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Higher education seeing green |
Colleges look for cash in golf courses, shopping complexes August 08, 2007 | Money
is the new buzzword for universities in Korea, as more schools are
taking advantage of easeed rules to increase their profits through
aggressive investments and new commercial projects.
Sogang
University said yesterday it has hired three investment specialists to
manage 150 billion won ($164 million) in funds it has from tuition
money and the school′s reserves. The school said its investment profit
rate had dipped to less than 5 percent in past years because the money
was sitting in low-risk bank products.
The university said Kim
Young-ick, vice president of Hana Investment and Securities, and two
other securities specialists were appointed to aggressively invest the
money.
″From now on, we will put no more than 10 percent of the
school′s money in bank savings and place the rest in high-yield
investment funds,℃ Ju Seong-yeong, the head of the university′s finance
team, said yesterday.
State-run universities are joining the
trend. The Pusan National University in Busan is building a seven-story
shopping and entertainment complex at a site in front of the school′s
front gate. Construction will be completed in May 2009.
″Academics
are only possible when you have money,℃ said Kim Inn-se, president of
Pusan National University. ″Our culture center will also provide
part-time positions to 3,000 students.℃
Such investment plans have
become increasingly popular since the Ministry of Education and Human
Resources Development promised to ease regulations on universities′
investments by the end of this year. The ministry said it will allow
the universities to invest in stock-related products. The universities′
funds available for such investments amounts to 5.7 trillion won, the
ministry said.
According to the Korea Foundation for the Promotion
of Private Schools, domestic universities have an average investment
return of less than 5 percent. According to the National Association of
College and University Business Officers′ 2006 report, the same figure
for U.S. schools was 10.7 percent.
Konkuk University in Seoul said
it wants to build a golf club at a site in Paju, northern Gyeonggi,
owned by the school′s foundation. The land has been used as a ranch for
the school′s agriculture and veterinary students.
″We are
discussing a plan to build a 27-hole golf course and 54 condominiums
with the Paju city government,℃ Hong Seong-yong, planning director of
the university, said. ″We want to open the golf course by the end of
2009, and we expect about 10 billion won in annual profit from the
project.℃
By Kang Hong-jun JoongAng Ilbo/ Ser Myo-ja Staff Writer [myoja@joongang.co.kr]
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