Global's initiatives into Jordan's education sector

This investment is part of the company's socioeconomic investment scheme and the wider geographical expansion business strategy within the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region the company has applied since last year.

The universities in Jordan was established back in 1962 but it was not till 1990's that the private sector was allowed to participate and currently there are 8 public and 13 private Jordanian Universities, as well as 3 regional and international universities.

Mr. Omar M. El-Quqa, Executive Vice President at Global said, "Global has always been keen to participate in this viable socioeconomic sector such as education and has bought out a majority stakeholder in Al-Isra. Al-Isra, a profitable and leading university in the growing educational sector in Jordan, has an established management and academic staff, which was particularly attractive."

He pointed out that the university founders, who are prominent business people with significant experience in the education sector, will continue to be committed to providing quality education. Global will support the existing management in their plans to continuously improve the quality of education.

Mr. El-Quqa stated that the Jordanian Economy has been growing over the last couple of years and especially the higher education sector that remains vibrant with a new flurry of investments still in the pipeline after its pervious one during the late 1990s.

He also stated that the Council of Higher Education has put in place comprehensive if not stringent requirements and procedures for the award and renewal of licenses of private universities. "This will improve the standards of education among existing institutions and also regulate competition in the sector," He added.

"The acquisition of 13.33% in Al Isra is part of Global's overall strategy of looking beyond the GCC region and participating in emerging sectors in the MENA region," Mr. El-Quqa said. He continued by saying that Global evaluated various opportunities in the education sector keeping in mind aspects such as increase in demand for quality of education, initiatives taken by the Government, track record of the university and financial aspects of the business.

Global's EVP said, "Subsequent to our meeting with the management of Al-Isra and understanding their future plans for the university, we felt that the university was on a expansion phase and it was an ideal time to invest into Al-Isra."

Global, based on its analysis of different sector and countries, believes that the MENA region offers many potential opportunities for new initiatives in the financial, real estate, educational and healthcare sectors.

Keeping in mind these opportunities in the educational sector and the overall strategy of Global, Mr. El-Quqa indicated, "This was an ideal opportunity to partner with an established university and with prestigious shareholders to provide high quality educational services and capitalize on emerging opportunities across the region as a whole."

The Council of Higher Education licensed Al-Isra, on August 12, 1989, and since inception, the University has seen more than 5000 of its students graduate from a diversity of specializations and degrees. The university is owned by Al-Isra Private University Company, a private limited company that converted into a public limited company (PLC) in 2004 with a paid-in capital of Jordanian Dinars 15 million.

The number of enrolled students in Jordanian universities totaled 179,722 students in 2003/2004; a 13% increase from the year before, studying more than 20 specializations, with 93% of students enrolled studying at the undergraduate level and 7% at the post-graduate level.