BEIJING, June 17, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ChinaCast Education Corporation (the "Company" or "ChinaCast") (Nasdaq:CAST), a leading for-profit, post-secondary and e-learning services provider in China, today announced it is set to join the broad-market Russell 3000(R) Index when Russell Investments ("Russell") reconstitutes its U.S. and global equity indexes on June 26, 2009, according to a preliminary list of additions posted on June 12, 2009, at www.russell.com.
Annual reconstitution of Russell's U.S. indexes captures the 4,000 largest U.S. stocks as of the end of May, 2009, ranking them by total market capitalization. Membership in the Russell 3000, which remains in place for one year, means automatic inclusion for ChinaCast in the small-cap Russell 2000(R) Index as well as the appropriate growth and value style indexes. Russell determines membership for its equity indexes primarily by objective, market-capitalization rankings and style attributes.
"We are very pleased to be selected for the Russell Indexes," stated Mr. Ron Chan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We believe inclusion in these indexes will help increase our visibility among investors and contribute to our efforts to increase liquidity and shareholder value."
The Russell 3000 Index also serves as the U.S. component of the Russell Global(R) Index, which Russell launched in 2007. The Russell indexes are widely used by investment managers and institutional investors for index funds and as benchmarks for both passive and active investment strategies. An industry-leading $4 trillion in assets currently are benchmarked to them. Total returns data for the Russell 3000 and other Russell indexes are available at www.russell.com/Indexes/performance/default.asp
About ChinaCast Education Corporation
Established in 1999, ChinaCast Education Corporation is a leading for-profit, post-secondary education and e-learning services provider in China. The Company provides its post-secondary degree programs through its 80% ownership in the holding company of the Foreign Trade and Business College (FTBC) of Chongqing Normal University. FTBC offers career-oriented bachelor's degree and diploma programs in business, economics, trade, tourism management, advertising, language, IT and music. These degree and diploma programs are fully accredited by the PRC Ministry of Education. The Company provides its e-learning services to post-secondary institutions, K-12 schools, government agencies and corporate enterprises via its nationwide satellite broadband network. These services include interactive distance learning applications, multimedia education content delivery, English language training and vocational training courses. The company is listed on the NASDAQ with the ticker symbol CAST. For more information, visit www.ChinacastEducation.com.