KinderWorld: Setting sight on Singapore and Johor Bahru for next phase of growth

Backed by more than two decades of expansion in Vietnam, KinderWorld International Group is now refocusing its growth ambitions on Singapore and Johor Bahru (JB).

- BY RENALD YEO

Its next phase centres on building a five-campus network for older children in Singapore.

Over the next five years, the group plans to open four more international schools in the Republic. These will cater mainly to secondary students aged 13 to 18, offering the Singapore GCE O-Level and A-Level pathways.

The centres will also host adult learners enrolled in distance-learning bachelor's and master's programmes.

The first of the five centres opened earlier this year after KinderWorld acquired SDH Institute, a hospitality and aviation school, for an undisclosed amount.

Renamed SISH Institute, it occupies 36,000 square feet (sq ft) at Paya Lebar Green, a Grade-A office development. KinderWorld has invested S$8 million in renovations and related costs.

These schools adopt a model that chairman and chief executive officer Ricky Tan believes is absent in a landscape "dominated" by Western curricula.

While Singapore's international school market is competitive, he sees space for a "Singapore-style" option aimed at foreign families relocating here but unable to secure places in government schools.

Each campus will span about 30,000 sq ft, though the Paya Lebar facility is larger as it also houses the group's office.

A typical campus can take up to 600 students. Across all five centres, KinderWorld expects to serve up to 3,000 learners annually through a mix of full-day and rotational programmes.

The four remaining centres will require between S$30 million and S$40 million to set up, funded through a mix of bank loans and internal resources.

Mr Tan says building new campuses on local land parcels is not financially viable. Greenfield tenders alone can cost about S$50 million for a 30-year lease, he adds, before construction costs that could run into the hundreds of millions.

Instead, the group will lease commercial spaces and situate campuses near MRT stations for accessibility.