CIBT Education Group Provides Business Update Relating to the Coronavirus Outbreak

Vancouver, B.C., March 05, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- CIBT Education Group Inc. (TSX: MBA, OTCQX International: MBAIF) ("CIBT" or the "Company") provides the following update relating to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and its current impact on the Company's various business units.

Education Business:

• Sprott Shaw College enrols over 4,000 domestic students in British Columbia throughout the year.  There is no impact on domestic student enrolment.
• Sprott Shaw College's international department and our recruitment division, Global Education Alliance, enrols over 1,200 international students per year.  Overseas inquiries from parents and students have significantly increased because parents are eager to send their children to Canada, which is less susceptive to the epidemic at present.  However, foreign measures to prevent the spread of the epidemic, such as delayed visa processing and limited services of transportation, may slow down this development.
• Sprott Shaw International College and VIC Vancouver International College enrol over 6,000 international students per year.  Due to the virus outbreak, many students are extending their stay in Canada, generating extra revenue for the schools. The volume of new enrollment inquiries has remained steady, and the mode of inquiry has been switched from face-to-face to online interviews.  New enrollment arriving in Canada may be delayed by several weeks as abovementioned. 

Student Housing Business:

• GEC Granville hotel is experiencing no vacancy due to the unexpected US-bound visitors re-routed to Vancouver for quarantine purposes or a temporary visit.
• All other GEC properties were pre-occupied by students before the coronavirus outbreak.  Many occupants are extending their stay at GEC properties rendering all of our properties near full capacity.
• As many students have been instructed by their parents to stay in Canada and not to return home this summer, we are expecting a higher occupancy rate this year.

"While the sudden global outbreak of coronavirus has left many businesses in crisis, we at CIBT are sympathetic to the infected populations around the world," said Toby Chu, Chairman, President, and CEO of CIBT Education Group Inc. "As noted above in our summary, CIBT’s operations have not been adversely affected by the epidemic. Our ability to grow our revenue base across all business units, combined with near-zero vacancies in our student housing residences, provides further evidence that our unique business model can thrive under the most difficult macroeconomic environments.  Our value proposition of having a high-value rental income stream to support our significant education income while owning a diversified pipeline of students from 40+ countries around the world allows us to de-risk from political and epidemic concerns. We currently see no material risk to our business as a result of the global coronavirus outbreak.  We will continue to closely monitor the development of the epidemic and assess its impact to our operations, taking all reasonable steps to maintain a safe, clean and healthy environment for our students to study and live and our staff to work."