EF Education co-chairman Philip Hult selected Hong Kong as its regional hub to focus on expansion in Asia

The 40-year-old company, founded in Sweden in 1963, set up a small office in Hong Kong in 1993. Its original staff of four has since been expanded to 75. Three years ago, having decided to focus on expansion in Asia, the company based its activities in Hong Kong - the gateway to China.

EF Educations Ltd's co-chairman Philip Hult said the quality of Hong Kong's airport and its connectivity is something you can't underestimate. "If you want what a regional hub should be, build it along the Hong Kong hub model. It really is a big deal, especially for people who travel a lot. Besides, it has good employees with good English whom we can work with."

Ideal expatriate environment

Mr Hult reckons that Hong Kong is the right place for a regional hub at the moment. "It's the only place where you can have expatriates who are happy living here long term. They are happy with the schools, the shopping and the social infrastructure."

He said that EF Education concentrates on three business fields in Asia: teaching English online, in local schools and through study tours. Learning English online has taken off at great speed in tech savvy Hong Kong, and a small school will soon be set up to complement the online lessons.

"Hong Kong is a surprisingly good market although China, Japan and Korea are obviously bigger markets," he added.

According to Mr Hult, education is emerging as one of the world's largest growth industries. Worldwide, it is a US$50 billion industry and in Korea alone it is worth US$13 billion. China, he reckons, could easily double that.

Multinational edge

"Hong Kong is a good market. Let's face it, English is the language of business and all multinational companies require good English. Studies have found that people in Japan, Korea and China, who have a good knowledge of English, command a salary that is between 40-60 per cent higher."

He said what makes EF Education such a success story is that it is run like a professional business. "We invest a lot in technology and our products are better. Our students learn faster with us and we really do have a lot of students wanting to learn English. Worldwide, we have 7 million learners online."  

The ultimate tool for learning English, said Mr Hult, lies with television. "If all TV programmes are dubbed in English, I can guarantee you every kid will learn English fluently."
 
EF Education is a multinational group of 10 companies and non-profit organisations with over 2,000 EF staff and 15,000 teachers at work in 43 countries. Its largest office is in Boston.

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