Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) will be entering a joint venture with the founder and principal of the Han Language Centre, Ann Jong Juan.
According to the SPH, this enables the group's Chinese Media Group to co-establish various Chinese language education programmes and events with the centre that will be able to cater to all walks of life.
The deal will see the media group hold 75 percent stake in the business and Ann capturing the remaining 25 percent stake. The total investment SPH will be injecting is around S$8.5 million, of which S$4.8 million will be paid upon the completion of the deal and the rest will be gradually paid as the joint venture achieves specific targets.
To recall, SPH first ventured into the education sector in 2014 when it invested S$12 million for a 22% stake in the pre-school and enrichment provider MindChamps.
Han Language Centre was founded in 1993 and has established a household name in the Chinese education scene. Being one of the biggest Chinese tuition centre footprint in Singapore, the centre has 19 hubs scattered across the city-state.
The centre offers a full spectrum of in-house developed programmes for both primary and secondary students. The education materials the centre uses are built up based on the latest Ministry of Education (MOE) syllabus.
SPH CEO Alan Chan said the group's strategic investment in Han Language Centre will strengthen its education portfolio, one of its growing adjacent businesses.
"Our Chinese Media Group's wealth of multimedia resources and student publications, integrated with Han Language Centre's innovative curriculum and systematic teaching methods, will make Chinese accessible, alive and interesting to our students," he said in a statement
Meanwhile, the Ann said that SPH's Chinese Media Group is recognised as a bastion of the Chinese language and culture whilst Han Language Centre has a valuable foundation of strong curriculum and teaching staff.
"With SPH's involvement and support, we can expand and enhance our branding, teaching and curriculum to reach out to more learners, and more importantly, show them that mastering Chinese can be both fun and rewarding," he stated.
Ann is better known as Han Laoda in the arts fraternity. He is a prominent figure in the Singapore theatre scene and has been awarded the Cultural Medallion for Theatre in 1990.
