As English continues to reign as a universal language, one Chinese firm providing online English education services pursues its global ambitions and recently entered into an agreement with a top foreign bank after celebrating in New York as a public company.
China Online Education Group doing business as 51 Talk chose Deutsche Bank, a German global banking and financial services company, as its depository bank, reported NewsOn6.com.
David West, the regional head of the bank’s Trust & Agency Services in Asia Pacific, said that they are “delighted” with the appointment.
“Our broad range of customized services will be used to assist China Online Education Group to optimize the visibility of its ADR [American Depositary Receipt] program,” said West.
Headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and aspiring to be “the leading client-centric global universal bank,” Deutsche Bank AG reported on its website a net income of 236 million euros for the first quarter of 2016.
The bank claims of having “a strong position in Europe and a significant presence in the Americas and Asia Pacific.”
Founded in 2011 and presently the largest of its kind in China, 51 Talk announced on its official Facebook account on June 10 that it went public in the U.S. this year.
The New York Stock Exchange tweeted on the same date that 51 Talk officially got listed.
The Beijing-based language training company uses the stock symbol COE.
According to its Facebook account, the company made an initial public offering of 2.4 million American depositary shares priced at $19 per share.
Its net revenue totaled to $24 million in 2015, according to Bloomberg.
51 Talk employs native English speakers, but majority of the teachers come from the Philippines. For a 25-minute one-on-one online class, the company charges about $5.
Founder and CEO Huang Jiajia, aka Jack Huang, pointed out two advantages of online education.
“Learning online by video chatting is more convenient for students and saves their commuting time,” Huang said to China Daily.
The convenience extends to the teachers who can opt to work in the office or in the comfort of their own home.