our senior executives or key personnel, or attract and retain high-quality senior executives or key personnel in the future. In addition, if any member of our senior management team or any of our other key personnel joins a competitor or forms a competing company, we may lose teachers, students, key professionals and staff members. Each of our executive officers and key employees has entered into a confidentiality and non-competition agreement with us. However, if any disputes arise between any of our senior executives or key personnel and us, it may be difficult to enforce these agreements against these individuals because of the uncertainties of Chinas legal systems.
We generate a majority of our revenues from four cities in China. Any event negatively affecting the private education industry in these cities could have a material adverse effect on our overall business and results of operations.
We derived approximately 50% of our total net revenues for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011 from our operations in Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan and Guangzhou, and we expect these four cities to continue to constitute important sources of our revenues. If any of these cities experiences an event negatively affecting its private education industry, such as a serious economic downturn, a natural disaster or an outbreak of contagious disease, or if any of these cities adopts regulations relating to private education that place additional restrictions or burdens on us, our overall business and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.
If we are not able to continually enhance our online programs, services and products and adapt them to rapid technological changes and student needs, we may lose market share and our business could be adversely affected.
The market for Internet-based educational programs, services and products is characterized by rapid technological changes and innovation, unpredictable product life cycles and user preferences. We have limited experience with generating revenues from online programs, services and products, and their results are largely uncertain. The increasing adoption of computer-based testing formats for admissions testing may lead more students to seek online test preparation courses. We must quickly modify our programs, services and products to adapt to changing student needs and preferences, technological advances and evolving Internet practices. Ongoing enhancement of our online offerings and related technology may entail significant expense and technical risk. We may fail to use new technologies effectively or adapt our online products or services and related technology on a timely and cost-effective basis. If our improvements to our online offerings and the related technology are delayed, result in systems interruptions or are not aligned with market expectations or preferences, we may lose market share and our business could be adversely affected.
Failure to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could have a material and adverse effect on the trading price of our ADSs.
We are subject to the reporting obligations under the U.S. securities laws. Although our management concluded, and our independent registered public accounting firm reported, that we maintained effective internal control over financial reporting as of May 31, 2011, we cannot assure you that we will maintain effective internal control over financial reporting on an ongoing basis. If we fail to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, we will not be able to conclude and our independent registered public accounting firm will not be able to report that we have effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 in our future annual report on Form 20-F covering the fiscal year in which this failure occurs. Effective internal control over financial reporting is necessary for us to produce reliable financial reports. Any failure to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could result in the loss of investor confidence in the reliability of our financial statements, which in turn could have a material and adverse effect on the trading price of our ADSs. Furthermore, we may need to incur additional costs and use additional management and other resources as our business and operations further expand or in an effort to remediate any significant control deficiencies that may be identified in the future.
We do not have any liability or business disruption insurance, and a liability claim against us due to injuries suffered by our students or other people at our facilities could adversely affect our reputation and our financial results.
We could be held liable for accidents that occur at our schools, learning centers and other facilities, including indoor facilities where we organize certain summer camp activities and temporary housing facilities that we lease for our students from time to time. In the event of on-site food poisoning, personal injuries, fires or other accidents suffered by students or other people, we could face claims alleging that we were negligent, provided inadequate supervision or were otherwise liable for the injuries. We currently do not have any liability insurance or business disruption insurance. A successful liability claim against us due to injuries suffered by our students or other people at our facilities could adversely affect our reputation and our financial results. Even if unsuccessful, such a claim could cause unfavorable publicity, require substantial cost to defend and divert the time and attention of our management.
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Capacity constraints or system disruptions to our computer systems or websites could damage our reputation, limit our ability to retain students and increase student enrollments and require us to expend significant resources.
The performance and reliability of our online program infrastructure is critical to our reputation and ability to retain students and increase student enrollments. Any system error or failure, or a sudden and significant increase in traffic, could result in the difficulty of accessing our websites by our students or unavailability of our online programs. We cannot assure you that we will be able to timely expand our online program infrastructure to meet demand for such programs. Our computer systems and operations could be vulnerable to interruption or malfunction due to events beyond our control, including natural disasters and telecommunications failures. Our computer networks may also be vulnerable to unauthorized access, hacking, computer viruses and other security problems. A user who circumvents security measures could misappropriate proprietary information or cause interruptions or malfunctions in operations. Any interruption to our computer systems or operations could have a material adverse effect on our ability to retain students and increase student enrollments. Furthermore, we may be required to expend significant resources to protect against the threat of security breaches or to alleviate problems caused by these breaches.
Terrorist attacks, geopolitical uncertainty and international conflicts involving the U.S. and elsewhere may discourage more students from studying in the United States and elsewhere outside of China, which could cause declines in the student enrollments for our courses.
Terrorist attacks, geopolitical uncertainty and international conflicts involving the U.S. and elsewhere, such as those that took place on September 11, 2001, could have an adverse effect on our overseas test preparation courses and English language training courses. Such attacks may discourage students from studying in the United States and elsewhere outside of China and may also make it more difficult for Chinese students to obtain visas to study abroad. These factors could cause declines in the student enrollments for our test preparation and English language training courses and could have an adverse effect on our overall business and results of operations.
Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure
If the PRC government finds that the agreements that establish the structure for operating our China business do not comply with applicable PRC laws and regulations, we could be subject to severe penalties.
PRC laws and regulations currently require any foreign entity that invests in the education business in China to be an educational institution with relevant experience in providing educational services outside China. Our Cayman Islands holding company is not an educational institution and does not provide educational services. In addition, foreign ownership of primary and middle schools for students in grades one to nine is prohibited in the PRC. Accordingly, our wholly owned subsidiaries in China, which are considered foreign invested enterprises, are currently ineligible to apply for the required education licenses and permits in China. We conduct our education business in China through contractual arrangements with New Oriental China and its subsidiaries and shareholders. New Oriental China is our consolidated affiliated entity directly owned by our founders and/or their respective affiliates. New Oriental Chinas subsidiaries hold the requisite licenses and permits necessary to conduct our education business and operate our schools, learning centers and bookstores in China. We have been and are expected to continue to be dependent on New Oriental China and its subsidiaries to operate our education business until we qualify for direct ownership of educational businesses in China. We have entered into contractual arrangements with New Oriental China and its subsidiaries, pursuant to which we, through our wholly owned subsidiaries in China, provide exclusive teaching support, new enrollment system support and other services to New Oriental China and its subsidiaries in exchange for payments from them. In addition, we have entered into agreements with New Oriental China and each of the shareholders of New Oriental China, which provide us with a substantial ability to control New Oriental China and its existing and future subsidiaries.
If we, any of our wholly owned subsidiaries, New Oriental China or any of its existing and future subsidiaries are found to be in violation of any existing or future PRC laws or regulations or fail to obtain or maintain any of the required permits or approvals, the relevant PRC regulatory authorities, including the Ministry of Education, which regulates the education industry, would have broad discretion in dealing with such violations, including:
| revoking the business and operating licenses of our PRC subsidiaries and affiliated entities; |
| discontinuing or restricting the operations of any related-party transactions among our PRC subsidiaries and affiliated entities; |
| imposing fines or other requirements with which we or our PRC subsidiaries and affiliated entities may not be able to comply; |
| requiring us or our PRC subsidiaries and affiliated entities to restructure the relevant ownership structure or operations; or |
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| restricting or prohibiting our use of the proceeds of our additional public offering to finance our business and operations in China. |
The imposition of any of these penalties could result in a material and adverse effect on our ability to conduct our business.
We rely on contractual arrangements with New Oriental China and its subsidiaries and shareholders for our China operations, which may not be as effective in providing operational control as direct ownership.
We have relied and expect to continue to rely on contractual arrangements with New Oriental China and its subsidiaries and shareholders to operate our education business. For a description of these contractual arrangements, see Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party TransactionsB. Related Party TransactionsContractual Arrangements with New Oriental China and Its Subsidiary and Shareholders. These contractual arrangements may not be as effective in providing us with control over New Oriental China and its subsidiaries as direct ownership. If we had direct ownership of New Oriental China and its subsidiaries, we would be able to exercise our rights as a shareholder to effect changes in the board of directors of New Oriental China and its subsidiaries, which in turn could effect changes, subject to any applicable fiduciary obligations, at the management level. However, under the current contractual arrangements, as a legal matter, if New Oriental China or any of its subsidiaries and shareholders fails to perform its or his respective obligations under these contractual arrangements, we may have to incur substantial costs and spend other resources to enforce such arrangements, and rely on legal remedies under PRC law, including seeking specific performance or injunctive relief and claiming damages, which may not be effective. For example, if the shareholders of New Oriental China were to refuse to transfer their equity interest in New Oriental China to us or our designee when we exercise the call option pursuant to these contractual arrangements, or if they were otherwise to act in bad faith toward us, then we may have to take legal action to compel them to fulfill their contractual obligations. In addition, we may not be able to renew these contracts with New Oriental China and/or its subsidiaries and shareholders if the beneficial owners of New Oriental China do not act in the best interests of our company when conflicts of interest arise between their dual roles as beneficial owners and directors of both New Oriental China and our company.
Many of these contractual arrangements are governed by PRC law and provide for the resolution of disputes through arbitration in the PRC. Accordingly, these contracts would be interpreted in accordance with PRC law and any disputes would be resolved in accordance with PRC legal procedures. The legal environment in the PRC is not as developed as in some other jurisdictions, such as the United States. As a result, uncertainties in the PRC legal system could limit our ability to enforce these contractual arrangements. In the event we are unable to enforce these contractual arrangements, we may not be able to exert effective control over our affiliated entities, and our ability to conduct our business may be negatively affected.
The beneficial owners of New Oriental China may have potential conflicts of interest with us, which may materially and adversely affect our business and financial condition.
The beneficial owners of New Oriental China are also the founders and beneficial owners of our company. Some of them are directors of both New Oriental China and our company. Conflicts of interests between their dual roles as beneficial owners and directors of both New Oriental China and our company may arise. We cannot assure you that when conflicts of interest arise, any or all of these individuals will act in the best interests of our company or that conflicts of interests will be resolved in our favor. In addition, these individuals may breach or cause New Oriental China and its subsidiaries to breach or refuse to renew the existing contractual arrangements that allow us to effectively control New Oriental China and its subsidiaries and receive economic benefits from them. Currently, we do not have existing arrangements to address potential conflicts of interest between these individuals and our company. We rely on these individuals to abide by the laws of the Cayman Islands and China. These laws provide that directors owe a fiduciary duty to the company, which requires them to act in good faith and in the best interests of the company and not to use their positions for personal gain. If we cannot resolve any conflicts of interest or disputes between us and the beneficial owners of New Oriental China, we would have to rely on legal proceedings, which could result in disruption of our business, and the outcome of any such legal proceedings would be uncertain.
New Oriental China and its subsidiaries may be subject to significant limitations on their ability to operate private schools or make payments to related parties or otherwise be materially and adversely affected by changes in PRC laws and regulations.
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The principal regulations governing private education in China are The Law for Promoting Private Education (2003) and The Implementation Rules for the Law for Promoting Private Education (2004). Under these regulations, a private school may elect to be a school that does not require reasonable returns or a school that requires reasonable returns. At the end of each fiscal year, every private school is required to allocate a certain amount to its development fund for the construction or maintenance of the school or procurement or upgrade of educational equipment. In the case of a private school that requires reasonable returns, this amount shall be no less than 25% of annual net income of the school, while in the case of a private school that does not require reasonable returns, this amount shall be equivalent to no less than 25% of the annual increase in the net assets of the school, if any. A private school that requires reasonable returns must publicly disclose such election and additional information required under the regulations. A private school shall consider factors such as the schools tuition, ratio of the funds used for education-related activities to the course fees collected, admission standards and educational quality when determining the percentage of the schools net income that would be distributed to the investors as reasonable returns. However, none of the current PRC laws and regulations provides a formula or guidelines for determining reasonable returns. In addition, none of the current PRC laws and regulations sets forth different requirements or restrictions on a private schools ability to operate its education business based on such schools status as a school that requires reasonable returns or a school that does not require reasonable returns.
In some cities, our schools are registered as schools that require reasonable returns, while in other cities, our schools are registered as schools that do not require reasonable returns. The current PRC laws and regulations governing private education may be amended or replaced by new laws and regulations that (i) impose significant limitations on the ability of our schools to operate their business, charge course fees or make payments to related parties for services received, (ii) specify the formula for calculating reasonable returns, (iii) change the preferential tax treatment policies applicable to private schools, or (iv) restrict a private schools ability to make payments to related parties for services. We cannot predict the timing and effects of any such amendments or new laws and regulations. Changes in PRC laws and regulations governing private education or otherwise affecting New Oriental Chinas and its subsidiaries operations could materially and adversely affect our business prospects and results of operations. For example, if the PRC government imposes additional limitations on private schools ability to operate their business or restricts private schools from making payments to related parties for services, our ability to receive service fees from our affiliated schools may be limited or we may have to reorganize our group structure.
On July 29, 2010, the PRC central government promulgated the Outline of Chinas National Plan for Medium- and Long-Term Education Reform and Development, which for the first time announced the policy that the government will implement a reform to divide private education entities into two categories: (1) for-profit private education entities and (2) not-for-profit private education entities. However, this outline is still new and no further law or regulation has been promulgated to implement the outline. If upon the implementation of this reform, our schools choose to be for-profit private education entities, they may be subject to income tax at the rate of 25% and other taxes as if they were enterprises; if our schools choose to be not-for-profit private education entities, our contractual arrangements with New Oriental China and its subsidiaries may be subject to more stringent scrutiny and the education authorities may not allow our schools to pay us services fees under the contractual arrangements as they currently do. As a result, implementation of this reform may adversely affect our results of operations.
Contractual arrangements we have entered into among our subsidiaries and New Oriental China and its subsidiaries may be subject to scrutiny by the PRC tax authorities, and a finding that we or New Oriental China and its subsidiaries owe additional taxes could substantially reduce our consolidated net income and the value of your investment.
Under PRC laws and regulations, arrangements and transactions among related parties may be subject to audit or challenge by the PRC tax authorities. We could face material and adverse tax consequences if the PRC tax authorities determine that the contractual arrangements among our wholly owned subsidiaries in China and New Oriental China and its subsidiaries do not represent an arms-length price and adjust New Oriental China or any of its subsidiaries income in the form of a transfer pricing adjustment. A transfer pricing adjustment could, among other things, result in a reduction, for PRC tax purposes, of expense deductions recorded by New Oriental China or any of its subsidiaries, which could in turn increase its tax liabilities. In addition, the PRC tax authorities may impose late payment fees and other penalties to our affiliated entities for under-paid taxes. Our consolidated net income may be materially and adversely affected if our affiliated entities tax liabilities increase or if they are found to be subject to late payment fees or other penalties.
Regulatory agencies may commence investigations of the private primary and secondary schools controlled and operated by New Oriental China. If the results of the investigations are unfavorable to us, we may be subject to fines, penalties, injunctions or other censure that could have an adverse impact on our results of operations.
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PRC laws and regulations currently prohibit foreign ownership of primary and middle schools for students in grades one to nine in China. New Oriental China controls and operates a private primary and secondary school in Yangzhou and a private secondary school in Beijing, which may enter into contractual arrangements with our wholly owned subsidiaries in China in the future to pay teaching support and other fees to our subsidiaries in exchange for their services. As the provision of private primary and middle school services is a heavily regulated industry in China, the existing and any new primary or middle schools that New Oriental China or any of its subsidiaries establishes or acquires in the future may be subject from time to time to investigations, claims of non-compliance or lawsuits by governmental agencies, which may allege statutory violations, regulatory infractions or other causes of action. If the results of the investigations are unfavorable to us, we may be subject to fines, injunctions or other penalties that could have an adverse impact on our results of operations. Even if we adequately address the issues raised by a government investigation, we may have to devote significant financial and management resources to resolve these issues, which could harm our business.
We may rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our wholly owned subsidiaries to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have, and any limitation on the ability of our subsidiaries and affiliated entities to make payments to us could have a material adverse effect on our ability to conduct our business.
We are a holding company, and we may rely on dividends from our wholly owned subsidiaries in China and service, license and other fees paid to our wholly owned subsidiaries by New Oriental China and its subsidiaries for our cash requirements, including any debt we may incur. Current PRC regulations permit our subsidiaries to pay dividends to us only out of their accumulated profits, if any, determined in accordance with Chinese accounting standards and regulations. In addition, each of our subsidiaries and affiliated entities (other than our schools) in China is required to set aside at least 10% of its after-tax profits each year, if any, to fund a statutory reserve until such reserve reaches 50% of its registered capital, and each of our subsidiaries is required to further set aside a portion of its after-tax profits to fund the employee welfare fund at the discretion of its board of directors. These reserves are not distributable as cash dividends. Furthermore, if our subsidiaries and affiliated entities in China incur debt on their own behalf in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict their ability to pay dividends or make other payments to us. In addition, the PRC tax authorities may require us to adjust our taxable income under the contractual arrangements we currently have in place in a manner that would materially and adversely affect our subsidiaries ability to pay dividends and other distributions to us. Moreover, at the end of each fiscal year, every private school in China is required to allocate a certain amount to its development fund for the construction or maintenance of the school or procurement or upgrade of educational equipment. In the case of a private school that requires reasonable returns, this amount shall be no less than 25% of the annual net income of the school, while in the case of a private school that does not require reasonable returns, this amount shall be equivalent to no less than 25% of the annual increase in the net assets of the school, if any. We own our wholly-owned subsidiaries in China indirectly through our wholly owned subsidiaries established in Hong Kong. Any limitation on the ability of our subsidiaries and affiliated entities to distribute dividends or other payments to us could materially and adversely limit our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could be beneficial to our businesses, pay dividends, or otherwise fund and conduct our business.
PRC regulation of loans and direct investment by offshore holding companies to PRC entities may delay or prevent us from making loans or additional capital contributions to our PRC operating subsidiaries and affiliated entities, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.
As an offshore holding company of our PRC operating subsidiaries and affiliated entities, we may make loans to our PRC subsidiaries and consolidated affiliated entities, or we may make additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiaries. Any loans to our PRC subsidiaries or consolidated PRC affiliated entities are subject to PRC regulations and approvals. For example:
| loans by us to our wholly owned subsidiaries in China, each of which is a foreign-invested enterprise, to finance their activities cannot exceed statutory limits and must be registered with the PRC State Administration of Foreign Exchange, or SAFE, or its local branch; and |
| loans by us to New Oriental China or its subsidiaries, which are domestic PRC entities, must be approved by the relevant government authorities and must also be registered with SAFE or its local branch. |
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We may also decide to finance our wholly owned subsidiaries by means of capital contributions. These capital contributions must be approved by the PRC Ministry of Commerce or its local branch offices. Further, SAFE promulgated a circular in August 2008 with respect to the administration of conversion of foreign exchange capital contributions of foreign-invested enterprise. The circular clarifies that RMB converted from foreign exchange capital contributions can only be used for the activities within the approved business scope of such foreign-invested enterprise and cannot be used for domestic equity investment unless otherwise allowed. Because New Oriental China and its subsidiaries are domestic PRC entities, we are not likely to finance their activities by means of capital contributions due to regulatory issues relating to foreign investment in domestic PRC entities, as well as the licensing and other regulatory issues discussed in Item 4. Information on the CompanyB. Business OverviewRegulation. We cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain these government registrations or approvals on a timely basis, if at all, with respect to future loans or capital contributions by us to our subsidiaries or New Oriental China or any of its subsidiaries. If we fail to receive such registrations or approvals, our ability to make loans or additional capital contributions to our PRC operating subsidiaries and affiliated entities may be negatively affected, which could adversely and materially affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.
If any of our PRC affiliated entities and their subsidiaries becomes the subject of a bankruptcy or liquidation proceeding, we may lose the ability to use and enjoy their assets, which could reduce the size of our operations and materially and adversely affect our business, ability to generate revenue and the market price of our ADSs.
To comply with PRC laws and regulations relating to foreign ownership restrictions in the education business, we currently conduct our operations in China through contractual arrangements with New Oriental China and its shareholders and subsidiaries. As part of these arrangements, New Oriental China and its subsidiaries hold some of the assets that are important to the operation of our business. If any of these entities goes bankrupt and all or part of their assets become subject to liens or rights of third-party creditors, we may be unable to continue some or all of our business activities, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. If any of New Oriental China and its subsidiaries undergoes a voluntary or involuntary liquidation proceeding, its shareholders or unrelated third-party creditors may claim rights to some or all of these assets, thereby hindering our ability to operate our business, which could materially and adversely affect our business, our ability to generate revenue and the market price of our ADSs.
Risks Related to Doing Business in China
Adverse changes in economic and political policies of the PRC government could have a material adverse effect on the overall economic growth of China, which could adversely affect our business.
Substantially all of our business operations are conducted in China. Accordingly, our results of operations, financial condition and prospects are subject to a significant degree to economic, political and legal developments in China. Chinas economy differs from the economies of most developed countries in many respects, including with respect to the amount of government involvement, level of development, growth rate, control of foreign exchange and allocation of resources. While the PRC economy has experienced significant growth in the past 30 years or so, growth has been uneven across different regions and among various economic sectors of China. The PRC government has implemented various measures to encourage economic development and guide the allocation of resources. While some of these measures benefit the overall PRC economy, they may also have a negative effect on us. For example, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected by government control over capital investments, conversion of foreign exchange into Renminbi or changes in tax regulations that are applicable to us. In addition, future actions or policies of the PRC government to control the pace of economic growth may cause a decrease in the level of economic activity in China, which in turn could materially affect our liquidity and access to capital and our ability to operate our business.
A severe and prolonged global economic recession, particularly the resulting slowdown or recession in the Chinese economy, may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Recent global market and economic conditions have been unprecedented and challenging with recessions in most major economies persisting in 2009 and significant market volatility since that time. Continued concerns about the systemic impact of a potentially long-term and widespread recession have contributed to increased market volatility and diminished expectations for economic growth around the world. The Chinese economy also faces challenges. The stimulus plans and various other measures adopted by the PRC government may not work effectively to maintain sustained economic growth in China or avert a severe economic downturn. Since we derive substantially all of our revenues in China, any persistent slowdown in the Chinese economy may have negative impacts on our business, operating results and financial condition in a number of ways. For example, student enrollments in some of our programs may grow more slowly or even decline due to declining disposable income and economic uncertainty. In addition, further disruptions of the financial markets may significantly restrict our ability to obtain financing in the capital markets or from financial institutions.
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Uncertainties with respect to the PRC legal system could adversely affect us.
We conduct our business primarily through our subsidiaries and affiliated entities in China. Our operations in China are governed by PRC laws and regulations. Our subsidiaries are generally subject to laws and regulations applicable to foreign investments in China and, in particular, laws applicable to wholly foreign-owned enterprises. The PRC legal system is based on written statutes. Prior court decisions may be cited for reference but have limited precedential value.
Since 1979, PRC legislation and regulations have significantly enhanced the protections afforded to various forms of foreign investments in China. However, China has not developed a fully integrated legal system and recently enacted laws and regulations may not sufficiently cover all aspects of economic activities in China. In particular, because many of these laws and regulations are relatively new, and because of the limited volume of published decisions and their nonbinding nature, the interpretation and enforcement of these laws and regulations involve uncertainties. In addition, the PRC legal system is based in part on government policies and internal rules (some of which are not published on a timely basis or at all) that may have a retroactive effect. As a result, we may not be aware of our violation of these policies and rules until some time after the violation. In addition, any litigation in China may be protracted and may result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and management attention.
Regulation and censorship of information disseminated over the Internet in China may adversely affect our business and reputation and subject us to liability for information displayed on our websites.
The PRC government has adopted regulations governing Internet access and the distribution of news and other information over the Internet. Under these regulations, Internet content providers and Internet publishers are prohibited from posting or displaying over the Internet content that, among other things, violates PRC laws and regulations, impairs the national dignity of China, or is reactionary, obscene, superstitious, fraudulent or defamatory. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in the revocation of licenses to provide Internet content and other licenses, and the closure of the concerned websites. In the past, failure to comply with such requirements has resulted in the closure of certain websites. The website operator may also be held liable for such censored information displayed on or linked to the websites. If any of our websites, including those used for our online education business, are found to be in violation of any such requirements, we may be penalized by relevant authorities, and our operations or reputation could be adversely affected.
Some of our affiliated companies previously engaged in activities without necessary approvals. This could subject those companies to fines and other penalties, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Some of our affiliated companies historically engaged in business activities that were not within the authorized scope of their respective licenses and without requisite approvals. For example, Beijing Xuncheng Network Technology Co., Ltd., or Xuncheng Network, a subsidiary of New Oriental China, had engaged in online sales of publications without all necessary licenses and permits. Each of these companies subsequently ceased the unauthorized activities or included these activities into the business scope of their respective business licenses. While all these companies currently operate within their authorized scope of business or are in the process of obtaining relevant licenses, the relevant PRC authorities have the authority to impose fines or other penalties for their past violations. In rare instances, these authorities may require disgorgement of profits or revoke business license, but as a matter of practice, the authorities are likely to impose such an extreme penalty only after repeated warnings are ignored or where a violation is blatant and continuous. Due to the discretionary nature of regulatory enforcements in the PRC, we cannot assure you that these companies will not be subject to such type of penalties for their past violations, or that such type of penalties will not have a material adverse effect on our business.
PRC regulations relating to the establishment of offshore special purpose companies by PRC residents may subject our PRC resident shareholders to personal liability and limit our ability to inject capital into our PRC subsidiaries, limit our PRC subsidiaries ability to distribute profits to us or otherwise adversely affect us.
SAFE issued a public notice in October 2005 and its new implementation rules in April 2011, requiring PRC residents to register with the local SAFE branch before establishing or controlling any company outside of China for the purpose of capital financing with assets or equities of PRC companies, referred to in the notice as an offshore special purpose company. PRC residents that are shareholders of offshore special purpose companies established before November 1, 2005 were required to register with the local SAFE branch before March 31, 2006. Our beneficial owners immediately before our initial public offering who are PRC residents had registered with the local SAFE branch prior to our initial public offering as required under the SAFE notice. The failure of these beneficial owners to timely amend their SAFE registrations pursuant to the SAFE notice or the failure of future beneficial owners of our company who are PRC residents to comply with the registration procedures set forth in the SAFE notice may subject such beneficial owners to fines and legal sanctions and may also limit our ability to contribute additional capital into our PRC subsidiaries, limit our PRC subsidiaries ability to distribute dividends or repay loans in foreign exchange to our company or otherwise adversely affect our business.
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All employee participants in our share incentive plan who are PRC citizens may be required to register with SAFE. We may also face regulatory uncertainties in China that could restrict our ability to grant options to our employees who are PRC citizens.
To implement the Administrative Rule on Foreign Exchange Matters of Individuals promulgated by the Peoples Bank of China and its related implementing rule provided by SAFE, on April 6, 2007, SAFE issued the Operating Procedures for Administration of Domestic Individuals Participating in the Employee Stock Incentive Plan and Stock Option Plan of An Overseas Listed Company, or Circular No. 78. For any plans adopted by an overseas listed company that are covered by Circular No. 78, Circular No. 78 requires the employee participants who are PRC citizens to register, through a PRC agent or PRC subsidiary of the overseas listed company, with SAFE or its local branch. In addition, Circular No. 78 also requires the employee participants who are PRC citizens to follow a series of requirements, including applications for foreign exchange purchase quotas, opening of special bank accounts and filings with SAFE or its local branch before they exercise their stock options. On January 7, 2008, SAFE issued Notice on Relinquishing Power of Approving the First-time Application of Foreign Exchange Purchase Quotas, Opening of Special Bank Accounts. According to this notice, SAFE has relinquished the authority to approve certain foreign exchange transactions in connection with equity compensation plans or incentive plans to its local counterparts at provincial level.
We have made the Circular 78 registration with a SAFEs local branch on behalf of employees who hold significant numbers of options. However, since Circular 78 is relatively new and its interpretations and application of this circular involves uncertainties, although we have made the commercial best efforts to comply with the Circular 78 based on the market practice, if it is determined that we do not fully comply with Circular No. 78 or other applicable regulations, we and participants of our share incentive plan who are PRC citizens may be subject to fines and legal sanctions and government agencies may prevent us from further granting options under our share incentive plan to our employees who are PRC citizens. Such events could adversely affect our business operations and other awards.
Increases in labor costs in the PRC may adversely affect our business and our profitability.
The economy of China has been experiencing significant growth, leading to inflation and increased labor costs. Chinas consumer price index, the broadest measure of inflation, rose by 4.9% in January 2011 from the level in January 2010. Chinas overall economy and the average wage in the PRC are expected to continue to grow. As a result, the average wage level for our employees has also increased in recent years. Continuing increases in Chinas inflation and material increases in the cost of labor may diminish our competitive advantage and, unless we are able pass on these increased labor costs to our students by increasing prices for our services, our profitability and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
Governmental control of currency conversion may affect the value of your investment.
The PRC government imposes controls on the convertibility between the RMB and foreign currencies and, in certain cases, the remittance of currency out of China. We receive substantially all of our revenues in RMB. Under our current corporate structure, our income at the holding company level may be primarily derived from dividend payments from our PRC subsidiaries. Shortages in the availability of foreign currency may restrict the ability of our PRC subsidiaries and our affiliated entities to remit sufficient foreign currency to pay dividends or other payments to us, or otherwise satisfy their foreign currency denominated obligations. Under existing PRC foreign exchange regulations, payments of current account items, including profit distributions, interest payments and expenditures from trade-related transactions, can be made in foreign currencies without prior approval from SAFE by complying with certain procedural requirements. However, approval from appropriate government authorities is required where RMB is to be converted into foreign currency and remitted out of China to pay capital expenses such as the repayment of loans denominated in foreign currencies. The PRC government may also at its discretion restrict access in the future to foreign currencies for current account transactions. If the foreign exchange control system prevents us from obtaining sufficient foreign currency to satisfy our currency demands, we may not be able to pay dividends in foreign currencies to our shareholders, including holders of our ADSs.
Fluctuation in the value of the RMB may have a material adverse effect on your investment.
The value of the RMB against the U.S. dollar and other currencies may fluctuate and is affected by, among other things, changes in political and economic conditions and Chinas foreign exchange policies. On July 21, 2005, the PRC government changed its decade-old policy of pegging the value of the RMB to the U.S. dollar. Under the revised policy, the RMB is permitted to fluctuate within a narrow and managed band against a basket of certain foreign currencies. This change in policy resulted in an approximately 21.3% appreciation of the Renminbi against the U.S. dollar between July 21, 2005 and December 31, 2009. In June 2010, the Peoples Bank of China announced that it has decided to proceed further with reform of the Renminbi exchange regime and to enhance the Renminbi exchange rate flexibility. In 2010, the appreciation of Renminbi against the U.S. dollar reached 3.0% in total. It is difficult to predict how the RMB exchange rates may change in the future. In addition, there remains international pressure on the PRC government to adopt a more flexible currency policy, which could result in a further and more significant adjustment of the RMB against the U.S. dollar.
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Our revenues and costs are mostly denominated in the RMB, and a significant portion of our financial assets are also denominated in RMB. We may rely entirely on dividends and other fees paid to us by our subsidiaries and affiliated entities in China. Any significant revaluation of the RMB may materially and adversely affect our cash flows, revenues, earnings and financial position, and the value of, and any dividends payable on, our ADSs in U.S. dollars. For example, a further appreciation of the RMB against the U.S. dollar would make any new RMB-denominated investments or expenditures more costly to us, to the extent that we need to convert U.S. dollars into the RMB for such purposes. Conversely, a significant depreciation of the RMB against the U.S. dollar may significantly reduce our reported earnings in U.S. dollars, which in turn could adversely affect the price of our ADSs.
The discontinuation of any preferential tax treatments currently available to us could materially and adversely affect our results of operations.
On March 16, 2007, the National Peoples Congress passed the Enterprise Income Tax Law, or the EIT Law, which took effect on January 1, 2008. The EIT Law applies a uniform 25% enterprise income tax rate to both foreign-invested enterprises and domestic enterprises. The EIT Law provides that preferential tax treatments will be granted to industries and projects that are strongly supported and encouraged by the state, and that enterprises otherwise classified as high and new technology enterprises strongly supported by the state will be entitled to a preferential enterprise income tax rate. The implementation rules of the EIT Law promulgated by the State Council in December 2007 and other supplemental rules promulgated by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation in April 2008 and July 2008, respectively, have stipulated new criteria for such high and new technology enterprises, and all enterprises which had been granted such status before the effectiveness of the EIT Law are required to be re-examined according to such new rules before they can continue to be entitled to such preferential tax treatments.
In December 2008, two of our wholly owned subsidiaries in China, Beijing Hewstone Technology Co., Ltd. and Beijing Decision Education & Consulting Co., Ltd. were recertified as high and new technology enterprise in Beijing. Both of them are entitled to a 7.5% enterprise income tax rate from 2008 to 2010, followed by a 15% tax rate as long as they continue to qualify as a high and new technology enterprise. The enterprise income tax rate from 2008 to 2010 for those two subsidiaries, which has been set by the local tax authorities in Beijing, is more favorable than the ones mandated by the national tax authorities. The other wholly owned subsidiary of our company, Beijing Judgment Education & Consulting Co., Ltd., has been subject to the standard enterprise income tax rate of 25% since January 1, 2008.
On April 21, 2010, the State Administration of Taxation issued the Circular Regarding Further Clarification on Implementation of Preferential EIT Rate during Transition Periods, or Circular 157. Circular 157 seeks to provide additional guidance on the interaction of certain preferential tax rates under the transitional rules of the EIT Law. According to Circular 157, if an enterprise is qualified as a high and new technology enterprise and is also in a tax holiday period, including 2-year exemption plus 3-year half rate, 5-year exemption plus 5-year half rate and other tax exemptions and reductions, then it would be entitled to pay tax, at its own election, at the lower of 15% or 50% of the specific tax rate set for the transitional period of preferential tax treatment (i.e., 18% in 2008, 20% in 2009, 22% in 2010, 24% in 2011 and 25% in 2012), but it is not allowed to pay tax at 50% of the 15% tax rate, i.e., 7.5%. Nonetheless, we have consulted with the relevant local tax district, which confirmed to us that Circular 157 is not applicable to entities that qualify for 3-year exemption plus 3-year half rate tax holiday as high and new technology enterprises and are registered in the Zhongguancun High and New Technology Industrial Zones of Beijing, and that such entities will continue to pay tax at the rate of 7.5%. In light of the position taken by the relevant local tax authority, and given the fact that our subsidiaries that are enjoying 3-year exemption plus 3-year half rate as high and new technology enterprises are registered in the Zhongguancun High and New Technology Industrial Zones of Beijing, we do not believe that Circular 157 has any effect on our current tax position. However, if the State Administration of Taxation took a position contrary to the position of the relevant local tax authority in its subsequent interpretation or implementation of Circular 157, the current preferential tax rate of 7.5% enjoyed by some of our subsidiaries would be increased or revoked, which would negatively affect our results of options.
According to The Implementation Rules for the Law for Promoting Private Education (2004), private schools that do not require reasonable returns enjoy the same preferential tax treatment as public schools, while the preferential tax treatment policies applicable to private schools requiring reasonable returns shall be separately formulated by the relevant authorities under the State Council. The implementing rules of the EIT Law provide certain conditions under which not-for-profit entities may be exempted from enterprise income tax. According to such conditions, our schools may not be entitled to income tax exemption. To date, however, no separate specific regulations or policies have been promulgated by the relevant authorities in this regard and whether our schools can be entitled to any preferential income tax treatment remains unclear. In practice, tax treatments for private schools vary across different cities in China. In some cities, private schools are subject to a 25% standard enterprise income tax starting from January 1, 2008, while in other cities, private schools are subject to a 2% to 3% tax on gross receipts in lieu of the 25% standard enterprise income tax or may be exempted from enterprise income tax.
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Preferential tax treatments granted to us by governmental authorities are subject to review and may be adjusted or revoked at any time in the future. The discontinuation of any preferential tax treatments currently available to us, especially to those schools in major cities, will cause our effective tax rate to increase, which will increase our income tax expenses and in turn decrease our net income.
We may be treated as a resident enterprise for PRC tax purposes under the EIT Law, which may subject us to PRC income tax for our global income and withholding for any dividends we pay to our non-PRC shareholders and ADS holders.
Under the EIT Law, enterprises established outside of China whose de facto management bodies are located in China are considered resident enterprises, and will generally be subject to the uniform 25% enterprise income tax rate for their global income. Although the term de facto management bodies is defined as management bodies which has substantial and overall management and control power on the operation, human resources, accounting and assets of the enterprise, the circumstances under which an enterprises de facto management body would be considered to be located in China are currently unclear. A circular issued by the State Administration of Taxation on April 22, 2009 provides that a foreign enterprise controlled by a PRC company or a PRC company group will be classified as a resident enterprise with its de facto management bodies located within China if the following requirements are satisfied: (i) the senior management and core management departments in charge of its daily operations function mainly in the PRC; (ii) its financial and human resources decisions are subject to determination or approval by persons or bodies in the PRC; (iii) its major assets, accounting books, company seals, and minutes and files of its board and shareholders meetings are located or kept in the PRC; and (iv) at least half of the enterprises directors or senior management with voting rights reside in the PRC. In addition, the State Administration of Taxation recently promulgated the Interim Provisions on Administration of Income Tax of Chinese-Controlled Resident Enterprise Registered Overseas, effective from September 1, 2011, which clarified certain matters concerning the determination of resident status, administrative matters following this determination, and competent tax authorities. These interim provisions also specify that when an enterprise which is both Chinese-controlled and incorporated outside of mainland China receives PRC-sourced incomes such as dividends and interests, no PRC withholding tax is applicable if such enterprise has obtained a certificate evidencing its status as a PRC resident enterprise which is registered overseas and controlled by Chinese.
Our management is currently based in China and is expected to remain in China. Although our offshore holding companies are not controlled by any PRC company or company group, we cannot assure you that we will not be deemed to be a PRC resident enterprise under the EIT Law and its implementation rules. If we are deemed to be a PRC resident enterprise, we will be subject to PRC enterprise income tax at the rate of 25% on our global income. In that case, however, dividend income we receive from our PRC subsidiaries may be exempt from PRC enterprise income tax because the EIT Law and its implementation rules generally provide that dividends received by a PRC resident enterprise from its directly invested entity that is also a PRC resident enterprise is exempt from enterprise income tax. Accordingly, If we are deemed to be a PRC resident enterprise and earn income other than dividends from our PRC subsidiaries, a 25% enterprise income tax on our global income could significantly increase our tax burden and materially and adversely affect our cash flow and profitability.
In addition, the EIT Law and its implementation rules are relatively new and ambiguities exist with respect to the interpretation of the provisions relating to identification of PRC-sourced income. If we are deemed to be a PRC resident enterprise, dividends distributed to our non-PRC entity investors by us, or the gain our non-PRC entity investors may realize from the transfer of our common shares or ADSs, may be treated as PRC-sourced income and therefore be subject to a 10% PRC withholding tax pursuant to the EIT Law and, as a result, the value of your investment may be materially and adversely affected.
Dividends we receive from our operating subsidiaries located in the PRC may be subject to PRC withholding tax.
The EIT Law provides that a maximum income tax rate of 20% may apply to dividends payable to non-PRC investors that are non-resident enterprises, to the extent such dividends are derived from sources within the PRC. The State Council has reduced such rate to 10%, in the absence of any applicable tax treaties that may reduce such rate. We are a Cayman Islands holding company and substantially all of our income may be derived from dividends we receive from our operating subsidiaries located in the PRC. If we are required under the EIT Law to pay income tax for any dividends we receive from our PRC subsidiaries, the amount of dividends, if any, we may pay to our shareholders and ADS holders may be materially and adversely affected.
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According to The Arrangement between the PRC and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on the Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income, or the Double Taxation Arrangement (Hong Kong), which became effective on January 1, 2007, The Notice of the State Administration of Taxation on Negotiated Reduction of Dividends and Interest Rates, which was issued on January 29, 2008, and The Notice of the State Administration of Taxation Regarding Interpretation and Recognition of Beneficial Owners under Tax Treaties, which became effective on October 27, 2009, dividends paid to enterprises incorporated in Hong Kong are subject to a withholding tax of 5% provided that a Hong Kong resident enterprise owns over 25% of the PRC enterprise distributing the dividend and can be considered as a beneficial owner and entitled to treaty benefits under the Double Taxation Arrangement (Hong Kong). Elite Concept Holdings Limited, Winner Park Limited and Smart Shine International Limited, our Hong Kong wholly owned subsidiaries, own 100% of our PRC subsidiaries. Thus, dividends paid by our PRC subsidiaries to us through our Hong Kong wholly owned subsidiaries may be subject to the 5% withholding tax if we and our Hong Kong subsidiaries are considered as non-resident enterprises under the EIT Law and our Hong Kong subsidiaries are considered as beneficial owners and entitled to treaty benefits under the Double Taxation Arrangement (Hong Kong). If our Hong Kong subsidiaries are not regarded as the beneficial owners of any such dividends, they will not be entitled to the treaty benefits under the Double Taxation Arrangement (Hong Kong). As a result, such dividends would be subject to regular withholding tax of 10% as provided by the PRC domestic law rather than the favorable rate of 5% applicable under the Double Taxation Arrangement (Hong Kong).
We face uncertainties with respect to indirect transfers of equity interests in PRC resident enterprises by their non-PRC holding companies.
Pursuant to the Notice on Strengthening Administration of Enterprise Income Tax for Share Transfers by Non-PRC Resident Enterprises, or Circular 698, issued by the State Administration of Taxation on December 10, 2009, where a foreign investor transfers the equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise indirectly via disposition of the equity interests of an overseas holding company, or an Indirect Transfer, and such overseas holding company is located in a tax jurisdiction that (i) has an effective tax rate less than 12.5% or (ii) does not tax foreign income of its residents, the foreign investor shall report the Indirect Transfer to the competent PRC tax authority. The PRC tax authority will examine the nature of such Indirect Transfer, and if the tax authority considers that the foreign investor has adopted an abusive arrangement in order to reduce, avoid or defer PRC taxes, it may disregard the existence of the overseas holding company and re-characterize the Indirect Transfer such that gains derived from such Indirect Transfer may be subject to PRC withholding tax at a rate of up to 10%. Circular 698 also provides that, where a non-PRC resident enterprise transfers its equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise to its related parties at a price lower than the fair market value, the competent tax authority has the power to make a reasonable adjustment to the taxable income of the transaction. Circular 698 is retroactively effective from January 1, 2008. There is uncertainty as to the application of Circular 698. For example, while the term Indirect Transfer is not clearly defined, it is understood that the relevant PRC tax authorities have jurisdiction regarding requests for information over a wide range of foreign entities having no direct contact with China. Moreover, the relevant authority has not yet promulgated any formal provisions or formally declared or stated how to calculate the effective tax rates in foreign tax jurisdictions, and the process and format of the reporting of an Indirect Transfer to the competent tax authority of the relevant PRC resident enterprise remain unclear. In addition, there are not any formal declarations with regard to how to determine whether a foreign investor has adopted an abusive arrangement in order to reduce, avoid or defer PRC tax. As a result, we and our non-resident investors may have the risk of being taxed under Circular 698 and may be required to spend valuable resources to comply with Circular 698 or to establish that we or our non-resident investors should not be taxed under Circular 698, which may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations or such non-resident investors investments in us.
There are uncertainties with respect to security examinations of the foreign acquisition of PRC domestic enterprises.
On February 3, 2011, the PRC State Council promulgated a Notice regarding Establishment of Rules in relation to Security Examination on Foreign Acquisition of PRC Domestic Enterprises, or the Security Examination Rules, which provides that the foreign acquisition of PRC domestic enterprises within certain industries shall be subject to a special security examination before such acquisition can be approved. The Ministry of Commerce subsequently promulgated implementing provisions to the Security Examination Rules on August 25, 2011, which further provide that foreign purchasers shall not use contractual control arrangements to evade the Security Examination. We believe we do not fall within the scope of the Security Examination provided under the Security Examination Rules, however, as the Security Examination Rules and the implementing provisions are new and the scope of the security examination may be subject to change from time to time. However, we cannot assure you that we will not be subject to such security examination in our future acquisitions, and if we are, the approval process of our acquisition may substantially delayed or even be unsuccessful.
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Risks Related to Our ADSs
The market price for our ADSs may be volatile.
The market price for our ADSs may be volatile and subject to wide fluctuations in response to factors such as actual or anticipated fluctuations in our quarterly operating results, changes in financial estimates by securities research analysts, changes in the economic performance or market valuations of other education companies, announcements by us or our competitions of material acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or capital commitments, fluctuations of exchange rates between the RMB and the U.S. dollar, intellectual property litigation, economic or political conditions in China and the impact of global macroeconomic conditions. In addition, the performance of other companies with business operations located mainly in China that have listed their securities in the United States, and fluctuation in market prices of their securities, may affect the volatility in the price and trading volumes of our ADSs. Furthermore, the securities market has from time to time experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that are not related to the operating performance of particular companies, and these market fluctuations may also materially and adversely affect the market price of our ADSs. Volatility in global capital markets, such as volatility caused by the recent global financial and economic crises, could also have an effect on the market price of our ADSs.
We may need additional capital, and the sale of additional ADSs or other equity securities could result in additional dilution to our shareholders.
We believe that our current cash and cash equivalents and anticipated cash flow from operations will be sufficient to meet our anticipated cash needs for the near future. We may, however, require additional cash resources to finance our continued growth or other future developments, including any investments or acquisitions we may decide to pursue. The amount and timing of such additional financing needs will vary principally depending on the timing of new school and learning center openings, investments and/or acquisitions, and the amount of cash flow from our operations. If our existing cash resources are insufficient to satisfy our cash requirements, we may seek to sell additional equity or debt securities or obtain a credit facility. The sale of additional equity securities could result in additional dilution to our shareholders. The incurrence of indebtedness would result in increased debt service obligations and could result in operating and financing covenants that would restrict our operations.
Our ability to obtain additional capital on acceptable terms is subject to a variety of uncertainties, including:
| investors perception of, and demand for, securities of educational service providers; |
| conditions of the U.S. and other capital markets in which we may seek to raise funds; |
| our future results of operations, financial condition and cash flows; |
| PRC governmental regulation of foreign investment in education in China; |
| economic, political and other conditions in China; and |
| PRC governmental policies relating to foreign currency borrowings. |
We cannot assure you that financing will be available in amounts or on terms acceptable to us, if at all, especially in the event of a severe and prolonged global economic recession. If we fail to raise additional funds, we may need to reduce our growth to a level that can be supported by our cash flow. Without additional capital, we may not be able to open additional schools and learning centers, acquire necessary technologies, products or businesses, hire, train and retain teachers and other employees, market our programs, services and products, or respond to competitive pressures or unanticipated capital requirements.
Substantial future sales or the perception of sales of our ADSs in the public market could cause the price of our ADSs to decline.
Substantial sales of our ADSs or common shares in the public market, or the perception that these sales could occur, could cause the market price of our ADSs to decline. In addition, certain holders of our common shares have the right to cause us to register the sale of their shares under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act. Registration of these shares under the Securities Act would result in these shares becoming freely tradable without restriction under the Securities Act immediately upon the effectiveness of the registration. Sales of these registered shares in the public market could cause the price of our ADSs to decline. If any existing shareholder or shareholders sell a substantial amount of common shares, the market price of our ADSs could decline.
If securities or industry analysts publish negative reports about our business, the price and trading volume of our ADSs securities could decline.
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The trading market for our ADSs depends, in part, on the research reports and ratings that securities or industry analysts or ratings agencies publish about us, our business and the private education market in China in general. We do not have any control over these analysts or agencies. If one or more of the analysts or agencies who cover us downgrades us or our securities, the price of our ADSs may decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which could cause the price of our ADSs or trading volume to decline.
You may not have the same voting rights as the holders of our common shares and may not receive voting materials in time to be able to exercise your right to vote.
Except as described in the deposit agreement, holders of our ADSs will not be able to exercise voting rights attaching to the common shares evidenced by our ADSs on an individual basis. Holders of our ADSs will appoint the depositary or its nominee as their representative to exercise the voting rights attaching to the common shares represented by the ADSs. You may not receive voting materials in time to instruct the depositary to vote, and it is possible that you, or persons who hold their ADSs through brokers, dealers or other third parties, will not have the opportunity to exercise a right to vote. Upon our written request, the depositary will mail to you a shareholder meeting notice which contains, among other things, a statement as to the manner in which your voting instructions may be given, including an express indication that such instructions may be given or deemed given to the depositary to give a discretionary proxy to a person designated by us if no instructions are received by the depositary from you on or before the response date established by the depositary. However, no voting instruction shall be deemed given and no such discretionary proxy shall be given with respect to any matter as to which we inform the depositary that (i) we do not wish such proxy given, (ii) substantial opposition exists or (iii) such matter materially and adversely affects the rights of shareholders.
You may not be able to participate in rights offerings and may experience dilution of your holdings as a result.
We may from time to time distribute rights to our shareholders, including rights to acquire our securities. Under the deposit agreement for the ADSs, the depositary will not offer those rights to ADS holders unless both the rights and the underlying securities to be distributed to ADS holders are either registered under the Securities Act, or exempt from registration under the Securities Act with respect to all holders of ADSs. We are under no obligation to file a registration statement with respect to any such rights or underlying securities or to endeavor to cause such a registration statement to be declared effective. In addition, we may not be able to take advantage of any exemptions from registration under the Securities Act. Accordingly, holders of our ADSs may be unable to participate in our rights offerings and may experience dilution in their holdings as a result.
You may be subject to limitations on transfer of your ADSs.
Your ADSs are transferable on the books of the depositary. However, the depositary may close its transfer books at any time or from time to time when it deems expedient in connection with the performance of its duties. In addition, the depositary may refuse to deliver, transfer or register transfers of ADSs generally when our books or the books of the depositary are closed, or at any time if we or the depositary deems it advisable to do so because of any requirement of law or of any government or governmental body, or under any provision of the deposit agreement, or for any other reason.
You may experience difficulties in effecting service of legal process, enforcing foreign judgments or bringing original actions in the Cayman Islands or China based on United States or other foreign laws against us or our management.
We are incorporated in the Cayman Islands and conduct substantially all of our operations in China. Substantially all of our assets are located in China. All of our executive officers reside in China and some or all of the assets of those persons are located outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult for you to effect service of process within the United States or elsewhere outside the Cayman Islands and China upon us or our executive officers, including with respect to matters arising under U.S. federal securities laws or applicable state securities laws. It may also be difficult or impossible for you to bring an action against us or against our executive officers in the Cayman Islands or in China in the event that you believe that your rights as an ADS holder have been infringed under the securities laws of the United States or otherwise. Even if you are successful in bringing an action of this kind in the United States, the respective laws of the Cayman Islands and China may render you unable to enforce a judgment against our assets or the assets of our directors and officers. There is no statutory recognition in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, although the courts of the Cayman Islands will generally recognize and enforce a non-penal judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits. Moreover, our PRC counsel has advised us that the PRC does not have treaties with the United States or many other countries providing for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of judgment of courts.
We are a Cayman Islands company and, because judicial precedent regarding the rights of shareholders is more limited under Cayman Islands law than under U.S. law, you may have less protection of your shareholder rights than you would under U.S. law.
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Our corporate affairs are governed by our memorandum and articles of association and by the Companies Law (2010 Revision) and common law of the Cayman Islands. The rights of shareholders to take legal action against our directors and us, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedents in the Cayman Islands as well as from English common law, which has persuasive, but not binding, authority on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law are not as clearly established as they would be under statutes or judicial precedents in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a less developed body of securities laws as compared to the United States, and provides significantly less protection to investors. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholder derivative action before the federal courts of the United States.
As a result of all of the above, holders and beneficial owners of our ADSs may have more difficulties in protecting their interests through actions against our management, directors or major shareholders than would shareholders of a corporation incorporated in a jurisdiction in the United States.
Our articles of association contain anti-takeover provisions that could have a material adverse effect on the rights of holders of our common shares and ADSs.
Our articles of association contain provisions that limit the ability of others to acquire control of our company or cause us to engage in change-of-control transactions. These provisions could have the effect of depriving our shareholders of an opportunity to sell their shares at a premium over prevailing market prices by discouraging third parties from seeking to obtain control of our company in a tender offer or similar transaction. For example, our board of directors has the authority, without further action by our shareholders, to issue preferred shares in one or more series and to fix their designations, powers, preferences, privileges, and relative participating, optional or special rights and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions, including dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of redemption and liquidation preferences, any or all of which may be greater than the rights associated with our common shares, in the form of ADS or otherwise. Preferred shares could be issued quickly with terms calculated to delay or prevent a change in control of our company or make removal of management more difficult. If our board of directors decides to issue preferred shares, the price of our ADSs may fall and the voting and other rights of the holders of our common shares and ADSs may be materially and adversely affected.
We may be classified as a passive foreign investment company, which could result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. holders of our ADSs or common shares.
A non-U.S. corporation, such as our company, will be a passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes for any taxable year if either, (a) 75% or more of its gross income for such year consists of certain types of passive income or (b) 50% or more of its average quarterly assets as determined on the basis of fair market value during such year produce or are held for the production of passive income.
Although the law in this regard is unclear, we treat New Oriental China as being owned by us for U.S. federal income tax purposes, not only because we control its management decisions but also because we are entitled to substantially all of the economic benefits associated with this entity, and, as a result, we consolidate this entitys operating results in our combined financial statements. If it were determined, however, that we are not the owner of New Oriental China for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we may be or become a PFIC. Assuming that we are the owner of New Oriental China for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and based upon an analysis of our companys income and assets in respect of the 2011 taxable year, we do not believe that we were a PFIC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, for the taxable year ended May 31, 2011. In light of the amount of our cash balances and because the value of our assets for purposes of the PFIC test will generally be determined by reference to the market value of our ADSs and common shares, the determination of whether we will be or become a PFIC will depend in large part upon the market value of our ADSs and common shares, of which we cannot control. Accordingly, fluctuations in the market price of our ADSs and common shares may cause us to become a PFIC for the current taxable year or future taxable years. The determination of whether we will be or become a PFIC will also depend, in part, upon the nature of our income and assets over time, which are subject to change from year to year. There can be no assurance that our business plans will not change in a manner that will affect the composition of our income and assets and our PFIC status. Because there are uncertainties in the application of the relevant rules and PFIC status is a fact-intensive determination made on an annual basis, no assurance can be given that we are not or will not become classified as a PFIC.
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If we were to be classified as a PFIC in any taxable year, a U.S. Holder (as defined in Item 10. Additional InformationE. TaxationU.S. Federal Income Taxation) may incur significantly increased U.S. income tax on gain recognized on the sale or other disposition of the ADSs or common shares and on the receipt of distributions on the ADSs or common shares to the extent such gain or distribution is treated as an excess distribution under U.S. federal income tax rules. Further, if we are classified as a PFIC for any year during which a U.S. Holder holds our ADSs or common shares, we generally will continue to be treated as a PFIC for all succeeding years during which such U.S. Holder holds our ADSs or common shares. See Item 10. Additional InformationE. TaxationU.S. Federal Income TaxationPassive Foreign Investment Company Rules.
ITEM 4. | INFORMATION ON THE COMPANY |
A. | History and Development of the Company |
Our first school was established by Michael Minhong Yu, our chairman and chief executive officer, in Beijing, China in 1993 to offer TOEFL test preparation courses to college students. We established New Oriental China in 2001 to own all of our schools and learning centers. Since our inception, we have grown rapidly and transformed ourselves from primarily a language training and test preparation company to the largest provider of private educational services in China offering a wide range of educational programs, services and products to a varied student population throughout China.
In order to facilitate foreign investment in our company, we established our offshore holding company, New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc., as a company registered in the British Virgin Islands in August 2004. On January 25, 2006, our shareholders approved the change of our offshore holding companys corporate domicile to the Cayman Islands, and we are now a Cayman Islands company limited by shares. Since December 2007, we have established three wholly-owned subsidiaries in Hong Kong, which now directly own our wholly-owned subsidiaries in China.
We and certain selling shareholders of our company completed an initial public offering and listed our ADSs on the New York Stock Exchange, or the NYSE, under the symbol EDU in September 2006. In February 2007, we and certain selling shareholders of our company completed an additional public offering of ADSs. On August 18, 2011, we effected a change in the ratio of our ADSs to common shares from one ADS representing four common shares to one ADS representing one common share.
Our principal executive offices are located at No. 6 Hai Dian Zhong Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100080, the Peoples Republic of China. Our telephone number at this address is +(8610) 6260-5566. Our registered office in the Cayman Islands is located at Codan Trust Company (Cayman) Limited, Cricket Square, Hutchins Drive, P.O. Box 2681, Grand Cayman KY1-1111, Cayman Islands. We have branch offices in 47 cities in China. Our agent for service of process in the United States in connection with our registration statements on Form F-1 for our initial public offering and the additional offering in February 2007 is CT Corporation System, located at 111 Eighth Avenue, New York, New York 10011.
For information on our capital expenditures, see Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and ProspectsB. Liquidity and Capital ResourcesCapital Expenditures.
Acquisitions and Disposals
In June 2008, we completed the acquisition of a 60% equity stake in Mingshitang School, a Beijing-based private school that specializes in tutoring students seeking to retake the gaokao, the Chinese college entrance examination. In April 2011, we disposed our 60% equity interest in Mingshitang School to the principal of Mingshitang School. We recorded a US$1.2 million loss on the disposal.
In September 2008, we completed the acquisition of Tongwen Gaokao School, a Changchun-based school that specializes in tutoring students seeking to retake the gaokao. In connection with this acquisition, we also acquired a small private high school with approximately 30 students affiliated with Tongwen Gaokao School.
In September 2010, we completed the acquisition of a 100% equity interest in Newave Education, a K-12 English language school in Shanghai. Due to breach of contract by the seller of Newave Education, we submitted a request for arbitration to the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission for a full refund of the purchase consideration we had paid. The case was accepted in August 2011.
In May 2011, we disposed our 100% equity interest in Tomorrow Oriental, a subsidiary providing software development services, to the general manager of Tomorrow Oriental. We recorded a US$0.4 million loss on the disposal.
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B. | Business Overview |
We are the largest provider of private educational services in China based on the number of program offerings, total student enrollments and geographic presence. We offer a wide range of educational programs, services and products, consisting primarily of English and other foreign language training, test preparation courses for admissions and assessment tests in the United States, the PRC and Commonwealth countries, primary and secondary school education, development and distribution of educational content, software and other technology, and online education. We provide educational services under our New Oriental brand, which we believe is the leading consumer brand in Chinas private education sector.
Since our inception in 1993, we have had approximately 11.2 million cumulative student enrollments. In the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, we had approximately 2,089,000 student enrollments, including approximately 1,117,000 student enrollments in our language training programs and approximately 972,000 student enrollments in our test preparation courses. We deliver our educational programs, services and products to students through an extensive physical network of schools, learning centers and bookstores, as well as through our virtual online network.
Our total net revenues increased from US$292.6 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2009 to US$557.9 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, representing a compound annual growth rate, or CAGR, of 38.1%. Net revenues from our language training and test preparation courses accounted for 87.4%, 87.3% and 87.0%, respectively, of our total net revenues in the fiscal years ended May 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011. Net income attributable to New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. increased from US$61.0 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2009 to US$101.8 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, representing a CAGR of 29.2%.
Our Network
We deliver our educational programs, services and products to students through an extensive physical network of 54 schools, 433 learning centers and 28 bookstores operated by us, over 5,000 third-party bookstores and approximately 11,700 teachers in 47 cities as of May 31, 2011, as well as through our online network, which has over 6.7 million registered users. In addition, we have an extensive network of students and alumni, which has been essential in helping us promote our brand and our programs, services and products by word-of-mouth referrals and through our students and alumnis academic and career achievements. We plan to continue to open new schools and learning centers in cities that exhibit strong enrollment potential.
All of our schools, learning centers and bookstores operate under our New Oriental brand. Our hub schools in major cities consist of classrooms and administrative facilities with full student and administrative services, while our schools in satellite cities and our learning centers consist primarily of classroom facilities and limited course registration and management capabilities. We select new locations based on various factors, including demographics and the number of colleges in, and the economic condition of, the particular region. We have opened bookstores in our established schools to primarily sell educational materials relating to our courses and also sell self-help, know-how, inspirational and other books.
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We lease all of our facilities except for our Yangzhou school, part of the premises for our headquarters in Beijing and our schools in Xian, Tianjin, Kunming and Wuhan. The following table sets forth information concerning the locations of our schools, learning centers and bookstores as of May 31, 2011.
City |
Number of schools |
Number of learning centers |
Number of bookstores | |||
Beijing |
4 | 65 | 1 | |||
Shanghai |
2 | 68 | 1 | |||
Guangzhou |
1 | 15 | 1 | |||
Wuhan |
1 | 25 | 1 | |||
Yangzhou |
1 | | | |||
Tianjin |
1 | 12 | 1 | |||
Xian |
1 | 11 | 1 | |||
Nanjing |
2 | 11 | 1 | |||
Shenyang |
1 | 10 | 1 | |||
Chongqing |
1 | 9 | 1 | |||
Chengdu |
1 | 15 | 1 | |||
Shenzhen |
1 | 10 | | |||
Xiangfan |
1 | 5 | | |||
Taiyuan |
1 | 9 | 1 | |||
Haerbin |
1 | 11 | 1 | |||
Changsha |
1 | 14 | 1 | |||
Jinan |
1 | 15 | 1 | |||
Zhengzhou |
1 | 12 | 1 | |||
Hangzhou |
1 | 12 | 1 | |||
Changchun |
3 | 11 | 1 | |||
Shijiazhuang |
1 | 5 | 1 | |||
Suzhou |
1 | 9 | 1 | |||
Zhuzhou |
1 | 2 | | |||
Anshan |
1 | 3 | | |||
Hefei |
1 | 7 | 1 | |||
Kunming |
1 | 12 | 1 | |||
Wuxi |
1 | 3 | | |||
Foshan |
1 | 2 | | |||
Fuzhou |
1 | 9 | 1 | |||
Yichang |
1 | | | |||
Nanchang |
1 | 13 | 1 | |||
Jingzhou |
1 | 2 | | |||
Dalian |
1 | 5 | 1 | |||
Lanzhou |
1 | 5 | 1 | |||
Huangshi |
1 | 1 | | |||
Ningbo |
1 | 4 | 1 | |||
Xiamen |
1 | 3 | | |||
Qingdao |
1 | 3 | 1 | |||
Nanning |
1 | 2 | | |||
Xuzhou |
1 | 1 | 1 | |||
Xiangtan |
1 | | | |||
Zhenjiang |
1 | 1 | | |||
Luoyang |
1 | 1 | | |||
Nantong |
1 | | | |||
Jilin |
1 | | | |||
Guiyang |
1 | | | |||
Hohhot |
1 | | | |||
|
|
| ||||
Total |
54 | 433 | 28 |
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Our Programs, Services and Products
We provide a wide variety of educational programs, services and products. We deliver education to our students primarily in traditional classroom settings and also through online instruction. With the exception of the full-time primary and secondary school in Yangzhou and a full-time secondary school in Beijing, our classroom-based courses are generally designed to be completed in 2 to 16 weeks. Course fees are determined based on the length of the course, the size and the subject of the class, the area of study and the geographic location of the school. We update and expand our course offerings frequently in response to evolving market needs. We currently have a full-time staff of approximately 250 people involved in our centralized curriculum development process. Our program, service and product offerings are generally divided into six areas: language training; test preparation; primary and secondary schools and kindergartens; educational content, software and other technology development and distribution; online education; and other services and products.
Language Training Courses
Our language training courses primarily consist of various types of English language training courses. We also provide training courses for other foreign languages, including German, Japanese, French, Korean and Spanish. In our fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, we had approximately 1,117,000 student enrollments in our language training courses, of which over 97% were in our English language training courses.
We recognize that students progress at different rates when learning foreign languages, and our large number of students allows us to offer suitable courses at many different levels of proficiency. While we offer English to students of all age groups and with various motivations for learning English, we generally categorize our English language training courses into the following areas: (i) English for adults; (ii) English for children, including our Pop Kids English program; (iii) English for middle school and high schools students; and (iv) Elite English for high-income adults and children of high-income families.
English for Adults. Historically, this has been the primary component of our English language training courses. Many employers in China, including foreign-invested enterprises, multinational corporations branch offices as well as domestic enterprises involved in international business transactions or the tourism industry, require their employees to have a high level of English proficiency.
Our English for adults program offers courses designed to teach and improve students English writing, reading, listening and speaking skills. Our schools and learning centers also have language labs at which our students can listen to and recite spoken passages on CDs and audio tapes to improve their listening and speaking skills. A typical course lasts for 6 to 12 weeks with classroom instruction one to four times per week for two to five hours per visit. We also offer more intensive and condensed versions of our courses, in particular during the summer months when many academic institutions are on summer break. The sizes of our English for adults courses typically range from 1 to approximately 150 students per class.
In our fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, we had approximately 243,000 student enrollments in our English for adults courses and approximately 25.9%, 15.2% and 5.2% of the total enrollments were for courses taught in Beijing, Shanghai and Wuhan, respectively. Course fees for our English for adults courses range from approximately RMB200 to approximately RMB3,000 per course.
English for Children. We established our English for children program in 2002 for children in kindergarten through grade six and it has achieved rapid growth since that time. We designed our English for children program based upon the following principles: (i) we use localized materials originally published by international education content providers and publishers while taking into account the local public schools curricula and the skills and abilities of the individual child and adapting to his or her particular needs; (ii) we assist students in mastering the basics of the language in various fun ways, including interactive games, activities and cultural studies; and (iii) we help children develop a passion for learning the language and guide and inspire them to develop their self-learning abilities. In 2004, we established our Pop Kids English learning centers at which we attempt to immerse young kids in a fun and interactive English-speaking environment dedicated solely to children.
Our English for children classes are typically divided into classes of 1 to approximately 25 students per class. Students attend class one to two times per week for 1.5 to 2 hours per class. We test our students to measure their progress and make sure they are progressing as needed to advance to the next book and class level without jeopardizing the fundamentals that will allow them to excel in the future.
To enhance our Pop Kids English program, we cooperate with the Sino-British Academic Exchange Center for Education Measurement (SBC), Cambridge ESOLs sole representative in China, for the administration of the Cambridge Young Learners English exam (YLE) to our students in the Pop Kids English program. Cambridge ESOL is a not-for-profit department of the University of Cambridge focusing on examinations for the English language. We currently are administering the YLE exam for our POP Kids English students in 24 cities.
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In our fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, we had approximately 546,000 student enrollments in our English for children program and approximately 12.2%, 7.8% and 7.8% of the enrollments took place in Wuhan, Guangzhou and Shanghai, respectively. Course fees for our English for children courses range from approximately RMB100 to approximately RMB2,000 per course.
English for Middle School and High School Students. English proficiency is tested as a major subject of entrance exams for admission into Chinas high schools, colleges and universities. Given the intense competition to gain admission into top high schools and higher education institutions in China, English exam scores can be a deciding factor in gaining admission. Our English language training courses for middle school and high school students are designed to supplement students regular school curricula and help students achieve better scores on English exams for admission into high schools or higher education institutions.
Our typical English courses for middle school and high school students last for 8 to 16 weeks with classroom instruction one to four times per week for 1.5 to 5 hours per visit. We also offer more intensive and condensed versions of our courses, in particular during the summer months when many academic institutions are on summer break. The sizes of these courses typically range from 1 to approximately 300 students per class.
In our fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, we had approximately 239,000 student enrollments in our English language training courses for middle school and high school students, and approximately 19.4%, 8.5%, and 4.7% of the enrollments took place in Beijing, Xian and Nanchang, respectively. Course fees for our English training courses for middle school and high school students range from approximately RMB200 to approximately RMB3,500 per course.
Elite English for High-Income Adults and Children of High-Income Families. With the rapid economic growth of China in the past three decades and increased sophistication and frequency of international business transactions, there is a growing demand for high-end, personalized, advanced English language training for high-income working professionals and other adults in large, economically prosperous cities. Chinas economic growth has led to increased disposable income for Chinese families, and the countrys single child policy and the potential rewards of English proficiency have prompted Chinese families to spend a high percentage of their disposable income investing in their childrens English language education. We started our Elite English programs for high-income adults and children of high income families in 2003 in response to the market demand from high-income students and parents for such personalized instruction.
While we have a standardized curriculum for our Elite English program, our trained teachers work closely with a small group of students to evaluate and customize the curriculum based on the progress and demands of the students. Our Elite English program is divided into classes of one to ten students per class.
In our fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, we had approximately 9,700 students in our Elite English program at our Elite English centers in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Jinan, Ningbo, Chongqing, Chengdu and Changsha. The schedules of our Elite English classes are more flexible in order to accommodate students schedules and are provided in up-scale locations and environments. We plan to continue growing this business. Enrollment fees for our Elite English program generally range from RMB12,000 to RMB18,000 per year.
Test Preparation Courses
We offer test preparation courses to students taking language and entrance exams used by educational institutions in the United States, the PRC and Commonwealth countries. In our fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, we had approximately 972,000 student enrollments in our test preparation courses, of which approximately 317,000 were in overseas test preparation courses, 384,000 were in PRC test preparation courses and 235,000 were in test preparation courses for middle and high school Chinese students.
We offer test preparation courses for the following major overseas exams: TOEFL, TSE, SAT, ACT, IELTS, GRE, GMAT, LSAT, BEC and TOEIC. In addition, we offer test preparation classes for the following major PRC admissions tests: CET 4, CET 6, National Tests for Entrance into Masters Degree Programs, Professional Title English Test and PETS. In November 2006, we established our Beijing New Oriental North Star Training School to expand into the professional certification preparation field, which includes preparation for the PRC bar, the PRC certified public accountant and civil service exams. In November 2007, Educational Testing Service, the creator of TOEFL, and New Oriental reached an agreement making New Orientals language schools the only language schools in China authorized by the Educational Testing Service to sell the TOEFL Practice Online, or the TPO, in their training classes. As part of the agreement, New Oriental has an exclusive right to provide the TPO as a component of its language training or test preparation courses and may also sell the TPO to the general public through its bookstores. Educational Testing Service will continue to sell the TPO on its own website and through its subsidiaries or other third-party resellers.
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In March 2008, we launched our New Oriental U-Can (Non-English) training program, which targets middle and high school Chinese students from ages 13 to 18 who are preparing for the college entrance examination in China, known as the gaokao. The gaokao is required for admission to bachelor degree programs and most associate degree programs at Chinese colleges and universities. To complement New Oriental U-Can (Non-English), we provide tutoring services to students who seek to retake the gaokao through Tongwen Gaokao School, a private school based in Changchun. In February 2009, we launched a customized learning program for students from ages 6 to 18, offering small class size tutoring ranging from one to five students per class, in all subjects required for the gaokao and the high school entrance examinations, respectively. In our fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, we had over 235,000 student enrollments in New Oriental U-Can (Non-English), including the customized small-class program. With this two-pronged strategy of offering affordable larger classes and higher priced individualized small classes for school aged children, we aim to capture more market share in the large after-school training market in China.
In our fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, approximately 44.3% and 16.4% of the total student enrollments in our overseas test preparation courses took place in Beijing and Shanghai, respectively, and approximately 24.0% of the total student enrollments in our PRC test preparation courses took place in Beijing, while no other city accounted for over 10% of the total student enrollments in our PRC test preparation courses. Our test preparation courses focus on quality instruction and test-taking techniques designed to help students achieve high scores on the admissions and assessment tests. Except for the customized small class program discussed above, our experienced teachers generally teach in large classes ranging from 50 to 500 students. Our students enroll in a 20- to 160-hour program with classes meeting one to four times per week for approximately 2.5 hours per class. We also offer intensive and condensed versions of our courses, which are compacted into shorter time periods. Course fees for our test preparation courses range from RMB150 to RMB25,000 per course.
Primary and Secondary Schools
We established the first full-time private primary and secondary school in Yangzhou in 2002. This is a private boarding school for students in grades 1 to 12 seeking a full curriculum taught in both Chinese and English, with a strong emphasis on English language training. We target parents who desire to provide their children with a global vision and an understanding and appreciation of both traditional Chinese culture and the modern world, a competitive advantage in academics and social development and English language proficiency. Our goal is to develop the Yangzhou school, and other new schools to be established in the future, into elite schools whose students consistently gain acceptance into the top universities in China and around the world.
We attempt to immerse our students in the English language at an early age through native English speaking teachers and activities designed to emphasize early and significant exposure to a bilingual environment. The Yangzhou private school has a capacity of up to 4,000 students. In our fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, we had over 3,700 students at the Yangzhou school, approximately 47% of whom came from Yangzhou, with the remainder from various parts of China. Our students must take an admission test and undergo an interview to gain acceptance into our school.
There are over 370 teachers and 280 supporting staff at the Yangzhou school. The school has been regarded as one of the best primary and secondary schools in the local market since shortly after its inception. In our fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, the school accepted 1,017 students out of over approximately 3,400 applicants from the local market as well as elsewhere in China.
The Yangzhou school has received various accreditations from local authorities. We work closely with the local educational authorities to make sure that our curriculum is compatible with public school curriculums and covers the full spectrum of required courses. We have also expanded our curriculum to include subjects, activities and techniques that teach the students to learn and think independently. There is less emphasis on memorization and recitation and greater emphasis on creative thinking and analytical activities. We use computers as a major part of our teaching and learning methods and encourage students to learn in an interactive format. In our fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, tuition at the Yangzhou school ranged from RMB5,000 to RMB22,000 per year.
In July 2006, we established an international high school program within the Yangzhou school. In July 2010, we opened an international high school in Beijing. Our international high school aims to provide students with a full curriculum of high school education in a bilingual environment while preparing them for admission into foreign universities. All of the students of the class of 2011 of the international high program at our Yangzhou school were admitted by the top 100 universities in the United States. In our fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, tuition at our international school ranges from RMB60,000 to RMB90,000 per year.
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Educational Content, Software and Other Technology Development and Distribution
We develop and edit content of educational materials for language training and test preparation, such as books, software, CD-ROMs, magazines and other periodicals. We distribute these materials through various distribution channels, consisting of our own classrooms and bookstores as well as third-party distributors, including over 5,000 bookstores in China. In our fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, we developed and edited over 150 titles and distributed over 10 million books authored or licensed by us in China. Most of the materials distributed by us are education-related and include the materials that we use in our courses and a large number of titles that we market for use in English language area.
Our extensive distribution channels have attracted international education content providers to cooperate with us in distributing localized versions of their materials in China. We currently have arrangements with Pearson Education, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Cambridge University Press, Barrons, Wiley, DynEd International Inc., or their respective authorized local publishers, to develop and distribute localized versions of selected educational materials in China, some of which bear both our logo and the original publishers logo. We plan to establish additional strategic relationships with leading international education content providers to enrich our content offerings.
Online Education
We offer online education programs on our website www.koolearn.com. As of May 31, 2011, over 6.7 million users had registered accounts with us, with access to free informational content on our website. In our fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, we had approximately 223,800 users that paid for additional access to our specialized education programs. These users purchase pre-paid cards that give them the right to use our paid content for a specific period of time or for specific courses. Course fees for our online courses range from RMB100 to RMB9,800 per course.
We currently offer approximately 1,000 online courses including language training courses, test preparation courses, professional certification courses, and business knowledge and skills training courses in the areas of accounting, legal, management and others. Our typical online courses last for 30 hours and each session normally lasts approximately 30 minutes. We have live interactive online courses as well as courses that allow students to view replays of pre-recorded lectures. Our online courses are particularly attractive to students who need the flexibility to prepare at any time of the day or night and on short notice. Our online tools provide more flexibility by offering our students the ability to choose their best and most convenient way of learning as they experience our programs.
Partially through our Koolearn.com website, we also offer enterprise clients customized training services. By working closely with enterprise clients, we gain a good understanding of the clients specific training needs and design training solutions to meet those needs. We also have the capability to develop customized e-learning management systems for enterprise clients.
Other Services
Overseas Studies Consulting. Our consultants help students through the application and admission process for overseas educational institutions and provide useful college, graduate and career counseling advice to help students to make informed decisions. We also counsel students with the immigration process for overseas studies, such as obtaining visas and student and off-campus housing. We charge each student a fee based on the scope of consulting services requested by the student.
Pre-school Education. In September 2007, we established our pre-school business with the opening of our first kindergarten in Beijing, which currently has 151 students and has a capacity of enrolling up to 160 students. In April 2009, we opened another kindergarten in Nanjing. As of May 31, 2011, our two kindergartens had a total of 516 students. In our fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, we also had about 570 student enrollments in two early childhood learning centers in Beijing.
Marketing and Student Recruitment
We employ a variety of marketing and recruiting methods to attract students and increase enrollments. We have positioned ourselves as a provider of private educational services that inspires students to achieve their potential and build self-confidence and that boosts students enthusiasm for learning. We believe prospective students are attracted to our schools due to our excellent brand name, the quality of our programs and our relatively long operating history in the private education sector.
We employ the following marketing methods to attract new and returning students:
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Speeches and Seminars. Our management, most of whom are experienced teachers and were among our earliest teachers, and our top teachers frequently give speeches at colleges, universities, high schools and middle schools and to student groups, parent groups and educational organizations. They also participate in educational seminars and workshops. Our speeches include direct program promotion speeches during which we directly explain the merits and advantages of our programs or general English learning methods, as well as inspirational speeches designed to motivate students to reach their full potential and strive for success. In the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, our management and teachers gave a total of over 13,200 speeches and seminars in China.
Referrals. Historically, our student enrollments have grown primarily through word-of-mouth referrals. Our student enrollments have benefited and will continue to benefit by referrals from our extensive network of students and alumni and the successful academic and professional careers that many of them have achieved.
Distribution of Marketing Materials. We use New Oriental booths and information tables to distribute free inspirational books authored by our chairman and chief executive officer Michael Minhong Yu and others, informational brochures, posters and flyers at various on-campus events, educational expos, conferences and college and employment fairs. We also conduct extensive free information sessions to introduce our programs to our target markets.
Advertisements. We advertise through our own websites and also on Chinas leading portals, such as Sina.com and Sohu.com. We also have advertising arrangements with many Chinese national and regional newspapers and other media outlets, including school campus newspapers. In addition, we advertise through local radio stations and other advertisement platforms, including building lobby or elevator LCD displays and outdoor advertisement displays.
Social Events and Activities. We participate in and host community events designed to promote awareness of the virtues of education. We believe that these events enhance our public image and increase brand awareness. We also host English speech competitions, English drama performances and cultural events designed to raise enthusiasm for English language learning and to further promote awareness of our brand.
Cross-Selling. As we gain footholds in many different markets, we use our programs in one market as an opportunity to advertise our programs in other markets. With a variety of programs aimed at different age groups, our goal is to create a brand name that permeates every stage of our potential students educational, career and life progression, from English for children to English for adults to test preparation to Elite English to continuing professional education, and to encourage our students to introduce their children to the same system and courses. Outside of our organization, we have established cross-promotional relationships with a number of companies to promote our programs, services and products and awareness of our brand.
Competition
The private education sector in China is rapidly evolving, highly fragmented and competitive, and we expect competition in this sector to persist and intensify. We face competition in each major program we offer and each geographic market in which we operate.
For example, we face nationwide competition for our IELTS preparation courses from Global IELTS School, which offers IELTS preparation courses in many cities in China. We face regional competition for our English for children program from several competitors that focus on childrens English language training in specific regions, including English First. We face competition for our Elite English program primarily from Wall Street Institute and English First, both of which offer English language training courses for adults in many cities in China. Wall Street Institute began providing high-end English language training courses to adults in major cities several years before we entered this market and enjoys a first-mover advantage. We also face limited competition from many competitors that focus on providing international and/or PRC test preparation courses in specific geographic markets in China.
We believe that the principal competitive factors in our markets include the following:
| brand recognition; |
| overall student experience; |
| ability to effectively market programs, services and products to a broad base of prospective students; |
| scope and quality of program, service and product offerings; and |
| alignment of programs, services and products catering to specific needs of students, parents, educators and employers. |
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We believe that our primary competitive advantages are our well-known New Oriental brand, our innovative and inspirational instruction methods and the breadth and quality of our programs, services and products. However, some of our existing and potential competitors may have more resources than we do. These competitors may be able to devote greater resources than we can to the development, promotion and sale of their programs, services and products and respond more quickly than we can to changes in student demands, testing materials, admissions standards, market needs or new technologies. In addition, we face competition from many different smaller sized organizations that focus on some of our targeted markets, which may be able to respond more promptly to changes in student preferences in these markets.
The increasing use of the Internet and advances in Internet- and computer-related technologies, such as web video conferencing and online testing simulators, are eliminating geographic and cost-entry barriers to providing private educational services. As a result, many of our international competitors that offer online test preparation and language training courses, such as The Princeton Review, Inc. and Kaplan, Inc., may be able to more effectively penetrate the China market. Many of these international competitors have strong education brands, and students and parents in China may be attracted to the offerings of our international competitors based in the country that the student wishes to study in or in which the selected language is widely spoken. In addition, many smaller companies are able to use the Internet to quickly and cost-effectively offer their programs, services and products to a large number of students with less capital expenditure than previously required.
Regulation
This section summarizes the principal PRC regulations relating to our businesses.
We operate our business in China under a legal regime consisting of the State Council, which is the highest authority of the executive branch of the PRC central government, and several ministries and agencies under its authority, including the Ministry of Education, or the MOE, the General Administration of Press and Publication, or GAPP, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, or the MIIT, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, or SAIC, the Ministry of Civil Affairs and their respective authorized local counterparts.
Regulations on Private Education
The principal regulations governing private education in China consist of the Education Law of the PRC, the Law for Promoting Private Education (2003) and the Implementation Rules for the Law for Promoting Private Education (2004), and the Regulations on Chinese-Foreign Cooperation in Operating Schools. Below is a summary of the relevant provisions of these regulations.
Education Law of the PRC
On March 18, 1995, the National Peoples Congress enacted the Education Law of the PRC, or the Education Law. The Education Law sets forth provisions relating to the fundamental education systems of the PRC, including a school system of pre-school education, primary education, secondary education and higher education, a system of nine-year compulsory education and a system of education certificates. The Education Law stipulates that the government should formulate plans for the development of education and establish and operate schools and other institutions of education, and that in principle, enterprises, social organizations and individuals are encouraged to operate schools and other types of educational organizations in accordance with PRC laws and regulations. However, no organization or individual may establish or operate a school or any other institution of education for profit-making purposes, though private schools may be operated for reasonable returns, as described in more detail below.
The Law for Promoting Private Education (2003) and the Implementation Rules for the Law for Promoting Private Education (2004)
The Law for Promoting Private Education (2003) became effective on September 1, 2003, and the Implementation Rules for the Law for Promoting Private Education (2004) became effective on April 1, 2004. Under these regulations, private schools are defined as schools established by social organizations or individuals using non-government funds. In addition, private schools providing certifications, pre-school education, education for self-study aid and other academic education shall be subject to approval by the education authorities, while private schools engaging in occupational qualification training and occupational skill training shall be subject to approvals from the authorities in charge of labor and social welfare. A duly approved private school will be granted a Permit for Operating a Private School, and shall be registered with the Ministry of Civil Affairs or its local counterparts as a privately run non-enterprise institution. Each of our schools has obtained the Permit for Operating a Private School and has been registered with the relevant local counterpart of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
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Under the above regulations, private schools have the same status as public schools, though private schools are prohibited from providing military, police, political and other kinds of education which are of a special nature. Government-run schools that provide compulsory education are not permitted to be converted into private schools. In addition, the operation of a private school is highly regulated. For example, the types and amounts of fees charged by a private school providing certifications shall be approved by the governmental pricing authority and be publicly disclosed. A private school that does not provide certifications shall file its pricing information with the governmental pricing authority and publicly disclose such information. Except for our primary and secondary school in Yangzhou and a small high school in Changchun, which provide graduation certifications to students, none of the schools operated by New Oriental China provides a diploma or certification to students.
Private education is treated as a public welfare undertaking under the regulations. Nonetheless, investors of a private school may choose to require reasonable returns from the annual net balance of the school after deduction of costs, donations received, government subsidies, if any, the reserved development fund and other expenses as required by the regulations. Private schools are divided into three categories: private schools established with donated funds; private schools that require reasonable returns and private schools that do not require reasonable returns.
The election to establish a private school requiring reasonable returns shall be provided in the articles of association of the school. The percentage of the schools annual net balance that can be distributed as reasonable return shall be determined by the schools board of directors, taking into consideration the following factors: (i) items and criteria for the schools fees, (ii) the ratio of the schools expenses used for educational activities and improving the educational conditions to the total fees collected, and (iii) the admission standards and educational quality. The relevant information relating to the above factors shall be publicly disclosed before the schools board determines the percentage of the schools annual net balance that can be distributed as reasonable returns. Such information and the decision to distribute reasonable returns shall also be filed with the approval authorities within 15 days from the decision made by the board. However, none of the current PRC laws and regulations provides a formula or guidelines for determining reasonable returns. In addition, none of the current PRC laws and regulations sets forth different requirements or restrictions on a private schools ability to operate its education business based on such schools status as a school that requires reasonable returns or a school that does not require reasonable returns.
At the end of each fiscal year, every private school is required to allocate a certain amount to its development fund for the construction or maintenance of the school or procurement or upgrade of educational equipment. In the case of a private school that requires reasonable returns, this amount shall be no less than 25% of the annual net income of the school, while in the case of a private school that does not require reasonable returns, this amount shall be equal to no less than 25% of the annual increase in the net assets of the school, if any. Private schools that do not require reasonable returns shall be entitled to the same preferential tax treatment as public schools, while the preferential tax treatment policies applicable to private schools requiring reasonable returns shall be formulated by the finance authority, taxation authority and other authorities under the State Council. To date, however, no regulations have been promulgated by the relevant authorities in this regard.
Regulations on Chinese-Foreign Cooperation in Operating Schools
Chinese-foreign cooperation in operating schools or training programs is specifically governed by the Regulations on Operating Chinese-Foreign Schools, promulgated by the State Council in 2003 in accordance with the Education Law, the Occupational Education Law and the Law for Promoting Private Education, and the Implementing Rules for the Regulations on Operating Chinese-Foreign Schools, or the Implementing Rules, which were issued by the MOE in 2004.
The Regulations on Operating Chinese-foreign Schools and its Implementing Rules encourage substantive cooperation between overseas educational organizations with relevant qualifications and experience in providing high-quality education and Chinese educational organizations to jointly operate various types of schools in the PRC, with such cooperation in the areas of higher education and occupational education being encouraged. Chinese-foreign cooperative schools are not permitted, however, to engage in compulsory education and military, police, political and other kinds of education that are of a special nature in the PRC.
Permits for Chinese-Foreign Cooperation in Operating Schools shall be obtained from the relevant education authorities or the authorities that regulate labor and social welfare in the PRC. We have not applied for a Permit for Chinese-Foreign Cooperation in Operating Schools at this stage since all of our schools are operated by New Oriental China.
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Outline of Chinas National Plan for Medium- and Long-Term Education Reform and Development (2010-2020)
On July 29, 2010, the PRC central government promulgated the Outline of Chinas National Plan for Medium- and Long-Term Education Reform and Development (2010-2020), which for the first time announced the policy that the government will implement a reform to divide private education entities into two categories: (1) for-profit private education entities and (2) not-for-profit private education entities. However, this outline is still new and no further law or regulation has been promulgated to implement it. If upon the implementation of this reform, our schools choose to be for-profit private education entities, they may be subject to income tax at the rate of 25% and other taxes as if they were enterprises; if our schools choose to be not-for-profit private education entities, our contractual arrangements with New Oriental China and its subsidiaries may be subject to more stringent scrutiny and the education authorities may not allow our schools to pay us services fees under the contractual arrangements as they currently do. As a result, the implementation of this reform may adversely affect our results of operations.
Regulations on Online and Distance Education
Pursuant to the Administrative Regulations on Educational Websites and Online and Distance Education Schools issued by the MOE in 2000, educational websites and online education schools may provide educational services in relation to higher education, elementary education, pre-school education, teaching education, occupational education, adult education, other education and public educational information services. Educational websites refer to organizations providing education or education-related information services to website visitors by means of a database or online education platform connected via the Internet or an educational television station through an Internet service provider, or ISP. Online education schools refer to education websites providing academic education services or training services with the issuance of various certificates.
Setting up education websites and online education schools is subject to approval from relevant education authorities, depending on the specific types of education. Any education website and online education school shall, upon the receipt of approval, indicate on its website such approval information as well as the approval date and file number.
According to the Administrative License Law promulgated by the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress on August 27, 2003 and effective as of July 1, 2004, only laws promulgated by the National Peoples Congress and regulations and decisions promulgated by the State Council may set down administrative license. On June 29, 2004, the State Council promulgated the Decision on Setting Down Administrative Licenses for the Administrative Examination and Approval Items Really Necessary to be Retained, in which the administrative license for online education schools was retained, while the administrative license for educational websites was not retained.
Regulations on Publishing and Distribution of Publications
On December 25, 2001, the State Council promulgated the Administrative Regulations on Publication, or the Publication Regulations, which became effective on February 1, 2002. The Publication Regulations apply to publication activities, i.e., the publishing, printing, copying, importation or distribution of publications, including books, newspapers, periodicals, audio and video products and electronic publications, each of which requires approval from the relevant publication administrative authorities.
On April 13, 2005, the State Council announced a policy on private investments in China that relate to cultural matters, which affects private investments in businesses that involve publishing. The policy authorizes the Ministry of Culture and several other central government authorities to adopt detailed rules to implement the policy. In July 2005, the Ministry of Culture, together with other central government authorities, issued a regulation that prohibits private and foreign investors from engaging in the publishing business. Our subsidiaries and affiliated entities are not permitted to engage in the publishing business under this regulation. Beijing New Oriental Dogwood Cultural Communications Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of New Oriental China, has been cooperating with qualified PRC publishing companies to publish our self-developed teaching materials and other content.
Subsequent to the implementation of the Publication Regulations, GAPP issued the Administrative Regulations on Publications Market, which became effective on September 1, 2003 and which were amended on June 16, 2004. According to the Administrative Regulations on Publications Market, any organization or individual engaged in general distribution, whole sale or retail of publications shall obtain a Permit for Operating Publications. Distribution of publications in the PRC is regulated on different administrative levels. An entity engaged in general distribution of publications shall obtain such permit from GAPP and may conduct general distribution of the publications in the PRC; an entity engaged in wholesaling of publications shall obtain such permit from the provincial counterpart of GAPP and may not engage in general distribution in the PRC; and an entity engaged in retail distribution of publications shall obtain such permit from the local counterpart of GAPP at the county level and may not conduct general distribution or wholesaling of publications in the PRC.
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In addition, pursuant to the Administrative Regulations on Publishing Audio-Video Products promulgated by the State Council on December 25, 2001, which became effective as of February 1, 2002, any entity engaged in the wholesale or retail distribution of audio-video products shall secure a Permit for Operating Audio-Video Products from the relevant culture authorities.
The subsidiaries of New Oriental China engaged in the wholesale and retail distribution of books, periodicals, audio-visual products and electronic publications have obtained the relevant Permits for Operating Publications and the relevant Permits for Operating Audio-Video Products. During the term of the above-mentioned permits or licenses, GAPP or its local counterparts or other competent authorities may conduct annual or random examination or inspection from time to time to ascertain their compliance with applicable regulations and may require for change or renewal of such permits or licenses. If the subsidiaries of New Oriental China engaged in the wholesale and retail distribution of books, periodicals, audio-visual products and electronic publications are not able to pass the subsequent inspection or examination, they may not be able to maintain such permits or licenses necessary for their business.
Regulations on Online Publications
GAPP and the MIIT jointly promulgated the Tentative Internet Publishing Administrative Measures, or the Internet Publishing Measures, which took effect on August 1, 2002. The Internet Publishing Measures require Internet publishers to obtain approval from GAPP. The term Internet publishing is defined as an act of online dissemination whereby Internet information service providers select, edit and process works created by themselves or others (including content from books, newspapers, periodicals, audio and video products, electronic publications, and other sources that have already been formally published or works that have been made public in other media) and subsequently post the same on the Internet or transmit the same to users via the Internet for browsing, use or downloading by the public.
Xuncheng Network, a subsidiary of New Oriental China engaging in Internet content services, received verbal confirmation from GAPP that the online content services that Xuncheng Network provides does not fall within the scope of Internet publishing that requires approval or a license from GAPP. Obtaining an online publication license requires certain conditions, including having five or more qualified editors, which Xuncheng Network cannot satisfy. However, because there is no further official or publicly available interpretation of Internet publishing, we cannot assure you that Xuncheng Network will not require an online publication license in the future.
Regulations on Consulting Services for Overseas Studies or Other Overseas Visits for Private Matters
The Ministry of Public Security and SAIC jointly issued the Administrative Measures on Intermediate Activities relating to Entry and Exit for Private Purpose on June 6, 2001, which requires that any entity engaged in intermediate and consulting services for Chinese citizens going abroad to visit families, relatives or friends, to reside abroad, to inherit properties, or to conduct other non-business matters other than studying, working or touring, shall obtain a license granted by the relevant provincial authority on public security. With respect to intermediate and consulting business activities relating to self-funded overseas studying, the MOE, the Ministry of Public Security and SAIC jointly issued the Administrative Regulations on Intermediate Services for Overseas Studies with Private Funds and their Implementing Rules in 1999, which require that any intermediate service organization engaged in such services procure from the MOE the Recognition on the Intermediate Service Organization for Self-funded Overseas Studies.
Beijing New Oriental Vision Overseas Consulting Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of New Oriental China engaging in overseas studies consulting and other consulting services, has obtained the relevant licenses from the MOE and the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau.
Regulations on Internet Information Services
Subsequent to the State Councils promulgation of the Telecom Regulations and the Internet Information Services Administrative Measures on September 25, 2000, or the Internet Information Measures, the MIIT and other regulatory authorities formulated and implemented a number of Internet-related regulations, including but not limited to the Internet Electronic Bulletin Board Service Administrative Measures, or the BBS Measures.
The Internet Information Measures require that commercial Internet content providers, or ICP providers, obtain a license for Internet information services, or ICP license, from the appropriate telecommunications authorities in order to carry on any commercial Internet information services in the PRC. ICP providers shall display their ICP license number in a conspicuous location on their home page. In addition, the Internet Information Measures also provide that ICP providers that operate in sensitive and strategic sectors, including news, publishing, education, health care, medicine and medical devices, must obtain additional approvals from the relevant authorities in charge of those sectors as well. The BBS Measures provide that any ICP provider engaged in providing online bulletin board services, or BBS, is subject to a filing process with the relevant telecommunications industry authorities. Xuncheng Network has obtained the ICP license and is in the process of completing such filing.
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In July 2006, the MIIT posted a notice on its website entitled Notice on Strengthening Management of Foreign Investment in Operating Value-Added Telecom Services. The notice prohibits PRC Internet content providers from leasing, transferring or selling their ICP licenses or providing facilities or other resources to any illegal foreign investors. The notice states that PRC Internet content providers should directly own the trademarks and domain names for websites operated by them, as well as servers and other infrastructure used to support these websites. The notice also states that PRC Internet content providers had until November 1, 2006 to evaluate their compliance with the notice and correct any non-compliance. A PRC Internet content providers failure to do so by November 1, 2006 may result in revocation of its ICP license.
Regulations on Internet Culture Activities
The Ministry of Culture of the PRC promulgated the Internet Culture Administration Tentative Measures, or the Internet Culture Measures, on May 10, 2003, which became effective on July 1, 2003, and which were amended on July 1, 2004. The Internet Culture Measures require ICP operators engaging in Internet culture activities to obtain an Internet culture business operations license from the Ministry of Culture in accordance with the Internet Culture Measures. The term Internet culture activities includes, among other things, acts of online dissemination of Internet cultural products, such as audio-visual products, games, performances of plays or programs, works of art and cartoons, and the production, reproduction, importation, sale (wholesale or retail), leasing and broadcasting of Internet cultural products.
Xuncheng Network, a subsidiary of New Oriental China engaging in the distribution of certain audio-visual products through the Internet, received verbal confirmation from the Ministry of Culture that the products of Xuncheng Network do not fall within the definition of Internet culture products and its operations do not fall within the definition of Internet culture activities as defined under the Internet Culture Measures. Accordingly, Xuncheng Network is not required to obtain an Internet culture business operations license. However, because there is no further official or publicly-available interpretation of these definitions, we cannot assure you that Xuncheng Network will not need an Internet culture business operations license in the future.
Regulation on Broadcasting Audio-Video Programs through the Internet or Other Information Network
The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, or SARFT, promulgated the Rules for Administration of Broadcasting of Audio-Video Programs through the Internet and Other Information Networks, or the Broadcasting Rules, in 2004, which became effective on October 11, 2004. The Broadcasting Rules apply to the activities of broadcasting, integration, transmission, downloading of audio-video programs with computers, televisions or mobile phones as the main terminals and through various types of information networks. Pursuant to the Broadcasting Rules, a Permit for Broadcasting Audio-video Programs via Information Network is required to engage in these Internet broadcasting activities. On April 13, 2005, the State Council announced a policy on private investments in businesses in China that relate to cultural matters, which prohibits private investments in businesses relating to the dissemination of audio-video programs through information networks.
On December 20, 2007, SARFT and MIIT issued the Internet Audio-Video Program Measures, which became effective on January 31, 2008. Among other things, the Internet Audio-Video Program Measures stipulate that no entities or individuals may provide Internet audio-video program services without a License for Disseminating Audio-Video Programs through Information Network issued by SARFT or its local counterparts or completing the relevant registration with SARFT or its local counterparts and only entities wholly owned or controlled by the PRC government may engage in the production, editing, integration or consolidation, and transfer to the public through the Internet, of audio-video programs, and the provision of audio-video program uploading and transmission services. On February 3, 2008, SARFT and MIIT jointly held a press conference in response to inquiries related to the Internet Audio-Video Program Measures, during which SARFT and MIIT officials indicated that providers of audio-video program services established prior to the promulgation date of the Internet Audio-Video Program Measures that do not have any regulatory non-compliance records can re-register with the relevant government authorities to continue their current business operations. After the conference, the two authorities published a press release that confirms the above guidelines. On September 15, 2009, SARFT promulgated the Notice on Several Issues regarding the License for Disseminating Audio-Video Programs through Information Network. The Notice restates the necessity of applying for such license and sets forth the legal liabilities for those providing Internet audio-video program services without the license. Xuncheng Network, a subsidiary of New Oriental China engaging in online education services, obtained the License for Disseminating Audio-Video Programs through Information Network from SARFT on January 15, 2010.
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Regulations on Protection of the Right of Dissemination through Information Networks
On May 18, 2006, the State Council promulgated the Regulations on Protection of the Right of Dissemination through Information Networks, which became effective on July 1, 2006. This regulation requires that every organization or individual who disseminates a third partys work, performance, audio or visual recording products to the public through information networks shall obtain permission from, and pay compensation to, the legitimate copyright owner of such products, unless otherwise provided under relevant laws and regulations. The legitimate copyright owner may take technical measures to protect his or her right of dissemination through information networks and any organization or individual shall not intentionally avoid, destroy or otherwise assist others in avoiding such protective measures unless permissible under law. This regulation also provides that permission from and compensation for the copyright owner are not required in the event of limited dissemination to teaching or research staff for the purpose of school teaching or scientific research only.
Regulations on Copyright and Trademark Protection
China has adopted legislation governing intellectual property rights, including copyrights and trademarks. China is a signatory to the main international conventions on intellectual property rights and became a member of the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights upon its accession to the World Trade Organization in December 2001.
Copyright. The National Peoples Congress amended the Copyright Law in 2001 to widen the scope of works and rights that are eligible for copyright protection. The amended Copyright Law extends copyright protection to Internet activities, products disseminated over the Internet and software products. In addition, there is a voluntary registration system administered by the China Copyright Protection Center.
To address the problem of copyright infringement related to the content posted or transmitted over the Internet, the National Copyright Administration and the MIIT jointly promulgated the Administrative Measures for Copyright Protection Related to the Internet on April 30, 2005. These measures became effective on May 30, 2005.
Trademark. The PRC Trademark Law, adopted in 1982 and revised in 2001, protects the proprietary rights to registered trademarks. The Trademark Office under SAIC handles trademark registrations and grants a term of ten years to registered trademarks and another ten years to trademarks as requested upon expiry of the prior term. Trademark license agreements must be filed with the Trademark Office for record. We have registered certain trademarks and logos, including New Oriental, Pop Kids and Elite English, with the Trademark Office and are in the process of registering additional marks. In addition, if a registered trademark is recognized as a well-known trademark in a specific case, the proprietary right of the trademark holder may be extended beyond the registered sphere of products and services of the trademark in such case. Our trademarks and New Oriental were recognized as well-known trademarks in a civil action adjudicated by the Intermediate Peoples Court of Jilin City, Jilin Province.
On November 5, 2004, the MIIT amended the Measures for Administration of Domain Names for the Chinese Internet, or the Domain Name Measures. The Domain Name Measures regulate the registration of domain names, such as the first tier domain name .cn. In February 2006, China Internet Network Information Center, or CNNIC, issued the Implementing Rules for Domain Name Registration and the Measures on Domain Name Disputes Resolution, pursuant to which CNNIC can authorize a domain name dispute resolution institution to decide disputes. We have registered many domain names with CNNIC.
Regulations on Foreign Exchange
Foreign Currency Exchange
Pursuant to the Foreign Currency Administration Rules promulgated in 1996 and amended in 2008 and various regulations issued by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, or SAFE, and other relevant PRC government authorities, RMB is freely convertible only to the extent of current account items, such as trade-related receipts and payments, interest and dividend. Capital account items, such as direct equity investments, loans and repatriation of investment, require the prior approval from SAFE or its local counterpart for conversion of RMB into a foreign currency, such as U.S. dollars, and remittance of the foreign currency outside the PRC.
Payments for transactions that take place within the PRC must be made in RMB. Unless otherwise approved, PRC companies must repatriate foreign currency payments received from abroad. Domestic enterprises (including foreign-invested enterprises) may retain foreign exchange derived from current account items, but unless otherwise approved, they must convert all of their foreign currency receipts derived from capital account items into RMB.
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SAFE promulgated a new circular in August 2008 with respect to the administration of conversion of foreign exchange capital contributions of foreign invested enterprise. This circular clarifies that RMB converted from foreign exchange capital contributions can only be used for the activities within the approved business scope of such foreign invested enterprise and cannot be used for domestic equity investment unless otherwise allowed.
Foreign Exchange Registration of Offshore Investment by PRC Residents
Pursuant to the SAFEs Notice on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Administration for PRC Residents to Engage in Financing and Inbound Investment via Overseas Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular No. 75, issued on October 21, 2005, (i) a PRC citizen residing in the PRC, or PRC Resident, shall register with the local branch of SAFE before it establishes or controls an overseas special purpose vehicle, or SPV, for the purpose of overseas equity financing (including convertible debts financing); (ii) when a PRC Resident contributes the assets of or its equity interests in a domestic enterprise into an SPV, or engages in overseas financing after contributing assets or equity interests into an SPV, such PRC Resident shall register his or her interest in the SPV and the change thereof with the local branch of SAFE; and (iii) when the SPV undergoes a material event outside of China, such as change in share capital or merger and acquisition, the PRC resident shall, within 30 days from the occurrence of such event, register such change with the local branch of SAFE. PRC residents who are shareholders of SPVs established before November 1, 2005 were required to register with the local SAFE branch before March 31, 2006.
Under SAFE Circular No. 75, failure to comply with the registration procedures set forth above may result in the penalties, including imposition of restrictions on a PRC subsidiarys foreign exchange activities and its ability to distribute dividends to the SPV.
Our beneficial owners immediately before our initial public offering who are PRC residents had registered with the local branch of SAFE prior to our initial public offering as required under SAFE Circular No. 75.
Dividend Distribution
The principal regulations governing dividend distributions by wholly foreign-owned enterprises and Sino-foreign equity joint ventures include:
| Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise Law (1986), as amended; |
| Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise Law Implementing Rules (1990), as amended; |
| Sino-foreign Equity Joint Venture Enterprise Law (1979), as amended; and |
| Sino-foreign Equity Joint Venture Enterprise Law Implementing Rules (1983), as amended. |
Under these regulations, wholly foreign-owned enterprises and Sino-foreign equity joint ventures in the PRC may pay dividends only out of their accumulated profits, if any, determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. Additionally, these foreign-invested enterprises are required to set aside certain amounts of their accumulated profits each year, if any, to fund certain reserve funds. These reserves are not distributable as cash dividends.
Provisions Regarding Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors
On August 8, 2006, six PRC regulatory agencies, including the Chinese Securities Regulatory Commission, or CSRC, promulgated a rule entitled Provisions regarding Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rule, to more effectively regulate foreign investment in PRC domestic enterprises. The M&A Rule, as amended on June 22, 2009, provides that the Ministry of Commerce must be notified in advance of any change-of-control transaction in which a foreign investor takes control of a PRC domestic enterprise and any of the following situations exists: (i) the transaction involves an important industry in China, (ii) the transaction may affect national economic security, or (iii) the PRC domestic enterprise has a well-known trademark or historical Chinese trade name in China. The M&A Rule also contains a provision requiring offshore special purpose vehicles, or SPVs, formed for listing purposes through acquisitions of PRC domestic companies and controlled by PRC individuals to obtain the approval of the CSRC prior to publicly listing their securities on an overseas stock exchange.
The M&A Rule became effective on September 8, 2006 without retroactive effect. Based on the advice of Tian Yuan Law Firm, our PRC counsel, we do not believe that the CSRC approval was required for our listing on the NYSE because trading of our ADSs commenced prior to the effective date of the M&A Rule.
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Regulations on Taxation
On March 16, 2007, the National Peoples Congress, the Chinese legislature, passed the EIT Law, which took effect on January 1, 2008. The EIT Law applies a uniform 25% enterprise income tax rate to both foreign-invested enterprises and domestic enterprises. There is a transition period for the enterprises, whether foreign-invested or domestic, which had received preferential tax treatments granted by relevant tax authorities prior to March 16, 2007. Enterprises that had been subject to an enterprise income tax rate lower than 25% prior to March 16, 2007 may continue to enjoy the lower rate and gradually transfer to the new tax rate within five years after the effective date of the EIT Law. Enterprises that had been entitled to exemptions or reductions from the standard income tax rate for a fixed term prior to March 16, 2007 may continue to enjoy such treatment until the fixed term expires. Preferential tax treatments will continue to be granted to industries and projects that are strongly supported and encouraged by the state, and enterprises otherwise classified as high and new technology enterprises strongly supported by the state upon re-examination will be entitled to a 15% enterprise income tax rate. The EIT Law empowers the State Council to enact appropriate implementing rules and regulations. The State Council promulgated the implementation rules of the EIT Law in December 2007 and the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation promulgated other supplemental rules in April 2008 and July 2008, respectively, regarding new criteria for the granting of high and new technology enterprises status. According to these rules, all enterprises which have been granted such status before the effectiveness of the EIT Law are required to be re-examined according to such rules before they can continue to be entitled to the preferential tax treatments. Any enterprises to be granted with high and new technology enterprises status shall meet certain requirements, including but not limited to the following: (1) in the latest three years, the enterprise itself owns the intellectual property right for the core technology of its product or service; (2) the enterprises product or service falls into the ambit of high-tech fields heavily supported by the government; (3) technicians with a bachelors degree account for more than 30% of all the staff, and the research and development personnel account for more than 10% of all the staff; (4) in the latest three financial years, the research and development expenses account for 3%-6% or more of the latest sales revenue and the research and development expenses incurred within China shall not be less than 60% of the total research and development expenses; and (5) the revenue derived from the high-tech product or service accounts for more 60% of the total revenue. To apply for the high and new technology enterprises status, an enterprise shall file its corporate certificates and supporting documents evidencing the requirements to the relevant government authority. The government authority will examine the filed certificates and documents to determine whether the enterprise meets the high and new technology enterprises requirements. If the decision is positive, the authority will make a public announcement and grant the enterprise with a high and new technology enterprises certificate with a valid term of three years. Upon the expiration of the initial term, the enterprise shall file a new application to obtain such status. Loss of any preferential tax treatments previously granted to us could have a material and adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
On April 21, 2010, the State Administration of Taxation issued the Circular Regarding Further Clarification on Implementation of Preferential EIT Rate during Transition Periods, or Circular 157. Circular 157 seeks to provide additional guidance on the interaction of certain preferential tax rates under the transitional rules of the EIT Law. According to Circular 157, if an enterprise is qualified as a high and new technology enterprise and is also in a tax holiday period, including 2-year exemption plus 3-year half rate, 5-year exemption plus 5-year half rate and other tax exemptions and reductions, then it would be entitled to pay tax, at its own election, at the lower of 15% or 50% of the specific tax rate set for the transitional period of preferential tax treatment (i.e., 18% in 2008, 20% in 2009, 22% in 2010, 24% in 2011 and 25% in 2012), but it is not allowed to pay tax at 50% of the 15% tax rate, i.e., 7.5%. Nonetheless, we have consulted with the relevant local tax district, which confirmed to us that Circular 157 is not applicable to entities that qualify for 3-year exemption plus 3-year half rate tax holiday as high and new technology enterprises and are registered in the Zhongguancun High and New Technology Industrial Zones of Beijing, and that such entities will continue to pay tax at the rate of 7.5%. In light of the position taken by the relevant local tax authority, and given the fact that our subsidiaries that are enjoying 3-year exemption plus 3-year half rate as high and new technology enterprises are registered in the Zhongguancun High and New Technology Industrial Zones of Beijing, we do not believe that Circular 157 has any effect on our current tax position. However, if the State Administration of Taxation took a position contrary to the position of the relevant local tax authority in its subsequent interpretation or implementation of Circular 157, the current preferential tax rate of 7.5% enjoyed by some of our subsidiaries would be increased or revoked, which would negatively affect our results of operations.
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The EIT Law also provides that enterprises established outside of China whose de facto management bodies are located in China are considered resident enterprises and will generally be subject to the uniform 25% enterprise income tax rate on their global income. Although the term de facto management bodies is defined as management bodies which has substantial and overall management and control power on the operation, human resources, accounting and assets of the enterprise, the circumstances under which an enterprises de facto management body would be considered to be located in China are currently unclear. A circular issued by the State Administration of Taxation on April 22, 2009 provides that a foreign enterprise controlled by a PRC company or a PRC company group will be classified as a resident enterprise with its de facto management bodies located within China if the following requirements are satisfied: (i) the senior management and core management departments in charge of its daily operations function mainly in the PRC; (ii) its financial and human resources decisions are subject to determination or approval by persons or bodies in the PRC; (iii) its major assets, accounting books, company seals, and minutes and files of its board and shareholders meetings are located or kept in the PRC; and (iv) at least half of the enterprises directors or senior management with voting rights reside in the PRC.
Our management is currently based in China and is expected to remain in China. Although our offshore holding companies are not controlled by any PRC company or company group, we cannot assure you that we will not be deemed to be a PRC resident enterprise under the EIT Law and its implementation rules. If we are deemed to be a PRC resident enterprise, we will be subject to PRC enterprise income tax at the rate of 25% on our global income. In that case, however, dividend income we receive from our PRC subsidiaries may be exempt from PRC enterprise income tax because the EIT Law and its implementation rules generally provide that dividends received by a PRC resident enterprise from its directly invested entity that is also a PRC resident enterprise is exempt from enterprise income tax. Accordingly, if we are deemed to be a PRC resident enterprise and earn income other than dividends from our PRC subsidiaries, a 25% enterprise income tax on our global income could significantly increase our tax burden and materially and adversely affect our cash flow and profitability.
The EIT Law provides that a maximum income tax rate of 20% may apply to dividends payable to non-PRC investors that are non-resident enterprises, to the extent such dividends are derived from sources within the PRC. The State Council has reduced such rate to 10%, in the absence of any applicable tax treaties that may reduce such rate. We are a Cayman Islands holding company and substantially all of our income may be derived from dividends we receive from our operating subsidiaries located in the PRC. If we are required under the EIT Law to pay income tax for any dividends we receive from our PRC subsidiaries, the amount of dividends, if any, we may pay to our shareholders and ADS holders may be materially and adversely affected.
According to the Double Taxation Arrangement (Hong Kong), which became effective on January 1, 2007, The Notice of the State Administration of Taxation on Negotiated Reduction of Dividends and Interest Rates, which was issued on January 29, 2008, and The Notice of the State Administration of Taxation Regarding Interpretation and Recognition of Beneficial Owners under Tax Treaties, which became effective on October 27, 2009, dividends paid to enterprises incorporated in Hong Kong are subject to a withholding tax of 5% provided that a Hong Kong resident enterprise owns over 25% of the PRC enterprise distributing the dividend and can be considered as a beneficial owner and entitled to treaty benefits under the Double Taxation Arrangement (Hong Kong). Our wholly owned Hong Kong Subsidiaries, Elite Concept Holdings Limited, Winner Park Limited and Smart Shine International Limited, own 100% of our PRC subsidiaries. Thus, dividends paid to us by our PRC subsidiaries through our Hong Kong wholly owned subsidiaries may be subject to the 5% withholding tax if we and our Hong Kong subsidiaries are considered as non-resident enterprises under the EIT Law and our Hong Kong subsidiaries are considered as beneficial owners and entitled to treaty benefits under the Double Taxation Arrangement (Hong Kong). If our Hong Kong subsidiaries are not regarded as the beneficial owners of any such dividends, it will not be entitled to the treaty benefits under the Double Taxation Arrangement (Hong Kong). As a result, such dividends would be subject to regular withholding tax of 10% as provided by the PRC domestic law rather than the favorable rate of 5% applicable under the Double Taxation Arrangement (Hong Kong).
C. | Organizational Structure |
Substantially all of our operations are conducted in China through our contractual arrangements with our consolidated affiliated entity, New Oriental China, and its subsidiaries, as well as through our seven wholly owned subsidiaries in China:
| Beijing Hewstone Technology Co., Ltd., or Beijing Hewstone, which primarily engages in the educational software development business and sub-licenses our trademarks to New Oriental China and its subsidiaries; |
| Beijing Decision Education & Consulting Co., Ltd., or Beijing Decision, which primarily engages in the business of providing educational technology services and educational management services; |
| Beijing Judgment Education & Consulting Co., Ltd., or Beijing Judgment, a company that directly holds the real estate properties on which certain of our schools are located; |
| Beijing Pioneer Technology Company Limited, or Beijing Pioneer, which primarily engages in the educational software development business; |
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| Beijing Boost Caring Education & Consulting Co., Ltd., or Beijing Boost Caring, which primarily engages in the business of providing educational technology services and consulting services; |
| Beijing New Oriental Stars Education & Consulting Company Limited, which is a holding company for two kindergartens we operate; and |
| Shanghai Smart Words Software Technology Company Limited, or Shanghai Smart Words, which primarily engages in the educational software development business. |
The following diagram illustrates our corporate structure and the place of incorporation of each named entity as of May 31, 2011:
Equity Interest | ||
Contractual arrangements consisting of trademark license agreements, teaching support agreements, new enrollment system development and service agreements and website development and use agreements. See Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party TransactionsB. Related Party Transactions. | ||
Contractual arrangements consisting of an equity pledge agreement or an exclusive options agreement. See Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party TransactionsB. Related Party Transactions. | ||
* | Consisting of various PRC subsidiaries operating our educational content, software and other technology development and distributions business, online education business and overseas studies consulting business in China. |
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PRC laws and regulations currently require any foreign entity that invests in the education business in China to be an educational institution with relevant experience in providing education outside China. Our Cayman Islands holding company is not an educational institution and does not provide educational services. Accordingly, our wholly owned subsidiaries in China, which are considered foreign-invested, are currently ineligible to apply for the required education licenses and permits in China. In addition, PRC laws and regulations prohibit foreign ownership of primary and middle schools for students in grades one to nine in China. Accordingly, we conduct our education business in China through contractual arrangements with New Oriental China and its subsidiaries and shareholders. New Oriental China is our consolidated affiliated entity directly owned by our founders and/or their respective affiliates.
New Oriental Chinas subsidiaries hold the requisite licenses and permits necessary to conduct our education business and operate our schools, learning centers, bookstores as well as online education business in China. We have been and are expected to continue to be dependent on New Oriental China and its subsidiaries to operate our education business until we qualify for direct ownership of an education business in China under PRC laws and regulations and acquire New Oriental China and its subsidiaries as our direct, wholly owned subsidiaries. We have entered into contractual arrangements with New Oriental China and its subsidiaries and shareholders, which enable us to:
| exercise effective control over New Oriental China and its subsidiaries; |
| receive a substantial portion of the economic benefits from New Oriental China and its subsidiaries in consideration for the services provided by our wholly owned subsidiaries in China; and |
| have an exclusive option to purchase all or part of the equity interests in New Oriental China, in each case when and to the extent permitted by PRC law. |
For more information on our contractual arrangements with New Oriental China and its subsidiaries and shareholders, please refer to Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party TransactionsB. Related Party TransactionsContractual Arrangements with New Oriental China and Its Subsidiaries and Shareholders.
D. | Property, Plants and Equipment |
Our headquarters are located in Beijing, China, where we own approximately 14,000 square meters of office and classroom space. In addition, we lease or own an aggregate of approximately 880,000 square meters of space for our schools, learning centers and bookstores in various cities in China. We lease all of our facilities except for our Yangzhou school and part of the premises for our headquarters in Beijing and our schools in Xian, Tianjin, Kunming and Wuhan.
ITEM 4A | UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS |
None.
ITEM 5. | OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW AND PROSPECTS |
You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this annual report on Form 20-F. This discussion may contain forward-looking statements based upon current expectations that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those set forth under Item 3. Key InformationD. Risk Factors or in other parts of this annual report on Form 20-F.
A. | Operating Results |
General Factors Affecting Our Results of Operations
We have benefited significantly from favorable demographic trends, the overall economic growth and the demand for high-quality private education and English language training in China. The overall economic growth and the increase in the GDP per capita in China have led to a significant increase in spending on education in China. At the same time, Chinas integration into the global economy has continued, resulting in more career opportunities for Chinese citizens who are able to communicate effectively in English. We anticipate that the demand for private education and English language training in China will continue to increase as Chinas economy continues to grow and as disposable income of urban households continues to rise. However, any adverse changes in the economic conditions or regulatory environment in China may have a material adverse effect on the private education industry in China, which in turn may harm our business and results of operations.
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Specific Factors Affecting Our Results of Operations
While our business is influenced by factors affecting the private education industry in China generally and by conditions in each of the geographic markets we serve, we believe our business is more directly affected by company-specific factors such as the number of student enrollments, the amount of course fees and our operating costs and expenses. The number of student enrollments is in turn largely driven by the demand for our courses, the effectiveness of our marketing and brand promotion efforts, the locations of our schools and learning centers, our ability to maintain the consistency and quality of our teaching, and our ability to respond to competitive pressure, as well as seasonal factors. We determine course fees primarily based on demand for our courses, the targeted market for our courses, the subject of the course, the geographic location of the school, cost of services, and the course fees charged by our competitors for the same or similar courses.
Our future results of operations will depend significantly upon our ability to increase student enrollments at existing schools and learning centers and further expand our school network throughout China, as well as offer a greater variety of courses, including smaller-size classes. Our planned expansion may result in substantial demands on our management, operational, technological, financial and other resources. To manage and support our growth, we must improve our existing operational, administrative and technological systems and our financial and management controls, and recruit, train and retain additional qualified teachers and school management personnel as well as other administrative and sales and marketing personnel, particularly as we grow outside of our existing markets. We will continue to implement additional systems and measures and recruit qualified personnel in order to effectively manage and support our growth. If we cannot achieve these improvements, our financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected.
Due to certain restrictions and qualification requirements under PRC law that apply to foreign investment in Chinas education industry, our education business is currently conducted through contractual arrangements among us, our wholly owned subsidiaries in China, and our consolidated affiliated entities in China, which consist of New Oriental China and its wholly owned subsidiaries. New Oriental Chinas subsidiaries hold the licenses and permits necessary to conduct our educational services business in China and directly operate our schools, learning centers and bookstores, develop and distribute educational content, software and other technologies, and operate our online education business. We intend to own and operate schools and learning centers when PRC law permits us to do so.
Net Revenues. In the fiscal years ended May 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011, we generated total net revenues of US$292.6 million, US$386.3 million and US$557.9 million, respectively. Our revenues are net of PRC business taxes and related surcharges, as well as scholarships and refunds.
We currently derive revenues from the following sources:
| educational programs and services, which accounted for 91.1%, 91.3% and 91.1% of our total net revenues in the fiscal years ended May 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively; and |
| books and others, which accounted for 8.9%, 8.7% and 8.9% of our total net revenues in the fiscal years ended May 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively. |
Educational Programs and Services. Our educational programs and services consist of language training and test preparation courses, primary and secondary school education and online education. Revenues from language training courses and test preparation courses accounted for 87.4%, 87.3% and 87.0%, respectively, of our total net revenues in the fiscal years ended May 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011.
We recognize revenues from course fees collected for enrollment in our language training and test preparation courses proportionally as we deliver the instruction over the period of the course. Course fees are generally paid in advance by students and are initially recorded as deferred revenues. Students are entitled to a short-term trial period which commences on the date the course begins. Tuition refunds are provided to students if they decide within the trial period that they no longer want to take the course. After the trial period, if a student withdraws from a class, usually no refunds will be provided and any collected but unearned portion of the fee is recognized at that time. We recognize revenues from school fees collected for enrollment in our primary and secondary schools ratably over the corresponding academic year. We sell pre-paid online education cards primarily to distributors, who in turn sell them to students. We recognize revenues from sales of pre-paid cards in proportion to the actual time that students spend on our online courses. Course fees and school fees collected and amounts received from sales of pre-paid cards are recorded as deferred revenues until they can be recognized as revenues upon their use or expiration. Upon expiration of a prepaid card, which is six months to one year from the date of the sale of the card, we recognize the remaining amount of deferred revenues as revenues.
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The most significant factors that directly affect our revenues from educational programs and services are the number of student enrollments and the amount of course fees. We believe our students are attracted to us primarily because of our established brand and reputation in the private education sector, especially in the areas of English language training and overseas admissions and assessment test preparation, the quality of our instruction and the variety of our programs, services and products. For the past several years, our revenue growth has been driven primarily by increased enrollments in our English language training courses and test preparation courses and other programs and services. The number of student enrollments for our courses is affected by the demand for our courses, the effectiveness of our marketing and brand promotion, the demographic composition of the cities where we have schools and learning centers, our ability to respond to competitive pressure, as well as seasonal factors. To further penetrate the English language training markets for children and high-income individuals, we have offered and plan to continue offering an increasing number and a greater variety of smaller classes for children and adults, such as Pop Kids English classes for students in kindergarten through grade six with 10 to 25 students per class and higher-end personalized Elite English classes for high-income adults and children with 1 to 10 students per class. In addition, we have expanded the scope of our test preparation course offerings to cover non-English subjects, including through our New Oriental U-Can (Non-English) all subjects training program for middle and high school students, and plan to further expand our course offerings in the future to capture a larger share of the huge after-school training market in China.
Our courses generally have the largest student enrollments in our first fiscal quarter, which runs from June 1 to August 31 of each year, primarily because many students enroll in our courses during the summer vacation to enhance their foreign language skills and/or prepare for admissions and assessment tests in subsequent school terms. In addition, we have generally experienced larger student enrollments in our third fiscal quarter, which runs from December 1 to February 28 of each year, primarily because many students enroll in our language training and other courses during the winter school holidays. We expect this seasonality in enrollment pattern to continue, especially for most of our language training courses for college and middle school students and test preparation courses.
We determine course fees primarily based on demand for our courses, the targeted market for our courses, the subject of the course, the geographic location of the school, cost of services, and the course fees charged by our competitors for the same or similar programs. Our test preparation courses are generally delivered in class settings ranging from 1 student to 500 students per class and our English language training courses are delivered in class settings generally ranging from 1 student to 300 students per class. We typically adjust course fees or school fees based on the market conditions of the city where the particular school is located, subject to the relevant local governmental authoritys advance approval, if required. We expect to continue to derive a substantial majority of our revenues from educational programs and services.
A significant portion of our revenues has been derived from test preparation courses. The success of our test preparation courses depends on the continued use of admissions and assessment tests by educational institutions and governmental authorities both in China and abroad. If the use of admissions and assessment tests declines or falls out of favor with educational institutions, government authorities and other entities, the markets for our test preparation courses will shrink and our business may be materially and adversely affected.
Books and Others. We distribute and sell books and other educational materials developed or licensed by us through our own distribution channels, which consist of our bookstores and websites, and also through third-party distributors. We normally provide books and other educational materials that are required for our courses and do not separately charge students for these items. We recognize revenues from sales of books and other educational materials when the products are sold to end customers. As we believe successful content development is important to the success of our business in China, we intend to continuously enhance the quality and breadth of our education content offerings and distribute more books and other educational materials through our own bookstores, as well as third-party distributors, including over 5,000 bookstores. Accordingly, we expect revenues from sales of books and other educational materials to continue to increase in the future.
We also provide consulting services to students regarding overseas studies and related processes, such as visa applications. We charge each student a fee based on the scope of consulting services requested by the student and recognize revenues when our consulting services are delivered. We expect that revenues from these consulting services will continue to constitute a small portion of our total revenues in the future.
46
Operating Costs and Expenses. Our operating costs and expenses consist of cost of revenues, selling and marketing expenses and general and administrative expenses. The following table sets forth the components of our operating costs and expenses, both in absolute amount and as a percentage of total net revenues for the periods indicated.
For the Year Ended May 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
(in thousands of US$, except percentages) |
2009 | 2010 | 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||||
US$ | % | US$ | % | US$ | % | |||||||||||||||||||
Net revenues |
292,567 | 100 | 386,307 | 100 | 557,872 | 100 | ||||||||||||||||||
Operating costs and expenses: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cost of revenues |
(112,011 | ) | (38.3 | ) | (147,261 | ) | (38.1 | ) | (222,625 | ) | (39.9 | ) | ||||||||||||
Selling and marketing |
(38,947 | ) | (13.3 | ) | (58,396 | ) | (15.1 | ) | (82,797 | ) | (14.8 | ) | ||||||||||||
General and administrative |
(80,689 | ) | (27.6 | ) | (103,336 | ) | (26.8 | ) | (155,412 | ) | (27.9 | ) | ||||||||||||
Loss on disposal of subsidiaries |
| | | | (1,537 | ) | (0.3 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
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|
|
|
|||||||||||||
Total operating costs and expenses |
(231,647 | ) | (79.2 | ) | (308,993 | ) | (80.0 | ) | (462,371 | ) | (82.9 | ) | ||||||||||||
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We rely on our teachers to deliver educational services. Our teachers consist of both full-time teachers and contract teachers. Full-time teachers deliver instruction and may also be involved in management, administration and other functions at our schools and other subsidiaries and affiliated entities. Full-time teachers compensation and benefits primarily consist of teaching fees based on hourly rates, performance-linked bonuses based on student evaluations, as well as base salary, annual bonus and standard employee benefits in connection with their services other than teaching. Compensation of our contract teachers is comprised primarily of teaching fees based on hourly rates and performance-linked bonuses based on student evaluations and other factors. To attract and retain high-quality teachers, we have granted equity incentives, including restricted shares and share options, to some of our teachers. We account for teaching fees and performance-linked bonuses paid to our teachers as cost of revenues as they are directly associated with the provision of educational services, and account for the other compensation and benefits to our teachers as general and administrative expenses.
Cost of Revenues. Cost of revenues for educational programs and services primarily consists of teaching fees and performance-linked bonuses paid to our teachers and rental payments for our schools and learning centers and, to a lesser degree, depreciation and amortization of property and equipment used in the provision of educational services, as well as costs of course materials. Cost of books and others primarily consist of printing costs of books and other materials, and licenses fees, royalties and other fees paid to content licensors, publishing companies and third-party distributors. We anticipate that our total cost of revenues will continue to increase as we continue to open new schools and learning centers and hire additional teachers.
Selling and Marketing Expenses. Our selling and marketing expenses primarily consist of expenses relating to advertising, seminars, marketing and promotional trips and other community activities for brand promotion purpose. We expect that our selling and marketing expenses will continue to increase as we further expand into new geographic locations and enhance our brand recognition.
General and Administrative Expenses. Our general and administrative expenses primarily consist of compensation and benefits of administrative staff, compensation and benefits of full-time teachers excluding teaching fees and performance-linked bonuses and, to a lesser extent, costs to develop curriculum, costs of third-party professional services, rental and utilities payments relating to office and administrative functions, and depreciation and amortization of property and equipment used in our general and administrative activities. We expect that our general and administrative expenses will increase in the near term as we hire additional personnel and incur additional costs in connection with the expansion of our business.
Share-based Compensation Expenses. In January 2006, we adopted the 2006 Share Incentive Plan, under which we are authorized to, starting from 2006, issue up to 8,000,000 common shares pursuant to awards (including options) granted under the plan to our employees, directors and consultants in 2006, as well as additional shares in future periods. In fiscal years 2006 and 2007, we granted options to purchase a total of 12,766,000 common shares. Of those options, options to purchase 1,236,608 common shares had been forfeited as of May 31, 2011. We have not granted any options since the end of our fiscal year 2007. We also granted 2,872,000, 487,248, 873,048 and nil non-vested equity shares in fiscal years 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively, of which 2,059,560 shares had been forfeited as of May 31, 2011. We account for share-based compensation expenses in accordance with an authoritative accounting pronouncement, which requires share-based compensation expense to be determined based on the fair value of our common shares as of their grant date.
47
The following table sets forth the allocation of our share-based compensation expenses, both in absolute amount and as a percentage of total share-based compensation expenses, among our employees based on the nature of work which they were assigned to perform.
For the Year Ended May 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
(in thousands of US$, except percentages) |
2009 | 2010 | 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||||
US$ | % | US$ | % | US$ | % | |||||||||||||||||||
Allocation of Share-based Compensation Expenses: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cost of revenues |
316 | 1.9 | 657 | 4.1 | 900 | 6.0 | ||||||||||||||||||
Selling and marketing |
225 | 1.3 | 117 | 0.7 | | | ||||||||||||||||||
General and administrative |
16,209 | 96.8 | 15,409 | 95.2 | 14,145 | 94.0 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Total |
16,750 | 100.0 | 16,183 | 100.0 | 15,045 | 100.0 | ||||||||||||||||||
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For options granted to our employees and directors, we record share-based compensation expenses based on the fair value of our common shares underlying options as of the date of option grant and amortize the expenses over the vesting periods of the options. For non-vested equity shares granted to employees and directors, we record share-based compensation expenses based on the quoted market price of our ADSs on the grant date and amortize the expenses over the vesting periods of the non-vested equity shares.
Loss on disposal of subsidiaries. In April 2011, we sold a 60% equity interest in Mingshitang and a 100% equity interest in Tomorrow Oriental, resulting in disposal losses.
Taxation
Cayman Islands
We are incorporated in the Cayman Islands. Under the current law of the Cayman Islands, we are not subject to income or capital gains tax. In addition, dividend payments are not subject to withholding tax in the Cayman Islands.
PRC
Other than our primary and secondary schools, our subsidiaries and affiliated entities in China are subject to a 3% to 5% business tax on gross revenues generated from providing services and related surcharges, and a value-added tax at varying rates ranging from 4% to 17% on gross revenues from sales of books, educational software and other products. With regard to income tax, according to the Implementation Rules for The Law for Promoting Private Education (2004), private schools that do not require reasonable returns are entitled to the same preferential tax treatment as public schools, while preferential tax treatment policies applicable to private schools requiring reasonable returns shall be separately formulated by the relevant authorities under the State Council. To date, however, no separate regulations or policies have been promulgated by the relevant authorities in this regard. As a result, preferential tax treatments for our schools vary among different cities. In some cities, our schools are subject to a standard enterprise income tax rate of 25% (which was 33% prior to January 1, 2008), while in other cities, our schools are subject to a 2% to 3% tax on gross receipts in lieu of the standard enterprise income tax or are exempted from the enterprise income tax. Among our schools in the four major cities from which we derived a majority of our revenues in each of the past three fiscal years ended May 31, 2008, 2009 and 2010, our school in Wuhan has been subject to the standard enterprise income tax, and our school in Shanghai has been subject to standard enterprise income tax rate since the beginning of 2007. New Oriental Chinas subsidiaries other than schools are either subject to the standard enterprise income tax rate, which was 33% through the end of 2007 and has been 25% since the beginning of 2008, or subject to various preferential income tax rates approved by local tax authorities.
Under PRC laws and regulations in effect before January 1, 2008, three wholly owned subsidiaries of our company in China, Beijing Judgment, Beijing Hewstone and Beijing Decision, were certified high and new technology enterprises located in a high-tech zone in Beijing as their primary sources of revenues were educational software development and educational technology development and implementation. However, the implementation rules of the EIT Law promulgated by the State Council in December 2007 and other supplemental rules promulgated by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation in April 2008 and July 2008, respectively, have provided new criteria for such high and new technology enterprises and all enterprises which had been granted such status before the effectiveness of the EIT Law are required to be re-examined according to such new rules before they can continue to be entitled to such preferential tax treatments. In December 2008, two of our wholly owned subsidiaries in China, Beijing Hewstone and Beijing Decision, were recertified as high and new technology enterprise in Beijing. The enterprise income tax rate from 2008 to 2010 for those two subsidiaries, which has been set by the local tax authorities of Zhongguancun High and New Technology Industrial Zones of Beijing, is more favorable than the ones mandated by the national tax authorities. As a result, both of them are entitled to a 7.5% enterprise income tax rate from 2008 to 2010, followed by a 15% tax rate as long as they continue to qualify as a high and new technology enterprise.
48
The deferred tax balance of Beijing Decision and Beijing Hewstone is calculated at a rate of 15%, as we expect Beijing Decision and Beijing Hewstone to continue to be qualified as high and new technology enterprise after 2010. The other wholly owned subsidiary of our company, Beijing Judgment, did not seek recertification and consequently are subject to the standard enterprise income tax rate of 25% from 2008.
Preferential tax treatments granted to our schools by local governmental authorities are subject to review and may be adjusted or revoked at any time. In addition, if the government regulations or authorities were to phase out preferential tax benefits currently granted to high and new technology enterprises, New Oriental China and our wholly owned subsidiaries in China would be subject to the 25% uniform statutory tax rate. The discontinuation of any preferential tax treatments currently available to our schools, especially those schools in major cities, and to New Oriental China and our wholly owned subsidiaries, will cause our effective tax rate to increase, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
For additional information on PRC regulations on taxation, see Item 4. Information on the CompanyB. Business OverviewEducationRegulations on Taxation.
Results of Operations
The following table sets forth a summary of our consolidated results of operations for the periods indicated. This information should be read together with our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this annual report. The operating results in any period are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for any future period.
For the Year Ended May 31, | ||||||||||||
(in thousands of US$) |
2009 | 2010 | 2011 | |||||||||
Net revenues: |
||||||||||||
Educational programs and services |
266,389 | 352,857 | 508,439 | |||||||||
Books and others |
26,178 | 33,450 | 49,433 | |||||||||
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Total net revenues |
292,567 | 386,307 | 557,872 | |||||||||
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Operating costs and expenses (1) : |
||||||||||||
Cost of revenues |
(112,011 | ) | (147,261 | ) | (222,625 | ) | ||||||
Selling and marketing |
(38,947 | ) | (58,396 | ) | (82,797 | ) | ||||||
General and administrative |
(80,689 | ) | (103,336 | ) | (155,412 | ) | ||||||
Loss on disposal of subsidiaries |
| | (1,537 | ) | ||||||||
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|
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|
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Total operating costs and expenses |
(231,647 | ) | (308,993 | ) | (462,371 | ) | ||||||
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Operating income |
60,920 | 77,314 | 95,501 | |||||||||
Other income (expense), net |
7,189 | 6,222 | 14,274 | |||||||||
Provision for income tax |
(7,256 | ) | (5,974 | ) | (8,236 | ) | ||||||
Less: Net income attributable to the noncontrolling interests (2) |
163 | 227 | 235 | |||||||||
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Net income attributable to New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. |
61,016 | 77,789 | 101,774 | |||||||||
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(1) | Share-based compensation expenses are included in our operating costs and expenses as follows: |
For the Year Ended May 31, | ||||||||||||
(in thousands of US$) |
2009 | 2010 | 2011 | |||||||||
Cost of revenues |
316 | 657 | 900 | |||||||||
Selling and marketing |
225 | 117 | | |||||||||
General and administrative |
16,209 | 15,409 | 14,145 |
(2) | Amounts in relation to noncontrolling interests, formerly named minority interest, for the year end May 31, 2009 are reclassified in accordance with authoritative guidance regarding the noncontrolling interests, which we adopted on June 1, 2009. |
49
Fiscal Year Ended May 31, 2011 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended May 31, 2010
Net Revenues. Our total net revenues increased by 44.4% from US$386.3 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010 to US$557.9 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011. This increase was due to the increased revenues from both educational programs and services as well as from books and others.
| Educational Programs and Services. Net revenues from our educational programs and services increased by 44.1% from US$352.9 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010 to US$508.4 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011. This increase was primarily due to the growth in revenues from language training and test preparation courses from US$337.2 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010 to US$485.6 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011 and, to a lesser extent, the increase in average revenues per student in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011 as more students took smaller-size classes with higher course fees. The increase in revenues from language training and test preparation courses was mainly attributable to the increase in the number of student enrollments from approximately 1,807,000 in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010 to approximately 2,089,600 in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, and in particular, the increased number of student enrollments in our language training courses for children, test preparation courses for middle and high school students and overseas test preparation courses. Our total number of schools and learning centers increased from 48 and 319, respectively, as of May 31, 2010, to 54 and 433, respectively, as of May 31, 2011. |
| Books and Others. Net revenues from sales of books and other educational materials and services increased by 47.5% from US$33.5 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010 to US$49.4 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, primarily due to the increased volume of books that we sold in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, as we offered new titles and further expanded our content distribution channel. |
Operating Costs and Expenses. Our total operating costs and expenses increased by 49.6% from US$309.0 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010 to US$462.4 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011. This increase resulted from increases in all of our operating cost and expense line items.
| Cost of Revenues. Our cost of revenues increased by 51.1% from US$147.3 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010 to US$222.6 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011. This increase was primarily due to an increase in teaching fees and performance-linked bonuses paid to our teachers as we hired over 3,500 new teachers during the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, as compared to the over 2,900 new teachers hired during the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010, and an increase in our rental payments as we had leased facilities for 54 schools and 433 learning centers as of May 31, 2011, as compared to 48 schools and 319 learning centers as of May 31, 2010. |
| Selling and Marketing Expenses. Our selling and marketing expenses increased by 41.8% from US$58.4 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010 to US$82.8 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011. This increase was primarily due to increased marketing and promotional expenses in connection with opening new learning centers and the addition of over 600 new sales and marketing personnel during the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011. |
| General and Administrative Expenses. Our general and administrative expenses increased by 50.4% from US$103.3 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010 to US$155.4 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011. This increase was primarily due to an increase of $30.4 million in human resources related expenses, primarily as a result of the addition of approximately 2,340 new employees in our management departments during the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011. |
| Loss on Disposal of Subsidiaries. Loss on disposal of subsidiaries increased from nil in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010 to US$1.5 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011 due to the disposal of Mingshitang and Tomorrow Oriental. |
Other Income, Net. Our other income, net which primarily includes interest income, increased by 130.6% from US$6.2 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010 to US$14.3 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011.
Provision for Income Tax. Our income tax expense increased by 36.7% from US$6.0 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010 to US$8.2 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011. The increase was primarily due to increased taxable income for New Oriental China.
Net Income Attributable to New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. As a result of the foregoing, net income attributable to New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. increased by 30.8% from US$77.8 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010 to US$101.8 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011.
50
Fiscal Year Ended May 31, 2010 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended May 31, 2009
Net Revenues. Our total net revenues increased by 32.0% from US$292.6 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2009 to US$386.3 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010. This increase was due to the increased revenues from both educational programs and services as well as from books and others.
| Educational Programs and Services. Net revenues from our educational programs and services increased by 32.5% from US$266.4 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2009 to US$352.9 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010. This increase was primarily due to the growth in revenues from language training and test preparation courses from US$255.8 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2009 to US$337.2 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010 and, to a lesser extent, the increase in average revenues per student in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010 as more students took smaller-size classes with higher course fees. The increase in revenues from language training and test preparation courses was mainly attributable to the increase in the number of student enrollments from approximately 1,519,000 in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2009 to approximately 1,807,000 in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010, and in particular, the increased number of student enrollments in our language training courses for children, test preparation courses for middle and high school students and overseas test preparation courses. Our total number of learning centers increased from 222 as of May 31, 2009 to 319 as of May 31, 2010, and the total number of schools remained constant at 48 over this time period. |
| Books and Others. Net revenues from sales of books and other educational materials and services increased by 27.9% from US$26.2 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2009 to US$33.5 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010, primarily due to the increased volume of books that we sold in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010, as we offered new titles and further expanded our content distribution channel. |
Operating Costs and Expenses. Our total operating costs and expenses increased by 33.4% from US$231.6 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2009 to US$309.0 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010. This increase resulted from increases in all of our operating cost and expense line items.
| Cost of Revenues. Our cost of revenues increased by 31.5% from US$112.0 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2009 to US$147.3 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010. This increase was primarily due to an increase in teaching fees and performance-linked bonuses paid to our teachers as we hired over 2,900 new teachers during the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010, as compared to the over 1,900 new teachers hired during the fiscal year ended May 31, 2009, and an increase in our rental payments as we had leased facilities for 48 schools and 319 learning centers as of May 31, 2010, as compared to 48 schools and 222 learning centers as of May 31, 2009. |
| Selling and Marketing Expenses. Our selling and marketing expenses increased by 50.1% from US$38.9 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2009 to US$58.4 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010. This increase was primarily due to the addition of approximately 2,600 new sales and marketing employees and increased marketing and promotional expenses in connection with opening new learning centers during the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010. |
| General and Administrative Expenses. Our general and administrative expenses increased by 28.0% from US$80.7 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2009 to US$103.3 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010. This increase was primarily due to an increase of $15.1 million in human resources related expenses, primarily as a result of the addition of approximately 2,480 new employees in our management departments during the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010. |
Other Income, Net. Our other income, net which primarily includes interest income, decreased by 13.9% from US$7.2 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2009 to US$6.2 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010.
Provision for Income Tax. Our income tax expense decreased by 17.8% from US$7.3 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2009 to US$6.0 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010. Our effective tax rate was 7.15% for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010, compared to 10.65% for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2009. The decrease in effective tax rate was primarily due to an increase in the proportion of our profits contributed by the PRC subsidiaries with preferential tax rate.
Net Income Attributable to New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. As a result of the foregoing, net income attributable to New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. increased by 27.5% from US$61.0 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2009 to US$77.8 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010.
51
Discussion of Segment Operations
In our managements view, we operate through five operating segments that offer distinct educational services, consisting of language training and test preparation courses, primary and secondary school education, content development and distribution, online education and overseas studies consulting. We have two reportable segments, namely, language training and test preparation courses and primary and secondary school education. We aggregate content development and distribution, online education and overseas studies consulting as others as each of these operating segments does not exceed 10% of our total net revenues, net income or total assets.
Net revenues from our language training and test preparation courses accounted for 87.4%, 87.3% and 87.0%, respectively, of our total net revenues in the fiscal years ended May 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011. Net revenues from our primary and secondary school education accounted for 2.9%, 2.6% and 2.5%, respectively, of our total net revenues in the fiscal years ended May 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011. We recognize revenues from course fees collected for enrollment in our language training and test preparation courses proportionally as we deliver the instruction over the period of the course. We recognize revenues from school fees collected for enrollment in New Oriental Chinas primary and secondary schools ratably over the corresponding academic year.
Cost of revenues for our language training and test preparation courses primarily consists of teaching fees and performance-linked bonuses paid to our teachers, rental payments for our schools and learning centers and, to a lesser degree, depreciation and amortization of property and equipment used in the provision of educational services. Cost of revenues for our primary and secondary schools primarily consists of compensation and benefits to school teachers and depreciation and amortization of property and equipment used in the provision of educational services.
Selling and marketing expenses for each of our reportable segments primarily consist of marketing and promotion expenses and other costs related to our selling and marketing activities for the corresponding reportable segment.
General and administrative expenses for our language training and test preparation courses primarily consist of compensation and benefits of administrative staff of our language training and test preparation courses segment, compensation and benefits of full-time teachers excluding teaching fees and performance-linked bonuses, rental and utilities payments relating to office and administrative functions of our language training and test preparation courses segment, depreciation and amortization of property and equipment used in the general and administrative activities of our language training and test preparation courses segment and, to a lesser extent, costs to develop our curriculum. General and administrative expenses for our primary and secondary school education segment primarily consist of compensation and benefits of administrative staff of our primary and secondary schools, depreciation and amortization of property and equipment used in the general and administrative activities of our primary and secondary schools and, to a lesser extent, costs to develop our curriculum.
The following table lists our net revenues and operating costs and expenses by reportable segment for the periods indicated.
For the Year Ended May 31, | ||||||||||||
(in thousands of US$) |
2009 | 2010 | 2011 | |||||||||
Net revenues of reportable segments: |
||||||||||||
Language training and test preparation courses |
255,842 | 337,209 | 485,563 | |||||||||
Primary and secondary education |
8,620 | 9,860 | 13,766 | |||||||||
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|
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Total net revenues of reportable segments |
264,462 | 347,069 | 499,329 | |||||||||
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Total net revenues of our company |
292,567 | 386,307 | 557,872 | |||||||||
Operating costs and expenses of reportable segments: |
||||||||||||
Cost of revenues: |
||||||||||||
Language training and test preparation courses |
(96,567 | ) | (127,069 | ) | (191,375 | ) | ||||||
Primary and secondary education |
(5,631 | ) | (5,532 | ) | (6,398 | ) | ||||||
Selling and marketing: |
||||||||||||
Language training and test preparation courses |
(26,870 | ) | (42,985 | ) | (62,320 | ) | ||||||
Primary and secondary education |
(263 | ) | (211 | ) | (637 | ) | ||||||
General and administrative: |
||||||||||||
Language training and test preparation courses |
(42,500 | ) | (61,992 | ) | (104,391 | ) | ||||||
Primary and secondary education |
(2,774 | ) | (2,720 | ) | (4,145 | ) | ||||||
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Total operating costs and expenses of reportable segments |
(174,605 | ) | (240,509 | ) | (369,266 | ) | ||||||
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Total operating costs and expenses of our company |
(231,647 | ) | (308,993 | ) | (462,371 | ) | ||||||
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|
|
52
Fiscal Year Ended May 31, 2011 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended May 31, 2010
Net Revenues of Reportable Segments
| Language Training and Test Preparation Courses. Net revenues from our language training and test preparation courses increased by 44.0% from US$337.2 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010 to US$485.6 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, primarily due to the factors discussed in Results of OperationsFiscal Year Ended May 31, 2011 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended May 31, 2010Net RevenuesEducational Programs and Services. |
| Primary and Secondary School Education. Net revenues from our primary and secondary school education increased by 39.4% from US$9.9 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010 to US$13.8 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, primarily due to an increase in the number of students as we offered additional classes. |
Operating Costs and Expenses of Reportable Segments
Cost of Revenues
| Language Training and Test Preparation Courses. Cost of revenues for our language training and test preparation courses increased by 50.6% from US$127.1 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010 to US$191.4 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, primarily due to the factors discussed in Results of OperationsFiscal Year Ended May 31, 2011 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended May 31, 2010Operating Costs and ExpensesCost of Revenues. |
| Primary and Secondary School Education. Cost of revenues for our primary and secondary school education increased from US$5.5 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010 to US$6.4 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, primarily due to an increase in teaching fees paid to our teachers. |
Selling and Marketing Expenses
| Language Training and Test Preparation Courses. Selling and marketing expenses for our language training and test preparation courses increased by 44.9% from US$43.0 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010 to US$62.3 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, primarily due to the factors discussed in Results of OperationsFiscal Year Ended May 31, 2011 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended May 31, 2010Operating Costs and ExpensesSelling and Marketing Expenses. |
| Primary and Secondary School Education. Selling and marketing expenses for our primary and secondary school education increased by 201.9% from US$211,000 for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010 to US$637,000 for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, primarily due to an increase in advertisement expenses. |
General and Administrative Expenses
| Language Training and Test Preparation Courses. General and administrative expenses for our language training and test preparation courses increased by 68.4% from US$62.0 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010 to US$104.4 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, primarily due to the factors discussed in Results of OperationsFiscal Year Ended May 31, 2011 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended May 31, 2010Operating Costs and ExpensesGeneral and Administrative Expenses. |
| Primary and Secondary School Education. General and administrative expenses for our primary and secondary school education increased by 51.9% from US$2.7 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010 to US$4.1 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, primarily due to an increase in salaries and welfare benefits for administrative staff. |
Fiscal Year Ended May 31, 2010 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended May 31, 2009
Net Revenues of Reportable Segments
| Language Training and Test Preparation Courses. Net revenues from our language training and test preparation courses increased by 31.8% from US$255.8 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2009 to US$337.2 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010, primarily due to the factors discussed in Results of OperationsFiscal Year Ended May 31, 2010 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended May 31, 2009Net RevenuesEducational Programs and Services. |
| Primary and Secondary School Education. Net revenues from our primary and secondary school education increased by 15.1% from US$8.6 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2009 to US$9.9 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010, primarily due to an increase in the number of students as we offered additional classes. |
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Operating Costs and Expenses of Reportable Segments
Cost of Revenues
| Language Training and Test Preparation Courses. Cost of revenues for our language training and test preparation courses increased by 31.6% from US$96.6 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2009 to US$127.1 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010, primarily due to the factors discussed in Results of OperationsFiscal Year Ended May 31, 2010 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended May 31, 2009Operating Costs and ExpensesCost of Revenues. |
| Primary and Secondary School Education. Cost of revenues for our primary and secondary school education decreased slightly from US$5.6 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2009 to US$5.5 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010. |
Selling and Marketing Expenses
| Language Training and Test Preparation Courses. Selling and marketing expenses for our language training and test preparation courses increased by 59.9% from US$26.9 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2009 to US$43.0 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010, primarily due to the factors discussed in Results of OperationsFiscal Year Ended May 31, 2010 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended May 31, 2009Operating Costs and ExpensesSelling and Marketing Expenses. |
| Primary and Secondary School Education. Selling and marketing expenses for our primary and secondary school education decreased by 19.8% from US$0.26 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2009 to US$0.21million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010 primarily due to decreased advertisement expenses. |
General and Administrative Expenses
| Language Training and Test Preparation Courses. General and administrative expenses for our language training and test preparation courses increased by 45.9% from US$42.5 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2009 to US$62.0 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010, primarily due to the factors discussed in Results of OperationsFiscal Year Ended May 31, 2010 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended May 31, 2009Operating Costs and ExpensesGeneral and Administrative Expenses. |
| Primary and Secondary School Education. General and administrative expenses for our primary and secondary school education decreased slightly from US$2.8 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2009 to US$2.7 million for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010. |
Inflation
Inflation in China has not materially impacted our results of operations in recent years. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the annual average percent change in the consumer price index in China was an increase of 5.9% in 2008, a decrease of 0.7% in 2009 and an increase of 3.3% in 2010. The consumer price index in China in June 2011 increased by 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Although we were not materially affected by inflation in the past, we can provide no assurance that we will not be affected in the future by higher rates of inflation in China. For example, certain operating costs and expenses, such as employee compensation and office operating expenses, may increase as a result of higher inflation. Additionally, because a substantial portion of our assets consists of cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments in RMB, high inflation could significantly reduce the value and purchasing power of these assets. We are not able to hedge our exposure to higher inflation in China.
Critical Accounting Policies
We prepare our financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, which requires us to make judgments, estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of our assets and liabilities and the disclosure of our contingent assets and liabilities at the end of each fiscal period and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during each fiscal period. We continually evaluate these judgments and estimates based on our own historical experience, knowledge and assessment of current business and other conditions, our expectations regarding the future based on available information and assumptions that we believe to be reasonable, which together form our basis for making judgments about matters that are not readily apparent from other sources. Since the use of estimates is an integral component of the financial reporting process, our actual results could differ from those estimates. Some of our accounting policies require a higher degree of judgment than others in their application.
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The selection of critical accounting policies, the judgments and other uncertainties affecting application of those policies and the sensitivity of reported results to changes in conditions and assumptions are factors that should be considered when reviewing our financial statements. We believe the following accounting policy involves the most significant judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our financial statements.
Business combinations
Business combinations are recorded using the purchase method of accounting. On June 1, 2009, we adopted a new accounting pronouncement with prospective application which made certain changes to the previous authoritative literature on business combinations. From June 1, 2009, the assets acquired, the liabilities assumed, and any non-controlling interest of the acquiree at the acquisition date, if any, are measured at their fair values as of that date. Goodwill is recognized and measured as the excess of the total consideration transferred plus the fair value of any non-controlling interest of the acquiree, if any, at the acquisition date over the fair values of the identifiable net assets acquired. Previously, any non-controlling interest was reflected at historical cost. Common forms of the consideration made in acquisitions include cash and common equity instruments. Consideration transferred in a business acquisition is measured at the fair value as at the date of acquisition.
Where the consideration in an acquisition includes contingent consideration the payment of which depends on the achievement of certain specified conditions post-acquisition, from June 1, 2009 the contingent consideration is recognized and measured at its fair value at the acquisition date and if recorded as a liability it is subsequently carried at fair value with changes in fair value reflected in earnings. For periods prior to June 1, 2009, contingent consideration was not recorded until the contingency was resolved.
Share-based Compensation
Prior to January 2006, we did not issue any share options to our employees, directors and consultants. In January 2006, we adopted the 2006 Share Incentive Plan, under which we had granted options to purchase a total of 12,766,000 common shares and 4,232,296 non-vested equity shares as of May 31, 2011. We record the compensation cost based on our determination of the grant date fair value of such awards. To determine the grant date fair value of options, we use the Black-Scholes option pricing model. This model requires the use of certain subjective assumptions.
For option grants made under the 2006 Share Incentive Plan, we have historically used the following assumptions:
2006 | 2007 | |||||||
Weighted average risk-free rate of return |
3.82 | % | 3.86 | % | ||||
Weighted average expected option life (year) |
5.88 | 5.88 | ||||||
Weighted average volatility rate |
50.50 | % | 50.50 | % | ||||
Weighted average dividend yield |
| |
Risk-Free Interest Rate. Risk-free interest rate was estimated based on the yield, as of the grant date, to maturity of China international government bonds with a maturity period close to the expected term of the options. For future grants we will determine the risk-free interest rate based on similar instruments.
Expected Term. As we did not have historical share option exercise experience, we estimated the expected term as the average between the vesting term of the options and the original contractual term. Of the 2,255,492 options outstanding as of May 31, 2011, 1,113,668 options were granted prior to our initial public offering, representing 49.4% of the total. We did not believe we had sufficient historical information as at grant date of the options to make a refined estimate of expected term. Therefore, we used the simplified method in accordance with an authoritative accounting pronouncement to estimate the expected life as the simple average of the vesting term and the contractual term. In the future, should more detailed information be available to us, we would consider adopting a different method of estimating expected term.
Volatility. Volatility of the underlying common shares during the life of the options was estimated based on the historical stock price volatility of listed comparable companies over a period similar to the expected term of the options. Most of the options were granted prior to our initial public offering or during the year ended May 31, 2007, when we had limited historical data on the price of our publicly traded ADSs. Therefore we did not have sufficient company specific information regarding the volatility of our ADS price on which to base an estimate of expected volatility. As such, we based our estimate of expected volatility on the historical volatility of comparable entities whose share prices are publicly available. For future grants we will consider all relevant information in determining an appropriate volatility assumption.
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Dividend Yield. The dividend yield was estimated by us based on our expected dividend policy over the expected term of the employee share options. We expect to grow our business with internally generated cash. We have not paid any dividends since our initial public offering, and we do not expect to pay a dividend in the foreseeable future. Therefore, we used a zero dividend yield assumption. Should we change our dividend policy in the future, the dividend yield will be amended to reflect any changes as appropriate.
In addition to the use of the Black-Scholes model to determine the grant date fair value, we also need to estimate the forfeiture rate of the awards and to periodically revise that estimate. We estimate the forfeiture rate based on historical rates of employee turnover prior to vesting and will from time to time review if the actual forfeiture rate differs from the estimated forfeiture rate. When necessary, the estimated forfeiture rate is adjusted for the actual employee turnover.
Income Taxes
As part of the process of preparing our consolidated financial statements, we are required to estimate our income taxes in each of the jurisdictions in which we operate. This process involves estimating our actual current tax exposure together with assessing temporary differences resulting from differing treatment of items for tax and accounting purposes. These differences result in deferred tax assets and liabilities, which are included within our consolidated balance sheet. We must then assess the likelihood that our deferred tax assets will be recovered from future taxable income and, to the extent we believe that recovery is not likely, we must establish a valuation allowance. To the extent we establish a valuation allowance or increase this allowance in a certain period, we must include an expense within the tax provision in the statement of operations.
Significant management judgment is required in determining our provisions for income taxes, our deferred tax assets and liabilities and any valuation allowance recorded against our net deferred tax assets. The valuation allowance is based on our estimates of taxable income as determined by the jurisdiction in which we operate and the period over which our deferred tax assets will be recoverable. In the event that actual results differ from these estimates or we adjust these estimates in future periods, we may need to establish an additional valuation allowance which could materially impact our financial position and results of operations.
U.S. GAAP requires that the impact of an uncertain income tax position on the income tax return be recognized at the largest amount that is more-likely-than not to be sustained upon audit by the relevant tax authority. If we ultimately determine that the payment of these liabilities will be unnecessary, we will reverse the liability and recognize a tax benefit during that period. Conversely, we record additional tax charges in a period in which we determine that a recorded tax liability is less than we expect the ultimate assessment to be. We did not identify significant unrecognized tax benefits for the years ended May 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011. Our tax years from 2007 to 2011 are subject to examination by the tax authorities.
The subsidiaries of New Oriental China, which were registered as private schools (the school-subsidiaries), are subject to income taxes determined in accordance with The Law for Promoting Private Education (2003) where those school-subsidiaries registered as private schools not requiring reasonable returns (similar to a not-for-profit entity) are treated as public schools and are generally not subject to enterprise income taxes. School-subsidiaries that were registered as requiring reasonable returns (similar to a for-profit entity) are subject to enterprise income taxes but may be eligible for preferential tax treatment to be determined by the relevant taxing authorities. Since January 1, 2008, the subsidiaries of New Oriental China other than its school-subsidiaries are subject to the 25% standard enterprise income tax. Though preferential tax treatments granted to us by governmental authorities are subject to review and may be adjusted or revoked at any time in the future, currently there are no specific regulations or policies promulgated by the relevant authorities that would prevent our school-subsidiaries from receiving the preferential income tax treatment we currently enjoy. In practice, tax treatments for private schools vary across different cities in China. In some cities, our private schools are subject to a standard enterprise income tax, which is 25% starting from January 1, 2008, while in other cities, our private schools are subject to a 2% to 3% tax on gross receipts in lieu of the standard enterprise income tax or may be exempted from enterprise income tax.
Two of our wholly-owned subsidiaries in the PRC, Beijing Decision and Beijing Hewstone, which were in the tax holiday of 3-year half rate since January 1, 2008, were granted the status of high and new technology enterprise (HNTE) in Beijing for three years beginning January 1, 2008. As a result, we believe that Beijing Decision and Beijing Hewstone can receive a one half reduction from the preferential tax rate of 15% from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2010 so long as they continue to qualify as a HNTE. We expect the status of Beijing Decision and Beijing Hewstone as HNTEs will be renewed for an additional three years beyond the initial three year period ending December 31, 2010. In addition, the temporary differences are expected to be reversed prior to the expiration of the 3-year half rate tax holiday, also ending December 31, 2010. Therefore, the deferred tax balances are calculated at a rate of 25% except for Beijing Decision and Beijing Hewstone, for which deferred tax balances are calculated at a rate of 7.5% for being HNTE and within the 3-year half rate tax holiday.
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On April 21, 2010, the State Administration of Taxation issued Circular 157, Further Clarification on Implementation of Preferential EIT Rate during Transition Periods, or Circular 157. Circular 157 seeks to provide additional guidance on the interaction of certain preferential tax rates under the transitional rules of the EIT Law. Prior to Circular 157, we interpreted the law to mean that if a high and new technology enterprise strongly supported by the state or High and New Technology Enterprise was in a tax holiday period that provides for 2-year exemption plus 3-year half rate or 5-year exemption plus 5-year half rate or other tax exemptions and reductions, where it was entitled to a 50% reduction in the tax rate and was also entitled to a 15% rate of tax due to its High and New Technology Enterprise status under the EIT Law, then it was entitled to pay tax at the rate of 7.5%. Circular 157 appears to have the effect that such an entity is entitled to pay tax at the lower of 15% and 50% of the standard PRC tax rate, which is currently 25%. Circular 157 is unclear as to whether its effect is retrospective but we understand that the State Administration of Taxation has recently taken the position that the Circular applies only to tax years commencing from January 1, 2010.
We consulted the relevant local tax district and they have confirmed that entities that qualify for 3-year exemption plus 3-year half rate tax holiday as HNTEs and which are registered in the Zhongguancun High and New Technology industrial Zones of Beijing, notwithstanding Circular 157, will continue to pay tax at the rate of 7.5%. As a consequence, because Beijing Decision and Beijing Hewstone are enjoying the 3-year exemption plus 3-year half rate HTNE status and are registered in the Zhongguancun High and New Technology industrial Zones of Beijing, we do not believe that Circular 157 has any effect on its tax position.
Beijing Pioneer has been granted Software Enterprise status and therefore has been entitled to a two-year exemption starting from the commencement of the profitable fiscal year 2010, followed by a 50% reduction in tax rates for the succeeding three years in accordance with the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, or the EIT Law. Shanghai Smart Words has also been granted Software Enterprise status and will be entitled to the same tax holiday with Beijing Pioneer starting from the commencement of its first profitable year in the future.
If the tax holidays granted to Beijing Decision, Beijing Hewstone and certain school-subsidiaries of New Oriental China were not available, our income tax expense would have increased by US$14.9 million, US$19.5 million and US$24.8 million for the years ended May 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively, and the basic net income per common share attributable to our company would have decreased by US$0.10, US$0.13 and US$0.16 for the years ended May 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively.
Uncertainties exist with respect to how the PRCs Enterprise Income Tax Law applies to our overall operations, and more specifically, with regard to our tax residency status. The Enterprise Income Tax Law includes a provision specifying that legal entities organized outside of the PRC will be considered residents for PRC income tax purposes if their place of effective management or control is within the PRC. The implementation rules to the Enterprise Income Tax Law provide that non-resident legal entities will be considered PRC residents if substantial and overall management and control over the manufacturing and business operations, personnel, accounting, properties, among others, occur within the PRC. Despite the present uncertainties resulting from the limited PRC tax guidance on the issue, we do not believe that our legal entities organized outside of the PRC should be treated as residents for the Enterprise Income Tax Laws purposes. If one or more of our legal entities organized outside of the PRC were characterized as PRC tax residents, the impact would adversely affect our results of operation.
See Item 3. Key InformationD. Risk Factors Risks Related to Doing Business in China The discontinuation of any preferential tax treatments currently available to us could materially and adversely affect our results of operations.
Impairment of goodwill and indefinite-lived assets
We review the carrying value of intangible assets not subject to amortization, including goodwill, annually or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may no longer be recoverable.
Specifically, goodwill impairment is determined using a two-step process. The first step compares the fair values of each reporting unit to its carrying amount, including goodwill. If the fair value of each reporting unit exceeds its carrying amount, goodwill is not considered to be impaired and the second step will not be required. If the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, the second step compares the implied fair value of goodwill to the carrying value of a reporting units goodwill. The implied fair value of goodwill is determined in a manner similar to accounting for a business combination with the allocation of the assessed fair value determined in the first step to the assets and liabilities of the reporting unit. The excess of the fair value of the reporting unit over the amounts assigned to the assets and liabilities is the implied fair value of goodwill. An impairment loss is recognized for any excess in the carrying value of goodwill over the implied fair value of goodwill. Estimating fair value is performed by utilizing various valuation techniques, with the primary technique being a discounted cash flow.
The impairment test for other intangible assets not subject to amortization consists of a comparison of the fair value of the intangible asset with its carrying value. If the carrying value of the intangible asset exceeds its fair value, an impairment loss is recognized in an amount equal to that excess.
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We perform the annual impairment tests on May 31 of each year. For the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010, certain provinces in China changed their rules regarding student admission to colleges and universities. As a result of the change in rule, we expect that less students will choose to re-take gaokao. Therefore, we estimated that the fair values of Tongwen School and Mingshitang School, which primarily provide gaokao exam training services, were lower than their carrying values. Accordingly, for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010, we recognized an impairment loss of US$76,000 on goodwill arising from the acquisitions of Mingshitang School and Tongwen Gaokao School, which was allocated to the language training and test preparation courses segment. For the year ended May 31, 2011, no impairment was considered necessary.
Impairment of Short term Investments
Short term investments consist of held-to-maturity investment with a maturity of less than one year. All of our held-to-maturity investments are classified as short-term investments on our consolidated balance sheets based on their contractual maturity dates, which are less than one year and are stated at their amortized costs.
We review our held-to-maturity investments for other-than-temporary impairment, or OTTI, based on the specific identification method. We consider available quantitative and qualitative evidence in evaluating the potential impairment of our short-term investments. If the cost of an investment exceeds the investments fair value, we consider, among other factors, general market conditions, expected future performance of the investees, the duration and the extent to which the fair value of the investment is less than the cost, and our intent and ability to hold the investments. OTTI below cost is recognized as a loss in the income statement. For the year ended May 31, 2011, no impairment was considered necessary.
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets
We review the long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may no longer be recoverable. When these events occur, we measure impairment by comparing the carrying value of the long-lived assets to the estimated undiscounted future cash flows expected to result from the use of the asset and its eventual disposition. If the sum of the expected future cash flows (undiscounted and without interest charges) is less than the carrying amount of the asset, an impairment loss, equal to the excess of the carrying amount over the fair market value of the asset, is recognized.
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements
In May 2009 and February 2010, the FASB issued an authoritative pronouncement regarding recognized and non-recognized subsequent events. This guidance establishes general standards of accounting for and disclosures of events that occur after the balance sheet date but before the financial statements are issued or are available to be issued. The guidance is effective on a prospective basis for fiscal years and interim periods beginning after June 15, 2009. We adopted this pronouncement effective June 1, 2010, which did not have a significant effect on our financial statement disclosures.
On June 12, 2009, the FASB issued an authoritative pronouncement which changes how a company determines whether an entity should be consolidated when such entity is insufficiently capitalized or is not controlled by the company through voting (or similar rights). The determination of whether a company is required to consolidate an entity is based on, among other things, the entitys purpose and design and the companys ability to direct the activities of the entity that most significantly impact the entitys economic performance. The pronouncement is effective as of the beginning of an entitys first fiscal year that begins after November 15, 2009. We adopted this pronouncement effective June 1, 2010, which did not have a significant effect on our consolidated financial position or results of operations.
In January 2010, the FASB issued authoritative guidance to improve disclosures about fair value measurements. This guidance amends previous guidance on fair value measurements to add new requirements for disclosures about transfers into and out of Levels 1 and 2 and separate disclosures about purchases, sales, issuances, and settlements relating to Level 3 measurement on a gross basis rather than a net basis as currently required. This guidance also clarifies existing fair value disclosures about the level of disaggregation and about inputs and valuation techniques used to measure fair value. This guidance is effective for annual and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2009, except for the requirement to provide the Level 3 activities of purchases, sales, issuances, and settlements on a gross basis, which will be effective for annual and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2010. Early application is permitted and in the period of initial adoption, entities are not required to provide the amended disclosures for any previous periods presented for comparative purposes. We adopted this pronouncement effective June 1, 2010, which did not have a significant impact on our financial condition or results of operations.
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Recently issued accounting pronouncements not yet adopted
In April 2010, the FASB issued an authoritative pronouncement regarding the effect of denominating the exercise price of a share-based payment award in the currency of the market in which the underlying equity securities trades and that currency is different from (1) an entitys functional currency, (2) the functional currency of the foreign operation for which the employee provides services, and (3) the payroll currency of the employee. The guidance clarifies that an employee share-based payment award with an exercise price denominated in the currency of a market in which a substantial portion of the entitys equity securities trades should be considered an equity award assuming all other criteria for equity classification are met. The pronouncement will be effective for interim and annual periods beginning on or after December 15, 2010, and will be applied prospectively. Affected entities will be required to record a cumulative catch-up adjustment for all awards outstanding as of the beginning of the annual period in which the guidance is adopted. We do not expect the adoption of this pronouncement will have a significant effect on our consolidated financial position or results of operations.
In December 2010, the FASB issued an authoritative pronouncement on when to perform Step 2 of the goodwill impairment test for reporting units with zero or negative carrying amounts. The amendments in this update modify Step 1 so that for those reporting units, an entity is required to perform Step 2 of the goodwill impairment test if it is more likely than not that a goodwill impairment exists. In determining whether it is more likely than not that a goodwill impairment exists, an entity should consider whether there are any adverse qualitative factors indicating that an impairment may exist. The qualitative factors are consistent with existing guidance, which requires that goodwill of a reporting unit be tested for impairment between annual tests if an event occurs or circumstances change that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying amount. For public entities, the guidance is effective for impairment tests performed during entities fiscal years (and interim periods within those years) that begin after December 11, 2010. Early adoption will not be permitted. We do not expect the adoption of this pronouncement will have a significant effect on our consolidated financial position or results of operations.
In December 2010, the FASB issued an authoritative pronouncement on disclosure of supplementary pro forma information for business combinations. The objective of this guidance is to address diversity in practice regarding the interpretation of the pro forma revenue and earnings disclosure requirements for business combinations. The amendments in this update specify that if a public entity presents comparative financial statements, the entity should disclose revenue and earnings of the combined entity as though the business combination(s) that occurred during the current year had occurred as of the beginning of the comparable prior annual reporting period only. The amendments also expand the supplemental pro forma disclosures to include a description of the nature and amount of material, nonrecurring pro forma adjustments directly attributable to the business combination included in the reported pro forma revenue and earnings. The amendments affect any public entity as defined by Topic 805Business Combinations that enters into business combinations that are material on an individual or aggregate basis. The amendments will be effective for business combinations consummated in periods beginning after December 15, 2010, and should be applied prospectively as of the date of adoption. Early adoption is permitted. We do not expect the adoption of this pronouncement will have a significant impact on our financial condition or results of operations.
In June 2011, the FASB issued an authoritative pronouncement to allow an entity the option to present the total of comprehensive income, the components of net income, and the components of other comprehensive income either in a single continuous statement of comprehensive income or in two separate but consecutive statements. In both choices, an entity is required to present each component of net income along with total net income, each component of other comprehensive income along with a total for other comprehensive income, and a total amount for comprehensive income. The guidance eliminates the option to present the components of other comprehensive income as part of the statement of changes in shareholders equity. These amendments do not change the items that must be reported in other comprehensive income or when an item of other comprehensive income must be reclassified to net income. The guidance should be applied retrospectively. For public entities, the amendments are effective for fiscal years and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2011. Early adoption is permitted. We do not expect the adoption of this pronouncement will have a significant impact on our financial condition or results of operations.
In May 2011, the FASB issued an authoritative pronouncement on fair value measurement. The guidance is the result of joint efforts by the FASB and IASB to develop a single, converged fair value framework. The guidance is largely consistent with existing fair value measurement principles in U.S. GAAP. The guidance expands the existing disclosure requirements for fair value measurements and makes other amendments, mainly including
| Highest-and-best-use and valuation-premise concepts for nonfinancial assets the guidance indicates that the highest-and-best-use and valuation-premise concepts only apply to measuring the fair value of nonfinancial assets. |
| Application to financial assets and financial liabilities with offsetting positions in market risks or counterparty credit risk the guidance permits an exception to fair value measurement principles for financial assets and financial liabilities (and derivatives) with offsetting positions in market risks or counterparty credit risk when several criteria are met. When the criteria are met, an entity can measure the fair value of the net risk position. |
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| Premiums or discounts in fair value measure the guidance states that premiums or discounts that reflect size as a characteristic of the reporting entitys holding (specifically, a blockage factor that adjusts the quoted price of an asset or a liability because the markets normal daily trading volume is not sufficient to absorb the quantity held by the entity ) rather than as a characteristic of the asset or liability (for example, a control premium when measuring the fair value of a controlling interest) are not permitted in a fair value measurement. |
| Fair value of an instrument classified in a reporting entitys shareholders equity the guidance prescribes a model for measuring the fair value of an instrument classified in shareholders equity; this model is consistent with the guidance on measuring the fair value of liabilities. |
| Disclosures about fair value measurements the guidance expands disclosure requirements, particularly for Level 3 inputs. Required disclosures include: |
| For fair value measurements categorized in Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy: (1) a quantitative disclosure of the unobservable inputs and assumptions used in the measurement, (2) a description of the valuation process in place (e.g., how the entity decides its valuation policies and procedures, as well as changes in its analyses of fair value measurements, from period to period), and (3) a narrative description of the sensitivity of the fair value to changes in unobservable inputs and interrelationships between those inputs. |
| The level in the fair value hierarchy of items that are not measured at fair value in the statement of financial position but whose fair value must be disclosed. |
The guidance is to be applied prospectively and effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011 for public entities. Early application by public entities is not permitted. We do not expect the adoption of this pronouncement will have a significant impact on our financial condition, results of operations, or financial statement disclosures.
In September 2011, the FASB issued an authoritative pronouncement related to Testing Goodwill for Impairment. The guidance is intended to simplify how entities, both public and nonpublic, test goodwill for impairment. The pronouncement permits an entity to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount as a basis for determining whether it is necessary to perform the two-step goodwill impairment test. The guidance is effective for annual and interim goodwill impairment tests performed for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2011. Early adoption is permitted, including for annual and interim goodwill impairment tests performed as of a date before September 15, 2011, if an entitys financial statements for the most recent annual or interim period have not yet been issued or, for nonpublic entities, have not yet been made available for issuance. We do not expect the adoption of this pronouncement will have a significant impact on our financial condition or results of operations.
B. | Liquidity and Capital Resources |
Our principal sources of liquidity have been cash generated from operating activities. As of May 31, 2011, we had US$317.3 million in cash and cash equivalents. Our cash and cash equivalents consist of cash on hand and liquid investments that are unrestricted as to withdrawal or use, have maturities of three months or less and are placed with banks and other financial institutions. Although we consolidate the results of New Oriental China and its subsidiaries, we do not have direct access to the cash and cash equivalents or future earnings of New Oriental China. However, a portion of the cash balances of New Oriental China and its subsidiaries are paid to us pursuant to our contractual arrangements with New Oriental China and its subsidiaries for our technical and teaching support, enrollment system development and other services.
We expect to require cash to fund our ongoing business needs, particularly the rent and other costs and expenses relating to opening new schools and learning centers. We opened 114 new learning centers in fiscal year 2011, and plan to open additional schools and learning centers in the future depending on local market conditions of the new markets we plan to enter. We expect to incur capital expenditures ranging from approximately RMB1.0 million (US$0.1 million) to RMB4.0 million (US$0.6 million) per new school depending primarily on the size and geographic location of the school. Other cash needs include acquisitions of businesses and properties that complement our operations when suitable opportunities arise. We have not encountered any difficulties in meeting our cash obligations to date. We believe that our current cash and cash equivalents and anticipated cash flow from operations will be sufficient to meet our anticipated cash needs for the foreseeable future.
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The following table sets forth a summary of our cash flows for the periods indicated:
For the Year Ended May 31, | ||||||||||||
(in thousands of US$) |
2009 | 2010 | 2011 | |||||||||
Net cash provided by operating activities |
97,182 | 141,890 | 215,819 | |||||||||
Net cash used in investing activities |
(22,262 | ) | (97,925 | ) | (198,152 | ) | ||||||
Net cash provided by / (used in) financing activities |
(30,125 | ) | (17,550 | ) | 6,432 | |||||||
Effect of foreign exchange rate changes |
1,537 | (83 | ) | 12,057 | ||||||||
Net change in cash and cash equivalents |
46,332 | 26,332 | 36,156 | |||||||||
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Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period |
208,440 | 254,772 | 281,104 | |||||||||
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Cash and cash equivalents at end of the period |
254,772 | 281,104 | 317,260 | |||||||||
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Operating Activities
We have financed our operating activities primarily through cash generated from operations. Net cash provided by operating activities amounted to US$215.8 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011 as compared to US$141.9 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010 and US$97.2 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2009. Net cash provided by operating activities in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011 was primarily attributable to the following factors: (i) net income of US$101.5 million, (ii) an add-back of non-cash items, such as US$16.4 million in depreciation and amortization and US$15.0 million in share-based compensation expense, (iii) an increase in deferred revenues in the amount of US$76.6 million due to the increased amount of course fees received during the period, and (iv) an increase in the accrued expenses and other current liabilities account of US$19.7 million. Net cash provided by operating activities in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010 was primarily attributable to the following factors: (i) net income of US$77.6 million, (ii) an add-back of non-cash items, such as US$12.2 million in depreciation and amortization and US$16.2 million in share-based compensation expense, and (iii) an increase in deferred revenues in the amount of US$32.3 million due to the increased amount of course fees received during the period. Net cash provided by operating activities in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2009 was primarily attributable to the following factors: (i) net income of US$60.9 million, (ii) an add-back of non-cash items, such as US$10.4 million in depreciation and amortization and US$16.8 million in share-based compensation expense, and (iii) an increase in deferred revenues in the amount of US$14.6 million due to the increased amount of course fees received during the period.
Investing Activities
We lease all of our facilities except for part of the premises for the Beijing, Xian, Tianjin, Kunming, Wuhan and Yangzhou schools, which we own. Our cash used in investing activities is primarily related to our purchase of land use rights and the premises for the Beijing, Xian, Tianjin, Kunming, Wuhan and Yangzhou schools and equipment used in our operations and our investment in term deposits and short term investments.
Net cash used in investing activities amounted to US$198.2 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, compared to US$97.9 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010 and US$22.3 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2009. Net cash used in investing activities in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011 was primarily attributable to short term investments in the amount of US$139.9 million and the purchase of property and equipment in the amount of US$49.1 million in connection with the expansion of our school network. Net cash used in investing activities in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010 was primarily attributable to the following factors: the term deposit in the amount of US$78.1 million and the purchase of property and equipment in the amount of US$19.6 million in connection with the expansion of our school network. Net cash used in investing activities in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2009 was primarily attributable to the following factors: the term deposit in the amount of US$6.0 million and the purchase of property and equipment in the amount of US$16.0 million in connection with the expansion of our school network.
Financing Activities
Net cash provided by financing activities amounted to US$6.4 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, compared to net cash used of US$17.6 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010 and US$30.1 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2009. Net cash provided by financing activities in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011 was primarily attributable to proceeds from the issuance of common shares upon exercise of share options in the amount of US$6.4 million. Net cash used in financing activities in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010 was primarily attributable to the repurchases of ADSs representing 1,625,320 common shares. Net cash used in financing activities in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2009 was primarily attributable to the repurchases of ADSs representing 2,193,200 common shares.
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Capital Expenditures
Our capital expenditures are incurred primarily in connection with facility acquisitions, leasehold improvements and investments in equipment, technology and operating systems. Our capital expenditures were US$16.0 million, US$19.6 million and US$49.1 million in the fiscal years ended May 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively. The rapid expansion of our network of schools, learning centers and bookstores has required significant investment. We incurred capital expenditures in the amount of US$49.1 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011 in connection with the purchase of property in Kunming and Wuhan in the aggregate amount of US$11.6 million and our investments in facilities, equipment, technology and operating systems to meet the expected growth of our operations. We intend to cost-efficiently allocate our capital resources by leasing most of our new facilities in the foreseeable future. We may also make acquisitions of businesses and properties that complement our operations when suitable opportunities arise. We believe that we will be able to fund our capital needs in the foreseeable future through cash generated from our operating activities.
C. | Research and Development, Patents and Licenses, etc. |
Technology
Our technology platform is designed to provide systems that help distinguish us in the marketplace, operate cost-effectively and accommodate future growth. We currently use a combination of commercially available and custom developed software and hardware systems. Our technology platform is a combination of e-learning platforms, alumni platforms, content management systems, exam platforms, e-business promotion platforms and bookstore platforms, live Internet classrooms, as well as licensed speech recognition platforms. Our investment in system infrastructure has several key benefits: simplification of the storage and processing of large amounts of data, facilitation of the deployment and operation of large-scale programs and services and automation of much of the administration of our business. It also provides us with the ability to scale both capacity and functionality and build large clusters seamlessly.
One of our ongoing primary objectives is to maintain reliable systems. We have implemented performance monitoring for all key web and business systems to enable us to respond quickly to potential problems. Based on cluster technology, our system can identify errors and isolate failed servers automatically so that our clients can access our services at any time. Our websites are hosted at third party facilities in Beijing. This facility provides redundant utility systems, a backup electric generator and 24-hour a day server support. All servers have redundant power supplies and file systems to maximize system and data availability. We regularly back up our database on a server hosted at an Internet data center to minimize the impact of data loss due to system failures. Our research and development costs were immaterial for the fiscal years ended May 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011. We do not capitalize any related costs.
Intellectual Property
Our trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and other intellectual property rights distinguish our services and products from those of our competitors and contribute to our competitive advantage in our target markets. To protect our brand and other intellectual property, we rely on a combination of trademark, copyright and trade secret laws as well as confidentiality agreements with our employees, contractors and others. and New Oriental are registered trademarks in China and have been recognized as well-known trademarks in a civil action adjudicated in China. We have also registered additional trademarks and logos, including Pop Kids and Elite English with the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce in China. Our main websites are located at www.neworiental.org, english.neworiental.org, www.tol24.com and www.koolearn.com. In addition, we have registered other domain names, including www.dogwood.com.cn, www.xdf.cn, www.neworiental-k12.org and www.gznos.org.
In order to develop, improve, market and deliver new programs and services, we are required to obtain licenses from others from time to time. For example, we currently have arrangements with international education content providers and publishers such as Pearson Education, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Cambridge University Press Barrons, Wiley, DynEd International Inc., or their respective authorized local publishers, to develop and distribute localized versions of specified books in China. There can be no assurance that we will be able to continue to obtain licenses on commercially reasonable terms or at all or that rights granted under any licenses will be valid and enforceable.
We cannot be sure that our efforts to protect our intellectual property rights will be adequate or that third parties will not infringe or misappropriate these rights. In addition, there can be no assurance that competitors will not independently develop similar intellectual property. If others are able to copy and use our programs and services, we may not be able to maintain our competitive position. Furthermore, the application of laws governing intellectual property rights in China and abroad is uncertain and evolving and could involve substantial risks to us. If litigation is necessary to enforce our intellectual property rights or determine the scope of the proprietary rights of others, we may have to incur substantial costs or divert other resources, which could harm our business.
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In addition, competitors, content providers, publishers and others may claim that we have infringed their intellectual property rights. Defending any such lawsuit, whether with or without merit, could be time-consuming, result in costly litigation or prevent us from offering our programs and services, which could harm our business. If a lawsuit against us is successful, we may lose the rights to use our products or be required to modify them, or we may have to pay financial damages.
We have adopted guidelines, procedures and safeguards designed to educate our employees and contractors regarding the importance of respecting the intellectual property rights of third parties, and detect and prevent any conduct or activities by our employees or contractors that infringe or have the potential to infringe upon such third-party rights. The guidelines specify certain key principles and policies that we require all of our employees and contractors to uphold as a fundamental condition of their employment. The procedures and safeguards we have implemented to ensure compliance with these principles and policies include the assignment of dedicated staff to monitor and enforce compliance with these intellectual property guidelines, including in particular our content control group, which reviews the content of our course materials to ensure that no infringing materials are used in our classrooms. We have also made efforts to ensure that our marketing materials are reviewed and approved by appropriate management before being distributed to the public. We believe these guidelines, procedures and safeguards will further improve our ability to avoid infringing or potentially infringing activities, minimize our exposure to third party claims and protect our reputation as a company that respects the intellectual property rights of third parties.
D. | Trend Information |
Other than as disclosed elsewhere in this annual report, we are not aware of any trends, uncertainties, demands, commitments or events since the beginning of our fiscal year 2011 that are reasonably likely to have a material effect on our net revenues, income from operations, profitability, liquidity or capital resources, or that would cause the disclosed financial information to be not necessarily indicative of future operating results or financial condition.
E. | Off-balance Sheet Arrangements |
We have not entered into any financial guarantees or other commitments to guarantee the payment obligations of any third parties. We have not entered into any derivative contracts that are indexed to our shares and classified as shareholders equity, or that are not reflected in our consolidated financial statements. Furthermore, we do not have any retained or contingent interest in assets transferred to an unconsolidated entity that serves as credit, liquidity or market risk support to such entity. We do not have any variable interest in any unconsolidated entity that provides financing, liquidity, market risk or credit support to us or engages in leasing, hedging or research and development services with us.
F. | Tabular Disclosure of Contractual Obligations |
The following table sets forth our contractual obligations as of May 31, 2011:
Payment due by May 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(in thousands US$) |
Total | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | Thereafter | |||||||||||||||||||||
Operating Lease Obligations(1) |
294,813 | 69,517 | 63,306 | 54,928 | 43,198 | 26,012 | 37,852 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Purchase and Leasehold Improvements Obligations(2) |
1,509 | 1,509 | | | | | |
(1) | Represent lease obligations under our facility leases. |
(2) | Represent leasehold improvement obligations in connection with renovations of the leased facilities. |
The above table does not include contingent consideration that may become payable in connection with business acquisitions. See Note 3 to our consolidated financial statements included at the end of this annual report for more information on such contingent consideration.
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ITEM 6. | DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEES |
A. | Directors and Senior Management |
The following table sets forth information regarding our executive officers and directors as of the date of this annual report.
Name |
Age | Position/Title | ||||
Michael Minhong Yu |
49 | Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | ||||
Louis T. Hsieh |
47 | Director, President and Chief Financial Officer | ||||
Chenggang Zhou |
49 | Director, Executive Vice President | ||||
Xiangdong Chen |
40 | Executive President, Domestic Business | ||||
Yunlong Sha |
35 | Senior Vice President | ||||
Guofu Li |
49 | Vice President, Operations | ||||
Robin Yanhong Li |
42 | Independent Director | ||||
Denny Lee |
43 | Independent Director | ||||
John Zhuang Yang |
57 | Independent Director |
Mr. Michael Minhong Yu is the founder of our company and has served as the chairman of our board and our chief executive officer since 2001. He also serves as vice chairman of the Beijing Young Entrepreneurs Association and vice chairman of the Committee of Education of the Central Committee of the China Democratic League. Prior to founding our first school in 1993, Mr. Yu was an English instructor at Peking University from 1985 and 1991. Mr. Yu received his bachelors degree in English from Peking University.
Mr. Louis T. Hsieh has served as our chief financial officer since December 2005, director since March 2007 and president since May 2009. Previously, Mr. Hsieh was the chief financial officer of ARIO Data Networks, Inc. in San Jose, California from 2004 to 2005. Prior to that, Mr. Hsieh was a managing director for the private equity firm of Darby Asia Investors (HK) Limited from 2002 to 2003. From 2000 to 2002, Mr. Hsieh was managing director and Asia-Pacific tech/media/telecoms head of UBS Capital Asia Pacific, the private equity division of UBS AG. From 1997 to 2000 Mr. Hsieh was a technology investment banker at JP Morgan in San Francisco, California, where he was a vice president, and Credit Suisse First Boston in Palo Alto, California, where he was an associate. From 1990 to 1996, Mr. Hsieh was a corporate and securities attorney at White & Case LLP in Los Angeles. Mr. Hsieh also serves as an independent director of United Information Technologies, a network storage solutions company based in China. Mr. Hsieh holds a bachelors degree in industrial engineering and engineering management from Stanford University, an MBA degree from the Harvard Business School, and a J.D. degree from the University of California at Berkeley.
Mr. Chenggang Zhou has served as our executive vice president since December 2006 and director since November 2010. Mr. Zhou joined us in 2000. Mr. Zhou served as our vice president from 2003 to December 2006, president of Beijing New Oriental School from 2003 to 2007, and president of Shanghai New Oriental School from 2000 to 2003. From 1998 to 2000, Mr. Zhou was a correspondent for the Asia Pacific region and a program host at BBC. Mr. Zhou received his bachelors degree in English from Suzhou University in China and his masters degree in communications from Macquarie University, Australia.
Mr. Xiangdong Chen has served as our executive president, domestic business, since November 2010. Mr. Chen joined us in 1999. He was promoted to be senior vice president in January 2006, and from 2001 to January 2006 he served as executive assistant to our chief executive officer. From 2002 to September 2003, he was the president of Wuhan New Oriental School. Mr. Chen was promoted to vice president in September 2003, and in this capacity was in charge of a number of departments at our head office, including our short-term training system, human resources, marketing and public relations and business development. Mr. Chen received his masters and Ph.D. degrees in economics from Renmin University of China. Mr. Chen attended the executive management program at the Harvard Business School in 2005.
Mr. Yunlong Sha has served as our senior vice president since November 2010. Mr. Sha joined us in 2001. He served as our vice president and president of the Bejiing New Oriental School from March 2007 to November 2010. From January 2006 to March 2007 Mr. Sha served as regional vice president of New Oriental, overseeing the business in northeast China. Prior to this, Mr. Sha served as the director of the foreign examination department at Beijing New Oriental School and the president of Guangzhou New Oriental School. Mr. Sha holds an executive diploma in management from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and a bachelors degree in law from Renmin University of China.
Mr. Guofu Li has served as our vice president, operations, since November 2010. Mr. Li joined us in 1999. From 2006 to November 2010, Mr. Li served as head of the presidents office and director of the administration department at our company. He was the vice president of Shanghai New Oriental School between 2000 and 2006, after having helped establish the school in 1999. Mr. Li holds a bachelors degree in foreign languages and literature from Nanjing University of China.
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Mr. Robin Yanhong Li has served as our independent director since September 6, 2006. Mr. Li is a co-founder of Baidu, Inc., the leading Chinese language Internet search provider listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. Mr. Li has served as the chairman of the board of directors of Baidu since its inception in January 2000 and as its chief executive officer since January 2004. He served as the president of Baidu from February 2000 to December 2003. Prior to founding Baidu, Mr. Li worked as an engineer at Infoseek, a pioneer in the Internet search engine industry, from July 1997 to December 1999. Mr. Li received a bachelors degree in information science from Peking University and a masters degree in computer science from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Mr. Denny Lee has served as our independent director since September 6, 2006. Mr. Lee has served as a director of Netease.com, Inc., a leading interactive online and wireless community in China and a major provider of Chinese language content and services listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, since April 2002. He was the chief financial officer of Netease.com from April 2002 to June 2007 and its financial controller from November 2001 to April 2002. Prior to joining Netease.com in 2001, Mr. Lee worked in the Hong Kong office of KPMG for more than ten years. Mr. Lee currently also serves as an independent director and the chairman of the audit committee of Gushan Environmental Energy Limited and Concord Medical Services Holdings Limited, both of which are listed on the NYSE. Mr. Lee graduated from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University majoring in accounting and is a member of The Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants and The Chartered Association of Certified Accountants.
Dr. John Zhuang Yang has served as our independent director since September 3, 2007. Dr. Yang is currently the Dean of the Beijing International M.B.A. Program at Peking University. He also serves as a full professor at National School of Development of Peking University and holds a tenured professorship at Fordham Universitys graduate school of business. Dr. Yang currently also serves as an independent director and a member of the audit committee of Changyou.com Limited, an online game developer and operator in China listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. Dr. Yang holds a Ph.D. degree in business administration from Columbia University, a masters degree in sociology from Columbia University, a masters degree in international and public affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, and a bachelors degree from the English Language and Literature Department of Peking University.
Employment Agreements
We have entered into employment agreements with each of our executive officers. Under these agreements, each of our executive officers is employed for a specified time period. We may terminate employment for cause, at any time, without notice or remuneration, for certain acts of the executive officer, such as a conviction of or plea of guilty to a felony, negligence or dishonesty to our detriment and failure to perform agreed duties after a reasonable opportunity to cure the failure, death, or physical or mental incapacitation. We may also terminate an executive officers employment without cause. In such case we are required to provide severance compensations as expressly required by applicable law. An executive officer may terminate his employment with us at any time with a one-month prior notice if there is a material reduction in his or her authority, duties and responsibilities or if there is a material reduction in his or her annual salary before the next annual salary review. An executive officer may also resign prior to the expiry of the term of his or her employment agreement if our board approves his or her resignation or agrees to an alternative arrangement with such executive officer.
Each executive officer has agreed to hold, both during and after the termination or expiry of his or her employment agreement, in strict confidence and not to use, except as required in the performance of his or her duties in connection with the employment, any of our confidential information or trade secrets, any confidential information or trade secretes of our clients or prospective clients, or the confidential or proprietary information of any third party received by us and for which we have confidential obligations. Our executive officers have also agreed to disclose in confidence to us all inventions, designs and trade secrets which they conceive, develop or reduce to practice and to assign all right, title and interest in them to us, and assist us in obtaining patents, copyrights and other legal rights for these inventions, designs and trade secrets. In addition, each executive officer has agreed to be bound by non-competition and non-solicitation restrictions during the term of his or her employment and one year following the termination or expiry of such employment agreement. Specifically, each executive officer has agreed not to (i) approach our clients, customers or contacts or other persons or entities introduced to the executive officer for the purpose of doing business with such person or entities that will harm our business relationships with these persons or entities; (ii) assume employment with or provide services as a director for any of our competitors, or engage, whether as principal, partner, licensor or otherwise, in any business which is in direct or indirect competition with our business or (iii) seek directly or indirectly, to solicit the services of any of our employees who is employed by us on or after the date of the executive officers termination, or in the year preceding such termination.
B. | Compensation of Directors and Executive Officers |
For the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, we paid an aggregate of approximately US$1,650,000 in cash to our executive officers and non-executive directors as a group.
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Our PRC subsidiaries and consolidated affiliated entities are required by law to make contributions equal to certain percentages of each employees salary for his or her pension insurance, medical insurance, housing fund, unemployment and other statutory benefits. In the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, the total contributions we made for such statutory benefits was US$16.9 million. Other than the above-mentioned contributions mandated by applicable PRC law, we have not set aside or accrued any amount to provide pension, retirement or other similar benefits to our executive officers and directors. No executive officer is entitled to any severance benefits upon termination of his or her employment with our company except as required under applicable PRC law.
Share Incentives
2006 Share Incentive Plan
On January 20, 2006, we adopted a 2006 Share Incentive Plan, or the 2006 plan, to attract and retain the best available personnel, provide additional incentives to employees, directors and consultants and promote the success of our business. The maximum aggregate number of shares which may be issued pursuant to all awards (including options) granted under the 2006 plan is 8,000,000 shares, plus (i) 5,000,000 shares added on January 1, 2007, (ii) 5,000,000 shares added on January 1, 2008 and (iii) an annual increase on the first business day of each calendar year beginning in 2009 equal to the lesser of (x) 3,000,000 shares, (y) two percent (2%) of the number of shares outstanding as of such date, and (z) a lesser number of shares determined by the administrator of the 2006 plan. In the event that the aggregate number of shares which may be issued pursuant to all the awards granted by us in any given year has reached the maximum amount allowed in such year, we may, during such year, grant additional awards to entitle the recipients thereto to acquire up to 2,000,000 extra shares, provided that the maximum aggregate number of shares which may be issued pursuant to all awards for the following year will be reduced by the number of the extra shares underlying the awards granted in the previous year.
The following table summarizes, as of August 31, 2011, the outstanding share options and non-vested equity shares granted under our 2006 plan to several of our directors and executive officers and to other individuals as a group.
Name |
Common
Shares Underlying Outstanding Options |
Exercise
Price (US$/Share) |
Date of Grant | Date of Expiration | ||||||||||||
Louis T. Hsieh |
* | 2.02 | 2/28/06 | 2/28/16 | ||||||||||||
* | 2.38 | 7/21/06 | 7/21/16 | |||||||||||||
* | 8.75 | 3/5/07 | 3/5/17 | |||||||||||||
* | | | 1/24/08 | 8/1/12 | ||||||||||||
Chenggang Zhou |
* | 2.02 | 2/28/06 | 2/28/16 | ||||||||||||
* | 8.75 | 3/5/07 | 3/5/17 | |||||||||||||
* | | | 1/24/08 | 8/1/12 | ||||||||||||
Xiangdong Chen |
* | 2.02 | 2/28/06 | 2/28/16 | ||||||||||||
* | 8.75 | 3/5/07 | 3/5/17 | |||||||||||||
* | | | 1/24/08 | 8/1/12 | ||||||||||||
Yunlong Sha |
* | 2.02 | 2/28/06 | 2/28/16 | ||||||||||||
* | 8.75 | 3/5/07 | 3/5/17 | |||||||||||||
* | | | 6/10/11 | 5/31/13 | ||||||||||||
Guofu Li |
* | 2.02 | 2/28/06 | 2/28/16 | ||||||||||||
* | 8.75 | 3/5/07 | 3/5/17 | |||||||||||||
* | | | 6/10/11 | 5/31/13 | ||||||||||||
Robin Yanhong Li |
* | 2.38 | 7/21/06 | 7/21/16 | ||||||||||||
* | | | 6/10/11 | 5/31/13 | ||||||||||||
Denny Lee |
| | | | ||||||||||||
* | | | 6/10/11 | 5/31/13 | ||||||||||||
John Zhuang Yang |
* | | | 1/24/08 | 8/1/12 | |||||||||||
* | | | 6/10/11 | 5/31/13 | ||||||||||||
Other individuals as a group |
531,968 | 2.02 | 2/28/06 | 2/28/16 | ||||||||||||
17,000 | 2.38 | 7/21/06 | 7/21/16 | |||||||||||||
800,612 | 8.75 | 3/5/07 | 3/5/17 | |||||||||||||
722,920 | | 6/10/11 | 5/31/13 |
* | Less than 1% of our total outstanding voting securities. |
| Non-vested equity share awards. |
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The following paragraphs describe the principal terms of the 2006 plan.
Types of Awards. We may grant the following types of awards under our 2006 plan:
| options to purchase our common shares; |
| restricted shares, which are common shares issued to the grantee that are subject to transfer restrictions, right of first refusal, repurchase, forfeiture, and other terms and conditions as established by our plan administrator; and restricted share units, which may be earned upon the passage of time or the attainment of performance criteria and which may be settled for cash, common shares or other securities, or a combination of cash, common shares or other securities as established by our plan administrator; |
| share appreciation rights, which entitle the grantee the right to common shares or cash compensation measured by the appreciation in the value of common shares; and |
| dividend equivalent rights, which entitle the grantee to compensation measured by dividends paid with respect to common shares. |
Plan Administration. Our board of directors, or a committee designated by our board or directors, administer the 2006 plan. The committee or the full board of directors, as appropriate, determine the provisions and terms and conditions of each award grant.
Award Agreement. Awards granted under our 2006 plan are evidenced by an award agreement that sets forth the terms, conditions and limitations for each award. In addition, the award agreement also specifies whether the option constitutes an incentive share option, or ISO, or a non-qualifying stock option.
Eligibility. We may grant awards to our employees, directors and consultants, including those of our parent companies and subsidiaries. However, we may grant options that are intended to qualify as ISOs only to our employees and employees of our parent companies and subsidiaries.
Acceleration of Awards upon Corporate Transactions. The outstanding awards will terminate and accelerate upon occurrence of certain significant corporate transactions, including amalgamations, consolidations, liquidations or dissolutions, sales of substantially all or all of the assets, reverse takeovers or acquisitions resulting in a change of control. If the successor entity assumes or replaces our outstanding awards under the 2006 plan, such assumed or replaced awards will become fully vested and immediately exercisable and payable, and be released from repurchase or forfeiture rights immediately upon termination of the grantees continuous service to us if such service is terminated by the successor entity without cause within 12 months after the effective date of the corporate transaction. Furthermore, if the successor entity does not assume or replace our outstanding awards, each outstanding award will become fully vested and immediately exercisable and payable, and will be released from any repurchase or forfeiture rights immediately before the effective date of the corporate transaction, as long as the grantees continuous service with us has not been terminated before this date.
Exercise Price and Term of Awards. In general, the plan administrator determines the exercise price of an option and sets forth the price in the award agreement. The exercise price may be a fixed or variable price related to the fair market value of our common shares. If we grant an ISO to an employee, the exercise price may not be less than 100% of the fair market value of our common shares on the date of the grant, except that if the grantee, at the time of that grant, owns shares representing more than 10% of the voting power of all classes of our shares, the exercise price may not be less than 110% of the fair market value of our common shares on the date of that grant. If we grant a non-qualified share option to a grantee, the exercise price may not be less than 100% of the fair market value of our common shares on the date of grant.
The term of each award under our 2006 plan will be specified in an award agreement, but shall not exceed ten years from the earlier to occur of adoption or approval of the plan, unless sooner terminated.
Vesting Schedule. In general, one-sixth of the common shares underlying the option will vest on each six-month anniversary of the vesting commencement date specified in the option award notice. The vesting will be suspended if the grantees leave of absence exceeds 90 days and will resume upon the grantees return to service to us.
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C. | Board Practices |
Our board of directors currently consists of six directors, which consist of three independent directors and three directors who are also our executive officers. Section 303A.01 of the NYSE Listed Company Manual requires each listed company to have a majority of independent directors on the board of directors after the first anniversary of the companys listing on the NYSE. We are not required under the laws of the Cayman Islands to have a majority of independent directors on our board of directors. Pursuant to the exception granted to foreign private issuers under Section 303A.00 of the NYSE Listed Company Manual, we have elected to follow our home country practice with respect to our board of directors. A director is not required to hold any shares in the company by way of qualification. A director may vote with respect to any contract, proposed contract or arrangement in which he is materially interested. A director may exercise all the powers of the company to borrow money, mortgage its undertaking, property and uncalled capital, and issue debentures or other securities whenever money is borrowed or as security for any obligation of the company or of any third party. Our independent directors hold executive sessions, during which only the independent directors are present, at least once a year. Depending on the nature of the discussion at an executive session, each of the three independent directors may preside at the executive sessions. To communicate with our independent directors, interested parties may follow the procedures for reporting concerns posted on our website at http://investor.neworiental.org.
Committees of the Board of Directors
We have established three fully independent committees under the board of directors: the audit committee, the compensation committee and the nominating and corporate governance committee. We have adopted a charter for each of the three committees. The committee charters are available on our website at http://investor.neworiental.org. Each committees members and functions are described below.
Audit Committee. Our audit committee consists of Mr. Denny Lee, Mr. Robin Yanhong Li and Dr. John Zhuang Yang. Mr. Lee is the chairman of our audit committee. All of the members of our audit committee satisfy the independence requirements of Section 303A of the NYSE Listed Company Manual and Rule 10A-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Our board of directors has determined that Mr. Denny Lees simultaneous service on the audit committee of two other public companies would not impair his ability to effectively serve on our audit committee. The audit committee oversees our accounting and financial reporting processes and the audits of the financial statements of our company. The audit committee is responsible for, among other things:
| selecting the independent registered public accounting firm and pre-approving all auditing and non-auditing services permitted to be performed by the independent registered public accounting firm; |
| reviewing with the independent registered public accounting firm any audit problems or difficulties and managements response; |
| reviewing and approving all proposed related party transactions, as defined in Item 404 of Regulation S-K under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended; |
| discussing the annual audited financial statements with management and the independent registered public accounting firm; |
| reviewing major issues as to the adequacy of our internal controls and any special audit steps adopted in light of material control deficiencies; and |
| meeting separately and periodically with management and the independent registered public accounting firm. |
Compensation Committee. Our compensation committee consists of Mr. Robin Yanhong Li, Mr. Denny Lee and Dr. John Zhuang Yang. Mr. Li is the chairman of our compensation committee. All of the members of our compensation committee satisfy the independence requirements of Section 303A of the NYSE Listed Company Manual. The compensation committee assists the board in reviewing and approving the compensation structure, including all forms of compensation, relating to our directors and executive officers. Our chief executive officer may not be present at any committee meeting during which his compensation is deliberated. The compensation committee is responsible for, among other things:
| reviewing and approving the total compensation package for our chief executive officer; |
| reviewing and recommending to the board with respect to the compensation of our directors; and |
| reviewing periodically and approving any long-term incentive compensation or equity plans, programs or similar arrangements, annual bonuses, and employee pension and welfare benefit plans. |
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Our nominating and corporate governance committee consists of Dr. John Zhuang Yang, Mr. Robin Yanhong Li and Mr. Denny Lee. Dr. Yang is the chairman of our nominating and corporate governance committee. All of the members of our nominating and corporate governance committee satisfy the independence requirements of Section 303A of NYSE Listed Company Manual. The nominating and corporate governance committee assists the board of directors in selecting individuals qualified to become our directors and in determining the composition of the board and its committees. The nominating and corporate governance committee is responsible for, among other things:
| selecting and recommending to the board nominees for election or re-election to the board, or for appointment to fill any vacancy; |
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| reviewing annually with the board the current composition of the board with regards to characteristics such as independence, age, skills, experience and availability of service to us; |
| advising the board periodically with regards to significant developments in the law and practice of corporate governance as well as our compliance with applicable laws and regulations, and making recommendations to the board on all matters of corporate governance and on any remedial action to be taken; and |
| monitoring compliance with our code of business conduct and ethics, including reviewing the adequacy and effectiveness of our procedures to ensure proper compliance. |
Duties of Directors
Under Cayman Islands law, our directors have a duty of loyalty to act honestly in good faith with a view to our best interests. Our directors also have a duty to exercise the skill they actually possess and such care and diligence that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in comparable circumstances. In fulfilling their duty of care to us, our directors must ensure compliance with our memorandum and articles of association. A shareholder has the right to seek damages if a duty owed by our directors is breached.
Terms of Directors and Officers
Our officers are elected by and serve at the discretion of the board of directors. Our directors are not subject to a term of office and hold office until such time as they resign or are removed from office by special resolution or the unanimous written resolution of all shareholders. A director will be removed from office automatically if, among other things, the director (i) becomes bankrupt or makes any arrangement or composition with his creditors; or (ii) dies or is found by our company to be or becomes of unsound mind.
D. | Employees |
We had 6,420, 9,834 and 13,496 full time employees and 4,314, 6,348 and 8,614 contract teachers and staff as of May 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively. Our employees are not covered by any collective bargaining agreement. We consider our relations with our employees to be generally good.
E. | Share Ownership |
The following table sets forth information with respect to the beneficial ownership of our common shares by:
| each of our directors and executive officers; and |
| each person known to us to own beneficially more than 5% of our common shares. |
Except as specifically noted, the beneficial ownership is as of August 31, 2011.
Shares
Beneficially Owned |
||||||||
Number(1) | %(2) | |||||||
Directors and Executive Officers: |
||||||||
Michael Minhong Yu(3) |
26,400,000 | 17.1 | % | |||||
Louis T. Hsieh |
* | * | ||||||
Chenggang Zhou |
* | * | ||||||
Xiangdong Chen |
* | * | ||||||
Yunlong Sha |
* | * | ||||||
Guofu Li |
* | * | ||||||
Robin Yanhong Li |
* | * | ||||||
Denny Lee |
* | * | ||||||
John Zhuang Yang |
* | * | ||||||
All Directors and Executive Officers as a Group(4) |
27,867,803 | 18.0 | % | |||||
Principal Shareholders: |
||||||||
Tigerstep Developments Limited(5) |
26,400,000 | 17.1 | % | |||||
Baillie Gifford & Co(6) |
15,887,324 | 10.3 | % | |||||
JPMorgan Chase & Co.(7) |
10,079,696 | 6.5 | % | |||||
J. Stephen F. Mandel, Jr. and affiliated entities(8) |
9,784,584 | 6.3 | % |
* | Less than 1% |
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(1) | Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with the rules of the SEC. |
(2) | For each person and group included in this table, percentage ownership is calculated by dividing the number of shares beneficially owned by such person or group by the sum of (1) 154,717,368, being the number of common shares outstanding as of August 31, 2011, (2) the number of common shares underlying share options held by such person or group that are exercisable within 60 days after August 31, 2011 and (3) the number of non-vested equity shares held by such person or group that will vest within 60 days after August 31, 2011. |
(3) | Includes 26,400,000 common shares held by Tigerstep Developments Limited, a British Virgin Islands company wholly owned by Bamei Li, mother of Mr. Yu. Mr. Yu disclaims beneficial ownership of all the shares held by Tigerstep Developments Limited. The business address of Mr. Yu is No. 6 Hai Dian Zhong Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100080, Peoples Republic of China. |
(4) | Includes (1) common shares, (2) common shares issuable upon exercise of all of the options that are exercisable within 60 days after August 31, 2011 and (3) non-vested equity shares that will vest within 60 days after August 31, 2011 held by all of our directors and senior executive officers as a group. |
(5) | Tigerstep Developments Limited, a company incorporated in the Brigish Virgin Islands, is wholly owned by Bamei Li, mother of Michael Minhong Yu. The registered address of Tigerstep Developments Limited is P.O. Box 957, Offshore Incorporation Centre, Road Town, Tortola, the British Virgin Islands. |
(6) | The number of common shares beneficially owned is as of December 31, 2010, as reported in a Schedule 13G/A filed by Baillie Gifford & Co on January 6, 2011. The business address of Baillie Gifford & Co reported on the Schedule 13G/A is Calton Square, 1 Greenside Row, Edinburgh EH1 3AN, Scotland, UK. |
(7) | The number of common shares beneficially owned is as of December 31, 2010, and has been calculated by taking the aggregate amount beneficially owned contained in box 9 of the Schedule 13G filed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. on February 3, 2011 and multiplying by four, which was the ADS to common share ratio as of December 31, 2010, so as to be consistent with the shareholding percentage in our common shares contained in box 11 of this Schedule 13G. The business address of JPMorgan Chase & Co. reported on the Schedule 13G is 270 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017. |
(8) | The number of common shares beneficially owned is as of December 31, 2010, as reported in a Schedule 13G/A filed by J. Stephen F. Mandel, Jr. and affiliated entities, including Lone Spruce, L.P., Lone Balsam, L.P., Lone Sequoia, L.P., Lone Dragon Pine, L.P., Lone Cascade, L.P., Lone Sierra, L.P., Lone Pine Associates LLC, Lone Pine Members LLC and Lone Pine Capital LLC, on February 14, 2011. The business address of these filers reported on the Schedule 13G/A is Two Greenwich Plaza, Greenwich, Connecticut 06830. |
None of our existing shareholders have different voting rights from other shareholders. To our knowledge, we are not owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by another corporation, by any foreign government or by any other natural or legal persons, severally or jointly. We are not aware of any arrangement that may, at a subsequent date, result in a change of control of our company. As of August 31, 2011, we had 154,717,368 common shares issued and outstanding, and Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, as the depositary of our ADS facility, was the only record holder of our common shares in the United States, holding approximately 82.1% of our total outstanding common shares. The number of beneficial owners of our ADSs in the United States is likely much larger than the one record holder of our common shares in the United States.
ITEM 7. | MAJOR SHAREHOLDERS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS |
A. | Major Shareholders |
Please refer to Item 6. Directors, Senior Management and EmployeesE. Share Ownership.
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B. | Related Party Transactions |
Contractual Arrangements with New Oriental China and Its Subsidiaries and Shareholders
PRC laws and regulations currently require any foreign entity that invests in the education business in China to be an educational institution with relevant experience in providing education outside of China. Our Cayman Islands holding company is not an educational institution and does not provide educational services. Accordingly, our wholly owned subsidiaries in China, which are considered foreign-invested, are currently ineligible to apply for the required education licenses and permits in China. In addition, PRC laws and regulations prohibit foreign ownership of primary and middle schools for students in grades one to nine in China. We conduct our education business in China through contractual arrangements with New Oriental China and its subsidiaries and shareholders. New Oriental China is our consolidated affiliated entity directly owned by our founders and their respective affiliates, as applicable. New Oriental Chinas subsidiaries hold the requisite licenses and permits necessary to conduct our education business and operate our schools, learning centers and physical bookstores as well as online education business in China. We have been and are expected to continue to be dependent on New Oriental China and its subsidiaries to operate our education business until we qualify for direct ownership of an education business in China. We have entered into contractual arrangements with New Oriental China and its subsidiaries, pursuant to which we, through our wholly owned subsidiaries in China, provide exclusive teaching support, new enrollment system support and other services to New Oriental China and its subsidiaries in exchange for payments from them. In addition, we have entered into agreements with New Oriental China and each of the shareholders of New Oriental China which provide us with the substantial ability to control New Oriental China and its existing and future subsidiaries. These agreements are summarized in the following paragraphs.
Equity Pledge Agreement. Pursuant to the equity pledge agreements dated as of May 25, 2006 among New Oriental China, the shareholders of New Oriental China, Beijing Hewstone and Beijing Decision, each shareholder of New Oriental China agreed to pledge his or its equity interests in New Oriental China to Beijing Hewstone and Beijing Decision to secure the performance of New Oriental Chinas or its subsidiaries obligations under the relevant principal agreements, including certain teaching support agreements, new enrollment system development service agreements, website development and use agreements, and trademark license agreements, and each of them has agreed not to transfer, sell, pledge, dispose of or otherwise create any encumbrance on his or its equity interests in New Oriental China without the prior written consent of Beijing Decision and Beijing Hewstone. New Oriental China has also agreed to accept the policies and guidance provided by Beijing Hewstone and Beijing Decision from time to time relating to employment (in the sense that New Oriental China must designate the candidates nominated by Beijing Hewstone and Beijing Decision to be the directors on its board of directors, and must appoint the persons recommended by Beijing Hewstone and Beijing Decision to be its president, financial controller and other senior executives), termination, operations and financial management. In addition, New Oriental China agrees that it will not engage in any transactions that could materially affect its assets, liabilities, rights or operations without the prior consent of Beijing Hewstone and Beijing Decision.
Exclusive Option Agreement. Pursuant to the exclusive option agreements entered into on various dates, as amended on May 25, 2006, among our company, New Oriental China and the shareholders of New Oriental China, the shareholders of New Oriental China are obligated to sell to us, and we have an exclusive, irrevocable and unconditional right to purchase, or cause our designated party to purchase, from such shareholders, in our sole discretion, part or of all of these shareholders equity interests in New Oriental China when and to the extent that applicable PRC law permits us to own part or all of such equity interests in New Oriental China. The purchase price to be paid by us will be the minimum amount of consideration permitted by applicable PRC law at the time when such share transfer occurs.
Trademark License Agreements. Pursuant to the trademark license agreement dated May 13, 2006 between us as the licensor and New Oriental China as the licensee, we have licensed our trademarks to New Oriental China for their use in China. We have also allowed New Oriental China to enter into a sub-license agreement with each subsidiary of New Oriental China and each New Oriental school pursuant to which each of these subsidiaries and schools may use our trademarks in China by paying certain licensing fees. New Oriental China is authorized to collect the licensing fees from each sub-licensee and handle other related matters. The term of each of these license and sublicense agreements is five to ten years from its signing date.
New Enrollment System Development Service Agreements. Pursuant to the new enrollment system development service agreements dated as of April 25, 2005 and their respective supplements entered into on January 1, 2006 between Beijing Decision and certain New Oriental schools, Beijing Decision agreed to provide new enrollment system development and regular maintenance services to each of these New Oriental schools for a fee calculated based upon the number of new enrollments each month, subject to quarterly adjustments. The new enrollment system in these agreements refers to the new enrollment system designed and created by Beijing Decision. Sale of Educational Software. Since 2005, Beijing Hewstone, Beijing Pioneer and Shanghai Smart Words have been selling various self-developed educational software to various New Oriental Schools, which are in turn included as part of the course materials for students enrolling in relevant courses.
Employment Agreements
See Item 6. Directors, Senior Management and EmployeesA. Directors and Senior Management for a description of the employment agreements we have entered into with our senior executive officers.
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Share Incentives
See Item 6. Directors, Senior Management and EmployeesB. Compensation of Directors and Executive Officers for a description of share-based compensation awards we have granted to our directors, officers and other individuals as a group.
C. | Interests of Experts and Counsel |
Not applicable.
ITEM 8. | FINANCIAL INFORMATION |
A. | Consolidated Statements and Other Financial Information |
See Item 18 Financial Statements.
Legal and Administrative Proceedings
From time to time, we are subject to legal proceedings, investigations and claims incidental to the conduct of our business. We are not currently a party to any legal proceeding or investigation which, in the opinion of our management, is likely to have a material adverse effect on our business or financial condition.
We have been subject to copyright, trademark and trade name infringement claims and legal proceedings in the past which related to, among other things, infringement of third parties copyrights in materials distributed by us and the unauthorized use of a third partys name in connection with the marketing and promotion of one of our programs, and we may be subject to similar claims and legal proceedings from time to time in the future. See Item 3. Key InformationD. Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our BusinessThird parties have in the past brought intellectual property infringement claims against us based on the content of the books and other teaching or marketing materials that we or our teachers authored and/or distributed and may bring similar claims against us in the future.
Dividend Policy
We have not declared any dividend since the completion of our initial public offering and have no present plan to declare any dividends on our shares in the near future. We currently intend to retain most, if not all, of our available funds and any future earnings to operate and expand our business. No withholding tax on dividend was provided as of May 31, 2011.
We are a holding company incorporated in the Cayman Islands. We rely on dividends from our subsidiaries in China and consulting, license and other fees paid to us by New Oriental China and its subsidiaries. Current PRC regulations permit our subsidiaries to pay dividends to us only out of their accumulated profits, if any, determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. In addition, each of our subsidiaries and affiliated entities in China are required to set aside at least 10% of its after-tax profits each year, if any, to fund a statutory reserve until such reserve reaches 50% of its registered capital, and to further set aside a portion of its after-tax profits to fund the employee welfare fund at the discretion of the board. These reserves may not be distributed as cash dividends. Further, if our subsidiaries and affiliated entities in China incur debt on their own behalf in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict their ability to pay dividends or make other payments to us. Moreover, New Oriental China owns many private schools in China. At the end of each fiscal year, every private school in China is required to allocate a certain amount out of its annual net income, if any, to its development fund for the construction or maintenance of the school or procurement or upgrade of educational equipment. In the case of a private school that requires reasonable returns, this amount shall be no less than 25% of the annual net income of the school, while in the case of a private school that does not require reasonable returns, this amount shall be equivalent to no less than 25% of the annual increase in the net assets of the school, if any.
Our board of directors has complete discretion regarding whether to declare and distribute dividends. Even if our board of directors decides to pay dividends, the form, frequency and amount will depend upon our future operations and earnings, capital requirements and surplus, general financial condition, contractual restrictions and other factors that the board of directors may deem relevant. If we pay any dividends, we will pay our ADS holders to the same extent as holders of our common shares, subject to the terms of the deposit agreement, including the fees and expenses payable thereunder.
B. | Significant Changes |
Except as disclosed elsewhere in this annual report, we have not experienced any significant changes since the date of our audited consolidated financial statements included in this annual report.
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ITEM 9. | THE OFFER AND LISTING |
A. | Offering and Listing Details |
See C. Markets.
B. | Plan of Distribution |
Not applicable.
C. | Markets |
Our ADSs have been listed on the NYSE since September 7, 2006 and trade under the symbol EDU. Prior to August 18, 2011, each of our ADSs represented four common shares. On August 18, 2011, we effected a change in the ratio of our ADSs to common shares from one ADS representing four common shares to one ADS representing one common share.
The following table provides the high and low trading prices for our ADSs on the NYSE for the periods indicated. For ease of comparison, the ADS prices before August 18, 2011 have been retroactively adjusted to reflect the ADS to common share ratio change that took effect on August 18, 2011.
Trading Price | ||||||||
High | Low | |||||||
US$ | US$ | |||||||
Annual High and Low |
||||||||
Fiscal Year 2007 (from September 7, 2006) |
12.68 | 5.50 | ||||||
Fiscal Year 2008 |
23.04 | 10.72 | ||||||
Fiscal Year 2009 |
19.73 | 9.51 | ||||||
Fiscal Year 2010 |
25.16 | 13.75 | ||||||
Fiscal Year 2011 |
32.97 | 21.71 | ||||||
Quarterly Highs and Lows |
||||||||
First Fiscal Quarter of 2010 |
19.11 | 13.75 | ||||||
Second Fiscal Quarter of 2010 |
21.24 | 16.48 | ||||||
Third Fiscal Quarter of 2010 |
20.00 | 16.58 | ||||||
Fourth Fiscal Quarter of 2010 |
25.16 | 19.04 | ||||||
First Fiscal Quarter of 2011 |
25.94 | 22.09 | ||||||
Second Fiscal Quarter of 2011 |
29.07 | 21.88 | ||||||
Third Fiscal Quarter of 2011 |
28.00 | 22.92 | ||||||
Fourth Fiscal Quarter of 2011 |
32.97 | 21.71 | ||||||
First Fiscal Quarter of 2012 |
33.25 | 24.68 | ||||||
Monthly Highs and Lows |
||||||||
April 2011 |
32.97 | 25.20 | ||||||
May 2011 |
31.95 | 28.47 | ||||||
June 2011 |
29.10 | 24.68 | ||||||
July 2011 |
33.25 | 27.92 | ||||||
August 2011 |
32.10 | 26.25 | ||||||
September 2011 |
34.77 | 22.51 | ||||||
October 2010 (through October 13, 2011) |
30.89 | 20.61 |
D. | Selling Shareholders |
Not applicable.
E. | Dilution |
Not applicable.
F. | Expenses of the Issue |
Not applicable.
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ITEM 10. | ADDITIONAL INFORMATION |
A. | Share Capital |
Not applicable.
B. | Memorandum and Articles of Association |
We are a Cayman Islands company and our affairs are governed by our memorandum and articles of association and the Companies Law (2010 Revision) of the Cayman Islands, which is referred to as the Companies Law below. The following are summaries of material provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association in effect as of the date of this annual report insofar as they relate to the material terms of our common shares.
Registered Office and Objects
Our registered office in the Cayman Islands is located at Codan Trust Company (Cayman) Limited, Cricket Square, Hutchins Drive, P.O. Box 2681, Grand Cayman KY1-1111, Cayman Islands, or at such other place as our board of directors may from time to time decide. The objects for which our company is established are unrestricted and we have full power and authority to carry out any object not prohibited by the Companies Law, as amended from time to time, or any other law of the Cayman Islands.
Board of Directors
A director is not required to hold any shares in our company by way of qualification. A director may vote with respect to any contract, proposed contract or arrangement in which he is materially interested. A director may exercise all the powers of our company to borrow money, mortgage its undertaking, property and uncalled capital, and issue debentures or other securities whenever money is borrowed or as security for any obligation of our company or of any third party. The directors may receive such remuneration as our board may from time to time determine. There is no age limit requirement with respect to the retirement or non-retirement of a director. See also Item 6. Directors, Senior Management and EmployeesC. Board PracticesDuties of Directors and Terms of Directors and Officers.
Common Shares
General. All of our outstanding common shares are fully paid and non-assessable. Certificates representing the common shares are issued in registered form. Our shareholders who are non-residents of the Cayman Islands may freely hold and vote their shares.
Dividends. The holders of our common shares are entitled to such dividends as may be declared by our board of directors subject to the Companies Law.
Voting Rights. Each common share is entitled to one vote on all matters upon which the common shares are entitled to vote. Voting at any shareholders meeting is by show of hands unless a poll is demanded. A poll may be demanded by our chairman or any shareholder holding at least 10% of the shares given a right to vote at the meeting, present in person or by proxy.
A quorum required for a meeting of shareholders consists of at least two shareholders present in person or by proxy or, if a corporation or other non-natural person, by its duly authorized representative, which hold in aggregate at least one-third of our voting share capital. Shareholders meetings are held annually and may be convened by our board of directors on its own initiative or upon a request to the directors by shareholders holding in aggregate not less than 33% of our voting share capital. Advance notice of at least seven days is required for the convening of our annual general meeting and other shareholders meetings.
An ordinary resolution to be passed by the shareholders requires the affirmative vote of a simple majority of the votes attaching to the common shares cast in a general meeting, while a special resolution requires the affirmative vote of not less than two-thirds of the votes cast attaching to the common shares. A special resolution is required for important matters such as a change of name. Holders of the common shares may effect certain changes by ordinary resolution, including increasing the amount of our authorized share capital, consolidating and dividing all or any of our share capital into shares of a larger amount than our existing share capital, and canceling any shares.
Transfer of Shares. Subject to the restrictions of our memorandum and articles of association, as applicable, any of our shareholders may transfer all or any of his or her common shares by an instrument of transfer in the usual or common form prescribed by the New York Stock Exchange or in any other form approved by our board.
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Our board of directors may, in its sole discretion, decline to register any transfer of any common share which is not fully paid up or on which we have a lien. Our directors may also decline to register any transfer of any common share unless (a) the instrument of transfer is lodged with us, accompanied by the certificate for the common shares to which it relates and such other evidence as our board of directors may reasonably require to show the right of the transferor to make the transfer; (b) the instrument of transfer is in respect of only one class of common shares; (c) the instrument of transfer is duly and properly signed; (d) in the case of a transfer to joint holders, the number of joint holders to whom the common share is to be transferred does not exceed four; (e) the shares conceded are free of any lien in favor of us; or (f) a fee of such maximum sum as the New York Stock Exchange may determine to be payable, or such lesser sum as our board of directors may from time to time require, is paid to us in respect thereof.
If our directors refuse to register a transfer they shall, within two months after the date on which the instrument of transfer was lodged, send to each of the transferor and the transferee notice of such refusal. The registration of transfers may, on 14 days notice being given by advertisement in such one or more newspapers or by electronic means, be suspended and the register closed at such times and for such periods as our board of directors may from time to time determine, provided, however, that the registration of transfers shall not be suspended nor the register closed for more than 30 days in any year.
Liquidation. On a return of capital on winding up or otherwise (other than on conversion, redemption or purchase of shares), assets available for distribution among the holders of common shares shall be distributed among the holders of the common shares on a pro rata basis. If our assets available for distribution are insufficient to repay all of the paid-up capital, the assets will be distributed so that the losses are borne by our shareholders proportionately.
Calls on Shares and Forfeiture of Shares. Our board of directors may from time to time make calls upon shareholders for any amounts unpaid on their shares in a notice served to such shareholders at least 14 days prior to the specified time and place of payment. The shares that have been called upon and remain unpaid on the specified time are subject to forfeiture.
Redemption of Shares. Subject to the provisions of the Companies Law, we may issue shares on terms that are subject to redemption, at our option or at the option of the holders, on such terms and in such manner as may be determined by special resolution.
Variations of Rights of Shares. All or any of the special rights attached to any class of shares may, subject to the provisions of the Companies Law, be varied either with the written consent of the holders of two-thirds of the issued shares of that class or with the sanction of a special resolution passed at a general meeting of the holders of the shares of that class.
Inspection of Books and Records. Holders of our common shares have no general right under Cayman Islands law to inspect or obtain copies of our list of shareholders or our corporate records. However, we will provide our shareholders with annual audited financial statements. See H. Documents on Display.
Limitations on the Right to Own Shares. There are no limitations on the right to own our shares.
Disclosure of Shareholder Ownership. There are no provisions in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association governing the ownership threshold above which shareholder ownership must be disclosed.
C. | Material Contracts |
We have not entered into any material contracts other than in the ordinary course of business and other than those described in Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party TransactionsB. Related Party TransactionsContractual Arrangements with New Oriental China and Its Subsidiaries and Shareholders or elsewhere in this annual report on Form 20-F.
D. | Exchange Controls |
See Item 4. Information on the CompanyB. Business OverviewRegulationRegulations on Foreign Currency Exchange.
E. | Taxation |
The following discussion of the material Cayman Islands, PRC and United States federal income tax consequences of an investment in our ADSs or common shares is based upon laws and relevant interpretations thereof in effect as of the date of this annual report on Form 20-F, all of which are subject to change. This discussion does not deal with all possible tax consequences relating to an investment in our ADSs or common shares, such as the tax consequences under state, local and other tax laws. Accordingly, each investor should consult its own tax advisor regarding the tax consequences of an investment in our ADSs or common shares applicable under its particular circumstances.
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Cayman Islands Taxation
The Cayman Islands currently levies no taxes on individuals or corporations based upon profits, income, gains or appreciation and there is no taxation in the nature of inheritance tax or estate duty. There are no other taxes likely to be material to us levied by the government of the Cayman Islands except for stamp duties which may be applicable on instruments executed in, or brought within the jurisdiction of the Cayman Islands. The Cayman Islands is not party to any double tax treaties. There are no exchange control regulations or currency restrictions in the Cayman Islands.
PRC Taxation
Under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, or the EIT Law, and its implementation rules that became effective on January 1, 2008, a non-resident enterprise is generally subject to PRC enterprise income tax with respect to PRC-sourced income. The EIT Law and its implementation rules are relatively new and ambiguities exist with respect to the interpretation of the provisions relating to identification of PRC-sourced income. If we are deemed to be a PRC resident enterprise, dividends distributed to our non-PRC enterprise shareholders by us, or the gain our non-PRC enterprise shareholders may realize from the transfer of our common shares or ADSs, may be treated as PRC-sourced income and therefore be subject to a 10% PRC withholding tax pursuant to the EIT Law.
For more information on PRC taxation applicable to our company, see Item 4. Information on the CompanyB. Business OverviewRegulationRegulations on Taxation and Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and ProspectsA. Operating ResultsTaxation.
U.S. Federal Income Taxation
The following discussion applies only to investors that hold the ADSs or common shares as capital assets and that have the U.S. dollar as their functional currency. This discussion is based upon existing U.S. federal tax law as in effect on the date of this annual report, which is subject to differing interpretations or change (possibly with retroactive effect), and could affect the tax consequences described below.
The following discussion does not deal with the tax consequences to any particular investor or to persons in special tax situations such as:
| banks; |
| financial institutions; |
| insurance companies; |
| broker dealers; |
| traders that elect to mark to market; |
| tax-exempt entities; |
| persons liable for alternative minimum tax; |
| persons holding an ADS or common share as part of a straddle, hedging, conversion or integrated transaction; |
| persons that actually or constructively own 10% or more of our voting stock; |
| persons holding ADSs or common shares through partnerships or other pass-through entities; or |
| persons who acquired ADSs or common shares pursuant to the exercise of any employee share option or otherwise as consideration. |
INVESTORS ARE URGED TO CONSULT THEIR TAX ADVISORS ABOUT THE APPLICATION OF THE U.S. FEDERAL TAX RULES TO THEIR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES AS WELL AS THE STATE AND LOCAL AND FOREIGN TAX CONSEQUENCES TO THEM OF THE PURCHASE, OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF ADSS OR COMMON SHARES.
The discussion below of the United States federal income tax consequences to U.S. Holders will apply if you are the beneficial owner of ADSs or common shares and you are, for U.S. federal income tax purposes,
| a citizen or individual resident of the U.S.; |
| a corporation (or other entity taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes) organized under the laws of the United States, any State or the District of Columbia; |
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| an estate whose income is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source; or |
| a trust that (1) is subject to the supervision of a court within the U.S. and the control of one or more U.S. persons or (2) has a valid election in effect under applicable U.S. Treasury regulations to be treated as a U.S. person. |
The discussion below assumes that the representations contained in the deposit agreement are true and that the obligations in the deposit agreement and any related agreement will be complied with in accordance with the terms. If you hold ADSs, you should be treated as the beneficial owner of the underlying common shares represented by those ADSs for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
Taxation of Distributions on the ADSs or Common Shares
Subject to the passive foreign investment company rules discussed below, the gross amount of all our distributions paid to you with respect to the ADSs or common shares out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits, generally will be included in your gross income as ordinary dividend income on the date of receipt by the depositary, in the case of ADSs, or by you, in the case of common shares. Because we do not intend to determine our earnings and profits on the basis of U.S. federal income tax principles, any distribution paid will generally be reported as a dividend for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The dividends will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction allowed to corporations in respect of dividends received from other U.S. corporations.
With respect to non-corporate U.S. Holders, including individuals, for taxable years beginning before January 1, 2013, dividends may be qualified dividend income which is taxed at the lower applicable capital gains rate provided that (1) the ADSs or common shares, as applicable, are readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States, or we are eligible for the benefit of the income tax treaty between the U.S. and the PRC (2) we are not a passive foreign investment company (as discussed below) for either our taxable year in which the dividend was paid or the preceding taxable year and (3) certain holding period requirements are met. Although we expect our ADSs will be considered to be readily tradable on the NYSE, which is an established securities market in the U.S., there can be no assurance that our ADSs will be considered readily tradable on an established securities market in the future. Since we do not expect that our common shares will be listed on an established securities market in the U.S., we do not believe that dividends that we pay on our common shares that are not backed by ADSs currently meet the conditions required for the reduced tax rate. In the event, however, that we are deemed to be a PRC resident enterprise under the EIT Law, we may be eligible for the benefits of the U.S.-PRC income tax treaty. U.S. Holders are advised to consult their tax advisors regarding the availability of the lower rate for dividends paid with respect to our ADSs or common shares.
Dividends paid on our ADSs and common shares generally will be treated as income from foreign sources for U.S. foreign tax credit purposes and generally will constitute passive category income. In the event that we are deemed to be a PRC resident enterprise under the EIT Law, a U.S. Holder may be subject to a number of complex limitations, to claim a foreign tax credit in respect of any foreign withholding taxes imposed on dividends received on our ADSs or common shares. A U.S. Holder who does not elect to claim a foreign tax credit for foreign tax withheld may instead claim a deduction for U.S. federal income tax purposes in respect of such withholdings, but only for a year in which such U.S. Holder elects to do so for all creditable foreign income taxes. The rules governing the foreign tax credit are complex. U.S. Holders are advised to consult their tax advisors regarding the creditability of any PRC tax.Taxation of Disposition of Shares
Subject to the passive foreign investment company rules discussed below, a U.S. Holder will recognize taxable gain or loss on any sale, exchange or other taxable disposition of an ADS or common share equal to the difference between the amount realized for the ADS or common share and such holders tax basis in the ADS or common share. The gain or loss generally will be capital gain or loss. A non-corporate U.S. Holder, including an individual, who has held the ADS or common share for more than one year will be eligible for reduced capital gains rates. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to limitations. Any such gain or loss generally will be treated as U.S. source income or loss. In the event that we are deemed to be a PRC resident enterprise under the EIT Law and gain from the disposition of the ADSs or common shares is subject to tax in the PRC, a U.S. Holder that is eligible for the benefits of the U.S.-PRC treaty may elect to treat the gain as PRC source income. See PRC Taxation. The deductibility of a capital loss may be subject to limitations. U.S. Holders are advised to consult their tax advisors regarding the tax consequences if a foreign tax is imposed on a disposition of our ADSs or common shares, including the availability of the foreign tax credit, under their particular circumstances.
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Passive Foreign Investment Company Considerations
A non-United States corporation, such as our company, will be a passive foreign investment company, or a PFIC, for United States federal income tax purposes, if either (i) 75% or more of its gross income for such year consists of certain types of passive income or (ii) 50% or more of its average quarterly assets as determined on the basis of fair market value during such year produce or are held for the production of passive income. For this purpose, cash is categorized as a passive asset and the companys unbooked intangibles associated with active business activities may generally be classified as active assets. If a non-U.S. corporation directly or indirectly owns at least 25% (by value) of the stock of another corporation, such corporation will be treated, for purposes of the PFIC tests, as owning a proportionate share of the assets and earning a proportionate share of the other corporations assets and receiving a proportionate share of the other corporations income.
Although the law in this regard is unclear, we treat New Oriental China as being owned by us for U.S. federal income tax purposes, not only because we control its management decisions but also because we are entitled to substantially all of the economic benefits associated with this entity, and, as a result, we consolidate this entitys operating results in our combined financial statements. If it were determined, however, that we are not the owner of New Oriental China for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we may be or become a PFIC. Assuming that we are the owner of New Oriental China for United States federal income tax purposes, and based upon an analysis of the Companys income and assets in respect of the 2011 taxable year, we do not believe that we were a PFIC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, for the taxable year ended May 31, 2011. In light of the amount of our cash balances and because the value of our assets for purposes of the PFIC test will generally be determined by reference to the market value of our ADSs and common shares, the determination of whether we will be or become a PFIC will depend in large part upon the market value of our ADSs and common shares, of which we cannot control. Accordingly, fluctuations in the market price of our ADSs and common shares may cause us to become a PFIC for the current taxable year or future taxable years. It is also possible, that the IRS may challenge our classification or valuation of our goodwill and other unbooked intangibles, which may result in our company being, or becoming a PFIC. The determination of whether we will be or become a PFIC will also depend, in part, upon the nature of our assets and income over time, which are subject to change from year to year. There can be no assurance our business plans will not change in a manner that will affect the composition of our income and assets and our PFIC status. Because there are uncertainties in the application of the relevant rules and PFIC status is a fact-intensive determination made on an annual basis, no assurance can be given that we are not or will not become classified as a PFIC.
Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules
If we are a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. Holder holds our ADSs or common shares, and unless the U.S. Holder makes a mark-to-market election (as described below), the U.S. Holder will generally be subject to special tax rules that have a penalizing effect, regardless of whether we remain a PFIC, on (i) any excess distribution that we make to the U.S. Holder (which generally means any distribution paid during a taxable year to a U.S. Holder that is greater than 125 percent of the average annual distributions paid in the three preceding taxable years or, (ii) if shorter, the U.S. Holders holding period for the ADSs or common shares. Under these PFIC rules:
| such excess distribution and/or gain will be allocated ratably over the U.S. Holders holding period for the ADSs or common shares; |
| such amount allocated to the current taxable year, and any taxable years in the U.S. Holders holding period prior to the first taxable year in which we were a PFIC (a pre-PFIC year), will be taxable as ordinary income; |
| such amount allocated to each prior taxable year, other than the current taxable year or a pre-PFIC year, will be subject to tax at the highest tax rate in effect for individuals or corporations, as applicable, for each such year; and |
| an interest charge generally applicable to underpayments of tax will be imposed on the tax attributable to each prior taxable year, other than the current taxable year or a pre-PFIC year. |
If we are a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. Holder holds our ADSs or common shares and any of our non-U.S. subsidiaries is also a PFIC (i.e., a lower-tier PFIC), such U.S. Holder would be treated as owning a proportionate amount (by value) of the shares of the lower-tier PFIC and would be subject to the rules described above on certain distributions by a lower-tier PFIC and a disposition of shares of a lower-tier PFIC even though such U.S. Holder would not receive the proceeds of those distributions or dispositions. U.S. Holders are advised to consult their tax advisors regarding the application of the PFIC rules to any of our subsidiaries.
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A U.S. Holder of marketable stock (as defined below) in a PFIC may make a mark-to-market election for such stock to elect out of the tax treatment discussed above. If a U.S. Holder makes a mark-to-market election for the ADSs or common shares, such holder will include in income for each year that we are treated as a PFIC with respect to such holder an amount equal to the excess, if any, of the fair market value of the ADSs or common shares as of the close of your taxable year over the holders adjusted basis in such ADSs or common shares. A U.S. Holder will be allowed a deduction for the excess, if any, of the adjusted basis of the ADSs or common shares over their fair market value as of the close of the taxable year. However, deductions will be allowable only to the extent of any net mark-to-market gains on the ADSs or common shares included in a U.S. Holders income for prior taxable years. Amounts included in a U.S. Holders income under a mark-to-market election, as well as gain on the actual sale or other disposition of the ADSs or common shares, will be treated as ordinary income. Ordinary loss treatment will also apply to the deductible portion of any mark-to-market loss on the ADSs or common shares, as well as to any loss realized on the actual sale or disposition of the ADSs or common shares, to the extent that the amount of such loss does not exceed the net mark-to-market gains previously included for such ADSs or common shares. A U.S. Holders basis in the ADSs or common shares will be adjusted to reflect any such income or loss amounts. If a U.S. Holder makes a valid mark-to-market election, the tax rules that apply to distributions by corporations which are not PFICs would apply to distributions by us, except that the lower capital gains rate applicable to qualified dividend income (discussed above under Taxation of Distributions on the ADSs or Common Shares) would not apply.
The mark-to-market election is available only for marketable stock, which is stock that is traded in other than de minimis quantities on at least 15 days during each calendar quarter (regularly traded) on a qualified exchange or other market, as defined in applicable United States Treasury regulations. Our ADSs are listed on the NYSE, which is a qualified exchange or market for these purposes. Consequently, if the ADSs continue to be listed on the NYSE and are regularly traded, and a U.S. Holder holds ADSs, we expect that the mark-to-market election would be available to such U.S. Holder were we to be or become a PFIC. Because a mark-to-market election cannot be made for equity interests in any lower-tier PFICs that we own, a U.S. Holder may continue to be subject to the PFIC rules with respect to its indirect interest in any investments held by us that are treated as an equity interest in a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In the case of a U.S. Holder who has held ADSs or common shares during any taxable year in respect of which we were classified as a PFIC and continues to hold such ADSs or common shares (or any portion thereof) and has not previously determined to make a mark-to-market election, and who is now considering making a mark-to-market election, special tax rules may apply relating to purging the PFIC taint of such ADSs or common shares.
Alternatively, a U.S. Holder of stock in a PFIC may make a qualified electing fund or QEF election with respect to such PFIC to elect out of the tax treatment discussed above. A U.S. Holder that makes a valid QEF election with respect to a PFIC will generally include in gross income for a taxable year such holders pro rata share of the corporations earnings and profits for the taxable year. However, the qualified electing fund election is available only if the PFIC provides such U.S. Holder with certain information regarding its earnings and profits as required under applicable United States Treasury regulations. We do not intend to prepare or provide the information that would enable a U.S. Holder to make a QEF election. Accordingly, U.S. Holders should assume that the QEF Election will not be available.
If a U.S. Holder holds ADSs or common shares in any year in which we are treated as a PFIC with respect to such U.S. Holder, the U.S. Holder may be required to file Internal Revenue Service Form 8621 and such other form as is required by the United States Treasury Department. U.S. Holders are urged to consult their tax advisor regarding the application of the PFIC rules to their investment in ADSs or common shares.
Information Reporting and Backup Withholding
The United States tax compliance rules impose reporting requirements on certain United States investors in connection with holding interests of a non-United States company, including our ADSs or common shares, either directly or through a foreign financial institution. These rules also impose penalties if an individual U.S. Holder is required to submit such information to the United States Internal Revenue Service and fails to do so. In addition, U.S. Holders may be subject to information reporting to the United States Internal Revenue Service with respect to dividends on and proceeds from the sale or other disposition of our ADSs or common shares. Dividend payments with respect to our ADSs or common shares and proceeds from the sale or other disposition of our ADSs or common shares are not generally subject to United States backup withholding (provided that certain certification requirements are satisfied). U.S. Holders are advised to consult their tax advisors regarding the application of the United States information reporting and backup rules to their particular circumstances.
F. | Dividends and Paying Agents |
Not applicable.
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G. | Statement by Experts |
Not applicable.
H. | Documents on Display |
We previously filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, a registration statements on Form F-1 under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, with respect to two offerings of our common shares represented by ADSs.
We are subject to the periodic reporting and other informational requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. Under the Exchange Act, we are required to file reports and other information with the SEC. Specifically, we are required to file annually a Form 20-F (1) within six months after the end of each fiscal year, which is May 31, for fiscal years ending before December 15, 2011; and (2) within four months after the end of each fiscal year for fiscal years ending on or after December 15, 2011. The SEC maintains a website at www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding registrants that make electronic filings with the SEC using its EDGAR system. Copies of reports and other information, when filed, may also be inspected without charge and may be obtained at prescribed rates at the public reference facilities maintained by the SEC at 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549. The public may obtain information regarding the Washington, D.C. Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from the rules under the Exchange Act prescribing the furnishing and content of quarterly reports and proxy statements, and officers, directors and principal shareholders are exempt from the reporting and short-swing profit recovery provisions contained in Section 16 of the Exchange Act.
We will furnish Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, the depositary of our ADSs, with our annual reports, which will include a review of operations and annual audited consolidated financial statements prepared in conformity with U.S. GAAP, and all notices of shareholders meetings and other reports and communications that are made generally available to our shareholders. The depositary will make such notices, reports and communications available to holders of ADSs and, upon our request, will mail to all record holders of ADSs the information contained in any notice of a shareholders meeting received by the depositary from us.
I. | Subsidiary Information |
Not applicable.
ITEM 11. | QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK |
Interest Rate Risk
Our exposure to interest rate risk primarily relates to the interest income generated by excess cash invested in liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less and term deposits with maturities of greater than three months and less than a year. We have not used any derivative financial instruments to manage our interest risk exposure. Interest-earning instruments carry a degree of interest rate risk. We have not been exposed, nor do we anticipate being exposed, to material risks due to changes in interest rates. However, our future interest income may be lower than expected due to changes in market interest rates. A hypothetical one percentage point decrease in interest rates would have resulted in a decrease of approximately US$1.2 million in our interest income for the year ended May 31, 2011.
Foreign Exchange Risk
All of our revenues and most of our expenses are denominated in RMB. Our exposure to foreign exchange risk primarily relates to cash and cash equivalent denominated in U.S. dollars. We do not believe that we currently have any significant direct foreign exchange risk and have not hedged exposures denominated in foreign currencies or used any other derivative financial instruments. Although in general, our exposure to foreign exchange risks should be limited, the value of your investment in our ADSs will be affected by the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollars and RMB because the value of our business is effectively denominated in RMB, while the ADSs are traded in U.S. dollars.
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The value of the RMB against the U.S. dollar and other currencies may fluctuate and is affected by, among other things, changes in Chinas political and economic conditions and Chinas foreign exchange policies. The conversion of RMB into foreign currencies, including U.S. dollars, has been based on rates set by the Peoples Bank of China. On July 21, 2005, the PRC government changed its decade-old policy of pegging the value of the RMB to the U.S. dollar. Under the revised policy, the RMB is permitted to fluctuate within a narrow and managed band against a basket of certain foreign currencies. This change in policy resulted in an approximately 21.3% appreciation of the Renminbi against the U.S. dollar between July 21, 2005 and December 31, 2009. In June 2010, the Peoples Bank of China announced that it has decided to proceed further with reform of the Renminbi exchange regime and to enhance the Renminbi exchange rate flexibility. In 2010, the appreciation of Renminbi against the U.S. dollar reached 3.0% in total. It is difficult to predict how this new policy may impact the Renminbi exchange rate going forward. In addition, there remains international pressure on the PRC government to adopt a more flexible currency policy, which could result in a further and more significant adjustment of the RMB against the U.S. dollar.
To the extent that we need to convert U.S. dollar-denominated financial assets into RMB for our operations, appreciation of the RMB against the U.S. dollar would have an adverse effect on the RMB amount we receive from the conversion. A hypothetical 10% appreciation of the RMB against the U.S. dollar would have resulted in a decrease of RMB57.9 million in the value of our U.S. dollar denominated financial assets as of May 31, 2011.
ITEM 12. | DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES OTHER THAN EQUITY SECURITIES |
A. | Debt Securities |
Not applicable.
B. | Warrants and Rights |
Not applicable.
C. | Other Securities |
Not applicable.
D. | American Depositary Shares |
Fees and Charges Our ADS holders May Have to Pay
Persons depositing shares will be charged a fee for each issuance of ADSs, including issuances resulting from distributions of shares, share dividends, share splits, bonus and rights distributions and other property, and for each surrender of ADSs in exchange for deposited securities. The fee in each case is up to US$5.00 for each 100 ADSs, or any portion thereof, issued or surrendered. The depositary will also charge a fee of up to US$2.00 per 100 ADSs for distribution of cash proceeds pursuant to a cash distribution (so long as the charging of such fee is not prohibited by any exchange upon which the ADSs are listed), sale of rights and other entitlements or otherwise. The depositary may also charge an annual fee of up to US$0.02 per ADS for the operation and maintenance costs in administering the facility. Persons depositing shares also may be charged the following expenses:
| taxes and other governmental charges incurred by the depositary or the custodian on any ADR or shares underlying an ADR, including any applicable interest and penalties thereon, and any share transfer or other taxes and other governmental charges; |
| cable, telex and facsimile transmission and delivery charges; |
| transfer or registration fees for the registration of transfer of deposited securities on any applicable register in connection with the deposit or withdrawal of deposited securities including those of a central depository for securities (where applicable); |
| expenses of the depositary in connection with the conversion of foreign currency into U.S. dollars; |
| fees and expenses incurred by the depositary in connection with compliance with exchange control regulations and other regulatory requirements applicable to the shares, deposited securities and ADSs; and |
| any other fees, charges, costs or expenses that may be incurred by the depositary from time to time. |
We will pay all other charges and expenses of the depositary and any agent of the depositary (except the custodian) pursuant to agreements from time to time between us and the depositary. The fees described above may be amended from time to time.
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The depositary collects its fees for issuance and cancellation of ADSs directly from investors depositing shares or surrendering ADSs for the purpose of withdrawal or from intermediaries acting for them. The depositary collects fees for making distributions to investors by deducting those fees from the amounts distributed or by selling a portion of distributable property to pay the fees. The depositary may collect its annual fee for depositary services by deduction from cash distributions, or by directly billing investors, or by charging the book-entry system accounts of participants acting for them. The depositary may generally refuse to provide services until its fees for those services and any other unpaid fees are paid.
Fees and Other Payments Made by the Depositary to Us
The depositary has agreed to reimburse us for the establishment and maintenance of the ADS program and to provide us with assistance in relation to our investor relations program, the training of staff and certain other matters. Further, the depositary has agreed to share with us certain fees payable to the depositary by holders of ADSs. Since the commencement of our most recent fiscal year, we have received the following direct and indirect payments: (1) US$256,570 for the expenses related to our investor relations program and (2) US$224,263 for the directors and officers liability and company insurance reimbursement. The payment we received is offset against general and administrative expenses.
ITEM 13. | DEFAULTS, DIVIDEND ARREARAGES AND DELINQUENCIES |
None.
ITEM 14. | MATERIAL MODIFICATIONS TO THE RIGHTS OF SECURITY HOLDERS AND USE OF PROCEEDS |
None.
ITEM 15. | CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES |
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Our management, with the participation of our chief executive officer and chief financial officer, has performed an evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act) as of the end of the period covered by this report, as required by Rule 13a-15(b) under the Exchange Act. Based on that evaluation, our management has concluded that, as of May 31, 2011, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective to ensure that the information required to be disclosed by us in reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SECs rules and forms, and that information required to be disclosed in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our chief executive officer and chief financial officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Managements Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) under the Exchange Act. Our management, with the participation of our chief executive officer and our chief financial officer, evaluated the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on criteria established in the framework in Internal ControlIntegrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on this evaluation, our management has concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of May 31, 2011.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies and procedures may deteriorate.
Our independent registered public accounting firm has audited our internal control over financial reporting as of May 31, 2011 and has issued an attestation report set forth below.
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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc.
We have audited the internal control over financial reporting of New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc., its subsidiaries, and its variable interest entity (collectively, the Group) as of May 31, 2011, based on criteria established in Internal Control Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. The Groups management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Managements Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Groups internal control over financial reporting based on our audit.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
A companys internal control over financial reporting is a process designed by, or under the supervision of, the companys principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, and effected by the companys board of directors, management, and other personnel to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A companys internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the companys assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of the inherent limitations of internal control over financial reporting, including the possibility of collusion or improper management override of controls, material misstatements due to error or fraud may not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Also, projections of any evaluation of the effectiveness of the internal control over financial reporting to future periods are subject to the risk that the controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
In our opinion, the Group maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of May 31, 2011, based on the criteria established in Internal Control Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission.
We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the consolidated financial statements and financial statement schedule as of and for the year ended May 31, 2011 of the Group and our report dated October 14, 2011 expressed an unqualified opinion on those financial statements and financial statement schedule.
/s/ Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu CPA Ltd.
Beijing, the Peoples Republic of China
October 14, 2011
Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period covered by this annual report on Form 20-F that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal controls over financial reporting.
ITEM 16A. | AUDIT COMMITTEE FINANCIAL EXPERT |
Our board of directors has determined that Denny Lee, an independent director (under the standards set forth in Section 303A of the NYSE Listed Company Manual and Rule 10A-3 under the Exchange Act) and the chairman of our audit committee, is our audit committee financial expert.
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ITEM 16B. | CODE OF ETHICS |
Our board of directors has adopted a code of ethics that applies to our directors, officers, employees and agents, including certain provisions that specifically apply to our chief executive officer, chief financial officer, chief operating officer, chief technology officer, vice presidents and any other persons who perform similar functions for us. We have posted a copy of our code of business conduct and ethics on our website at http://investor.neworiental.org.
ITEM 16C. | PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES |
The following table sets forth the aggregate fees by categories specified below in connection with certain professional services rendered by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu CPA Ltd., our independent registered public accounting firm, for the periods indicated. We did not pay any other fees to our independent registered public accounting firm during the periods indicated below.
For the Year Ended May 31, | ||||||||
(in US$ thousands) |
2010 | 2011 | ||||||
Audit fees(1) |
1,000 | 932 | ||||||
Audit related fees(2) |
| 20 | ||||||
Tax fees(3) |
25 | 24 |
(1) | Audit fees means the aggregate fees billed for professional services rendered by our independent registered public accounting firm for the audit of our annual financial statements and the review of our comparative interim financial statements. |
(2) | Audit related fees means the fees billed for review of response letter to a regulatory body. |
(3) | Tax fees represents the aggregated fees billed for professional services rendered by our independent registered public accounting firm for tax compliance, tax advice, and tax planning. |
The policy of our audit committee is to pre-approve all audit and non-audit services provided by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu CPA Ltd., including audit services, audit-related services, tax services and other services as described above, other than those for de minimis services which are approved by the audit committee prior to the completion of the audit.
ITEM 16D. | EXEMPTIONS FROM THE LISTING STANDARDS FOR AUDIT COMMITTEES |
Not applicable.
ITEM 16E. | PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES BY THE ISSUER AND AFFILIATED PURCHASERS |
None.
ITEM 16F. | CHANGE IN REGISTRANTS CERTIFYING ACCOUNTANTS |
Not applicable.
ITEM 16G. | CORPORATE GOVERNANCE |
Section 303A.12(a) of the NYSE Listed Company Manual requires each listed companys chief executive officer to certify to the NYSE each year that he or she is not aware of any violation by the company of NYSE corporate governance listing standards. We are a Cayman Islands company, and our chief executive officer is not required under applicable Cayman Islands law to make such a certification. We have followed our home country practice in this regard and have not submitted the certification required by Section 303A.12(a) of the NYSE Listed Company Manual in the past.
Section 303A.01 of the NYSE Listed Company Manual requires each listed company to have a majority of independent directors on the board of directors after the first anniversary of the companys listing on the NYSE. We are not required under the laws of the Cayman Islands to have a majority of independent directors on our board of directors. Pursuant to the exception granted to foreign private issuers under Section 303A.00 of the NYSE Listed Company Manual, we have elected to follow our home country practice with respect to our board of directors. Currently, we have six directors on our board, consisting of three independent directors and three directors who are also our executive officers. Nevertheless, we have maintained fully independent audit, compensation and nominating and corporate governance committees on our board of directors since the first anniversary of our NYSE listing.
Other than the chief executive officer certification and the majority independent board requirements discussed above, there are no significant differences between our corporate governance practices and those followed by domestic listed companies as required under the NYSE Listed Company Manual. A copy of our corporate governance guidelines is available on our website at http://investor.neworiental.org.
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ITEM 17. | FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
We have elected to provide financial statements pursuant to Item 18.
ITEM 18. | FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
The consolidated financial statements of New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. are included at the end of this annual report.
ITEM 19. | EXHIBITS |
Exhibit Number |
Description of Document | |
1.1 | Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 of our F-1 registration statement (File No. 333-136825), as amended, initially filed with the Commission on August 22, 2006) | |
2.1 | Registrants Specimen American Depositary Receipt (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 of our F-1 registration statement (File No. 333-136825), as amended, initially filed with the Commission on August 22, 2006) | |
2.2 | Registrants Specimen Certificate for Common Shares (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 of our F-1 registration statement (File No. 333-136825), as amended, initially filed with the Commission on August 22, 2006) | |
2.3 | Form of Deposit Agreement among the Registrant, the depositary and holders of the American Depositary Receipts (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.3 of our F-1 registration statement (File No. 333-136825), as amended, initially filed with the Commission on August 22, 2006) | |
2.4 | First Amended and Restated Investors Rights Agreement, dated as of May 25, 2005, among the Registrant and other parties therein (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.5 of our F-1 registration statement (File No. 333-136825), as amended, initially filed with the Commission on August 22, 2006) | |
4.1 | 2006 Share Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of our F-1 registration statement (File No. 333-136825), as amended, initially filed with the Commission on August 22, 2006) | |
4.2 | Form of Indemnification Agreement with the Registrants directors (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 of our F-1 registration statement (File No. 333-136825), as amended, initially filed with the Commission on August 22, 2006) | |
4.3 | Form of Employment Agreement between the Registrant and a Senior Executive Officer of the Registrant (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 of our F-1 registration statement (File No. 333-136825), as amended, initially filed with the Commission on August 22, 2006) | |
4.4 | English Translation of Form of New Enrollment System Development Service Agreement between Beijing Decision and New Oriental schools (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.4 of our F-1 registration statement (File No. 333-136825), as amended, initially filed with the Commission on August 22, 2006) |
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4.5 | English Translation of Trademark License Agreement dated May 13, 2006 between our company and New Oriental China (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.6 of our F-1 registration statement (File No. 333-136825), as amended, initially filed with the Commission on August 22, 2006) | |
4.6 | English Translation of Form of Exclusive Option Agreement among our company, New Oriental China and shareholders of New Oriental China (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.7 of our F-1 registration statement (File No. 333-136825), as amended, initially filed with the Commission on August 22, 2006) | |
4.7 | English Translation of Form of Equity Pledge Agreement among our company, New Oriental China and shareholders of New Oriental China (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.8 of our F-1 registration statement (File No. 333-136825), as amended, initially filed with the Commission on August 22, 2006) | |
4.8 | English Translation of Building Mortgage and Loan Agreement dated March 31, 2005 between New Oriental China and China Minsheng Banking Corporation Ltd. Beijing Hepingli Branch (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.12 of our F-1 registration statement (File No. 333-136825), as amended, initially filed with the Commission on August 22, 2006) | |
8.1* | Subsidiaries and Consolidated Affiliated Entities of the Registrant | |
11.1 | Code of Business Conduct and Ethics of the Registrant (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.1 from our F-1 registration statement (File No. 333-136825), as amended, initially filed with the Commission on August 22, 2006) | |
12.1* | Certification by Principal Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 | |
12.2* | Certification by Principal Financial Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 | |
13.1* | Certification by Principal Executive Officer pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 | |
13.2* | Certification by Principal Financial Officer pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 | |
15.1* | Consent of Tian Yuan Law Firm | |
15.2* | Consent of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu CPA Ltd. | |
101.INS** | XBRL Instance Document | |
101.SCH** | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document | |
101.CAL** | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document | |
101.DEF** | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document | |
101.LAB** | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document | |
101.PRE** | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document |
* | Filed with this annual report on Form 20-F |
** | XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) information is furnished and not filed or a part of a registration statement or prospectus for purposes of Sections 11 or 12 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, is deemed not filed for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and otherwise is not subject to liabi |