In Dubai, international education company GEMS Education plans to spend about $300 million over the next two to three years to increase its organic student population by 35,000 students by 2028, its CEO said, as the company bets on population growth and an influx of wealthy individuals, reported by Khaleej Times.
Dubai is one of the world’s fastest-growing cities, with its population growing thanks to expatriates, especially high-income earners, who are attracted by its tax policies, ease of doing business and convenient time zones.
CEO Dino Varkey
The international education provider aims to increase its student population by 30,000 to 35,000 by 2028, CEO Dino Varkey said on the sidelines of a conference in Abu Dhabi on Thursday. He cited demand from people moving to Dubai from both the East and the West. In the UK, the introduction of VAT on private school fees and the abolition of non-domiciled status have prompted some millionaires to move to the UAE.
The situation we are seeing now is that, given the nature of tax reforms being implemented in parts of the UK and other parts of Western Europe, it is clear that the majority of families are choosing to move to the UAE from those parts of the world, says Varkey.
Global Education Management Systems
A consortium led by Brookfield Asset Management (BAM.TO) last year invested in the school operator as more private equity firms back local businesses in the Gulf.
GEMS, one of the world’s largest private school operators, is set to open a school in August, with annual tuition fees that could eventually reach $56,000. GEMS will also consider acquiring it, Varkey added. The family-owned business GEMS Education has grown from one school in 1968 to around 200,000 students worldwide.