Singapore-based firm invests 3 million USD in Everonn

Chennai, Aug 1: India-China Pre IPO Equity (Mauritius), a company managed by the Singapore-based ST Asset Management, a leading fund management company has invested three million U S Dollars in the city-based Everonn systems India Ltd.

Announcing the investment, Goh Mui Hong, Group President and CEO, ST Asset Management said they were happy over their investment made in Everonn, which was known for its reputation as a skilled manager of technology-based education services.

Ms Hong said the company through their global offices and network, would work with Everonn to access opportunities outside India, especially in China and South East Asia.

In his address P Kishore, Managing Director, Everonn said that their relationship with ST Asset Management was part of their long- term strategy to become a leader in the technology-based educational services sector.

A significant player in this segement, the company with this funding, would strengthen their position as a global education services company from India, he added.

Mr Kishore said the company was closely involved in implementing computer literacy projects in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu in 1987, at a time when computers had just come into the market and were taught only in state engineering colleges.

He said the success of the programme enabled them to take this education model across the Government Higher Secondary Schools in Tamil Nadu and other States in the country. Since 1999, State Governments have been offering state-wide tenders to companies to set -up and impart education across Government schools, he added.

Mr Kishore said the Tamil Nadu Government was a pioneer of this model and the company received its first Government Contract to set-up IT infrastructure facilities and impart education in 17 Government Higher Secondary schools in 1999 and 332 schools in 2000, across all 30 districts in the State. The Managing Director said, based on the experience gained in 2004, they set up its own VSAT-based education network with a studio in the city to offer a gamut of educational and training programmes to a varied segments of students in colleges, schools, retail centres and corporate sectprs under its own brand of remote and virtual education.

The Company would utilise the foreign investment for its recent contract with the West Bengal Government in the next five-year period, in which, they would impart IT education, as well as IT training programme in 555 schools.

The Company Director R Kannan said the company's last year turnover was Rs 31 crore and this year's projection was Rs 55 crore.

To a question, he said presently the company's virtual love for interactive classrooms enabled it to facilitate prerequisite infrastructure facilitates in 106 colleges in the country.

Mr Kannan said the company's vision is to take education delivery to the next dimension through an innovative blend of content, pedagogy and technology and be a leading and distinctive player in bringing education to students anywhere, preparing them to be productive citizens of the furture.

The company aims to be a complete education management company, with the goal to reach five million students by 2010, he added.

UNI