Chairman’s Statement 2006

2006 Annual Report
Chairman’s Statement

On behalf of the Board of Directors, I have great pleasure in presenting the Annual Report and Audited Financial Statements of SEG International Bhd (“SEGi”) and the Group for the financial year ended 31 December 2006.

Education is the key to develop human capital and increase the skills and knowledge of individual workers. The Ninth Malaysia Plan (2006 – 2010) (“9MP”) has reiterated the importance of human capital development and the Government has allocated RM10.4 billion for higher education and RM10.1 billion for training programmes under the 2007 Budget.

Review of Financial Performance in 2006

I am pleased to report that the SEGi Group has performed commendably amidst the demanding operating environment to register a profit before tax of RM2.9 million for the financial year under review compared to a profit before tax of RM1.0 million in the last year’s corresponding period. The revenue for the year, however, reduced by 1% as compared to the previous year, as a result of the disposal of the seven (7) unprofitable colleges and centres in December 2005.

The better performance of the Group for the financial year ended 31 December 2006 was mainly attributable to positive effects of the re-branding and rationalisation exercise that the Group carried out in early 2006. The Group renamed all its colleges which previously carried different brand names into one single brand name, SEGi College. The re-branding also coincided with the move of the Subang Jaya campus into a new state-of-the-art stand alone campus in USJ Subang Jaya, which strengthened the brand name of the Group and contributed a marked increase in student numbers for this campus.

Dividend

The Board of Directors is recommending a final dividend of 2 sen gross per share, less income tax, for the financial year ended 31 December 2006, subject to the shareholders’ approval at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting (2005 : 2 sen gross per share). No interim dividend has been paid or declared for the financial year ended 31 December 2006 (2005 : nil).

Corporate Development

The Group has continuously explored and developed new programmes to target the changing education needs of students. During the year under review, the Group broadened its course offerings by working with top universities abroad to offer new programmes. For instance, the pharmaceutical courses in collaboration with The University of Sunderland and the American Degree Programme 4+0 Bachelor of Science Degree in partnership with Upper Iowa University. These new programmes have further increased the Group’s product range with world renowned universities. The Group’s other new programmes include courses in the fields of nursing, medical sciences, biotechnology and psychology. SEGi has also ventured into corporate training, consultancy and other related businesses.

In view of the Government’s concern on the difficulties faced by graduates in seeking employment, it is the Group’s mission to ensure that our courses are industry driven with emphasis on increasing the employability of the graduates.

In line with this goal, SEGi is introducing a new module called the Career Exploratory Programme that will refer students in their penultimate semester for internship or job attachment with selected and qualified companies. Besides being career ready, the Group has also developed leadership and character building programmes for the students to prepare themselves for their working lives.

Flagship Campus at Kota Damansara

The new flagship campus at Kota Damansara is a big milestone for the Group. The campus has a capacity for up to 12,000 students, and is fitted with full campus, residential and sporting facilities and state-of-the-art technologies to provide students with a complete learning experience. This campus will offer most of the existing courses of the Group added with new programmes in the fields of medical and health sciences.

Human Resource Development

Investment in raising the Group’s employees skills and experience continue to be a top priority for the Group. As the Group seeks sustainable growth through aggressive expansion in its business operations, the Group also acknowledges the importance of developing and retaining talents within the organisation. However, this is also supplemented by external appointments with the aim of infusing more knowledge-based, highly educated, well-trained and qualified professionals with a pool of practical and industrial hands-on experience in an effort to better meet our commitment to excellence in delivering world-class services in the education industry.

The Group also maintains a high level of openness and transparency with its employees by conducting quarterly management conferences where financial results, corporate developments and strategies are shared.

Corporate Social Responsibility (“CSR”)

The Group maintains a high level of emphasis in fulfilling its responsibilities as a corporate citizen, and continues to carry out its CSR through programmes which include scholarships, donations and environmentallysound management practices throughout the financial year.

The Group offers scholarships to the needy with the hope of raising the quality of life and providing more opportunities for outstanding students to pursue tertiary education in response to the Government’s call to raise the capacity for knowledge and innovation and nurture ‘First Class Mentality’. Our contributions go beyond plain financial support. The Group actively encourages its employees to support and participate in various community service projects and philanthropic activities.

Future Outlook

The prospect of the education sector remains bright with the Government’s continuing efforts to promote Malaysia as an educational hub. Education, training and retraining as well as lifelong learning are factors that enhance the quality of human capital and are crucial in producing a highly productive workforce to meet challenges as Malaysia progresses towards its target of achieving a developed nation status by 2020.

The Group had taken great strides in successfully overcoming financial difficulties during the global economic turmoil and adverse conditions. The strong foundation that the Group has built in the last decade has strengthened our position as one of the main private education providers in Malaysia.

Chairman’s Statement SEG International Bhd 15 The SEGi Group is gearing towards the country’s goal of making Malaysia an educational hub by promoting the recruitment of foreign students through its global network and direct recruitment from the source countries. The launching of its flagship campus at Kota Damansara, Selangor and the introduction of a broader range of academic courses have further enhance its position as a leading education provider.

The Group is poised to move forward to create new growth platforms as Malaysia’s leading education provider driven by high performance and high accountability.

Acknowledgements

On behalf of the Board, I wish to extend our appreciation to our valued shareholders, global partners, students, regulatory authorities, bankers and business associates for their continued support and confidence in the Group.

Our sincere thanks and gratitude also go to the management and staff who have played a critical part in the success of the Group.

Last but not least, on behalf of the Board of Directors, I warmly welcome Mr Tony Foo San Kan who joined our Board on 27 February 2007 and would like to take this opportunity to convey my sincere thanks and appreciation to my fellow board members for their contributions to the Group.

Dato’ Pahamin A.Rajab
Chairman

15 May 2007