Beijing XinLv Zheng Bao Cheng Education Technology Co. Ltd.

In June 2010, Northport's China subsidiary acquired a 65% equity interest in Beijing XinLv, an online education business with corporate offices located in the Beijing North Star Times Tower. XinLv has a total staff of 65 of which 35 are part time instructors. The company operates its own training facilities in the Beijing area and operates a franchise network from122 separate locations throughout China. The business operates under a trade name of Baocheng Education and allows enrolled students to attend video conferencing and online support facilities

Beijing XinLv's 2009 revenues from over 10,000 students were 100 million Yuan of which 18 million Yuan was generated from the Beijing office alone. Annual fees paid by students are dependent upon courses taken, and can vary between 2000 and 18,000 Yuan per student.

The company's professional development training programs offered to students include a legal services program, a construction inspections certificate program, a nursing program and others in high demand.

On-Line Education in China

Distance learning, online degree courses, and adult education have been popular in China for some time. This has been due to a number of factors, such as the expansive and rural geography of the country, the high competition for fewer enrolment places (comparable to the UK or US, at least), and government-stimulated incentives to ensure compulsory learning for all, e.g. the National Project of Compulsory Education in Impoverished Areas (established in 1995).

The gradual spread of broadband technology throughout China has had a significant positive effect for online education in the country. The China Education and Research Network (CERNET), started in 1994, is now China's second largest Internet network, with a high-speed transmission network of 20,000 km, 28 international and regional channels, covering all major cities of China. The high-speed connection between it and the China Education Broadband Satellite Net, opened in 2000, established a "space to earth" transmission platform for modern distance education, and provided an all-round network support environment for distance education.

Adult education in China is both dynamic and diverse. Schools of higher learning for adults include radio and TV, worker, farmer, correspondence and evening universities, management and education colleges; adult secondary schools include vocational, high and technical schools; worker elementary and farmer elementary schools comprise the adult elementary sector.

The Chinese Ministry of Education has approved 68 ordinary schools of higher learning and the Central Radio and TV University to pilot modern distance education. They have set up 2,027 off-campus learning centers (stations) around China, offering 140 major areas of study in 10 disciplines, and these centers now have a total enrolment of more than1.467 million.

Students in remote and underdeveloped areas are the largest beneficiaries of online education, but online universities can offer the opportunity of lifelong education and training to students who have failed university entrance examinations and to working people and adult farmers who otherwise could not attend traditional institutions.

A recent report by companiesandmarkets.com detailing the development of e-Learning and online education in China, identifies that the sector has reached its "growth stage", increasing in market scale to over RMB 17.5 billion by 2007 (the latest year for statistics).

For higher education and older learners, the report shows a growth and diversification of online education but an unimpressive continuation of doubts amongst members of the public as to the worth of diplomas from online institutions. Despite this, there is healthy enthusiasm for online education for vocation certification and an increased demand for customizable services. Additionally corporate e-learning is becoming more integrated with business hoping to improve services - especially over the last year.As a result, projections suggest that corporate e-learning is set to grow 40 percent year by year until 2011.