New Oriental Photo: CFP

China's largest private education agency New Oriental Education and Technology officially launched a livestreaming platform called "Dongfangzhenxuan," with the company's founder Yu Minhong set to deliver his first livestreaming show selling fresh produce, New Oriental announced via its official WeChat account on Tuesday morning. 

New Oriental is venturing into e-commerce after China's recent regulations on domestic private tutoring firms, including banning for-profit tutoring in core education, forced many education firms, including New Oriental, to diversify their business. 

According to the aforementioned article, Yu Minhong will deliver his first livestreaming show to sell fresh produce at around 8:00 pm Tuesday on China's leading livestreaming platform Douyin. 

In a previous livestreaming show, Yu also discussed the company's plan to set up a large-scale agricultural platform in the future. He described the objective of such a move as not only to sell goods, but to help boost the agricultural industry and revitalize rural areas. 

The move is also read by the outside as a hint that New Oriental is going to pivot its business to livestreaming sales in the face of stricter government regulations on private education, but the company also stressed in the WeChat article that it will not abandon its education business, although it is also making some adjustment to the business in line with government policy guidelines. 

According to the company, it will keep its education services such as overseas study consulting and postgraduate tutoring. It is also making efforts to develop liberal arts as well as quality education tutoring business. 

Earlier in October, New Oriental announced that it would stop operating subject-based off-campus training services for compulsory education in China, which are provided to students from kindergarten to grade 9 (K-9 or compulsory education). 

Another Chinese education giant, TAL, also announced recently that it will cease offering K9 academic services. 

Global Times