Excellent investment potential in Gulf pvt edu sector by 2012: Study

Updated on: Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Investment opportunities in the private primary and secondary education sector in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region could reach USD 3.5 billion in 2012, a new study has revealed.

According to the Parthenon Group study, the potential for investment in the higher education segment in the GCC region comprising Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, the UAE and Bahrain is estimated to be worth USD 1.2 billion in 2012,
it said in a statement.

Entitled 'GCC Insight Report: Investment Opportunities in K-12 and Higher Education in the United Arab Emirates and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia', the report is based on an in-depth survey of over 1,100 schools and universities.

The report will arm potential investors with a data-driven insight into investment potential in the education sector, with a particular focus on the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

This and other results will be presented by the group at the Building Future Education (BFE) MENA exhibition to be held in Abu Dhabi on October 25-26.

Karan Khemka, Partner and Head of the Emerging Markets Practice at Parthenon Group, said although the macro environment may suggest strong investment potential for education in the region as a whole, investors should choose their markets carefully, as the different education sectors have different drivers.

"We identified several segments of the market that see exponential growth, while other segments might already run at full capacity. There is a clear trend toward private education and a preference for international and mixed curriculum schools because students choose education in English at both the secondary and tertiary levels," he said.

"For example, the private higher education segment in Saudi Arabia albeit still small in size is growing at an annual rate above 35 per cent, compared to the public sector, which is growing at only 10 per cent," Khemka said.

"This shows that students and their families increasingly choose the private sector, where a larger proportion of teaching is done in English," he added.

Excellent investment potential in Gulf pvt edu sector by 2012: Study

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