HCP will be purchased for A$4.1m, followed by up to $2.3m in a year based on key performance indicators.

Through the agreement, IDP will be able to access a user community of some 460,000 students using HCP’s digital channels, including its app, Yasi Ge, which delivers preparation materials for IELTS, a test IDP partly owns.

“We have traditionally had a strong reputation in China for delivering quality services for students interested in studying in Australia”

The agreement provides IDP Education with the “opportunity to further develop our student placement services in China, one of the most competitive and mature international student markets in the world”, said Andrew Barkla, its CEO.

He added: “It strengthens our overarching vision of building the world’s leading platform and connected community for international students.”

Yasi Ge users can, among other things, post their questions about the IELTS exam. The app also features a number of online learning videos.

IDP will promote its student placement services to the Yasi Ge user community – a large proportion of whom have goals to study abroad – and will be HCP’s exclusive partner for study abroad services in the country.

HCP has already run periodical promotions for IDP’s counselling services for study abroad, said Barkla.

“These campaigns have been successful in generating a large volume of qualified enquiries from students, which have been followed up by our education counsellors in China,” he said.

In FY16, close to 30% of all IDP placements came from China, according to Barkla, with Chinese student numbers up around 50% compared to the year before.

“We have traditionally had a strong reputation in China for delivering quality services for students interested in studying in Australia,” he said.

“Our focus is now on broadening this expertise to our newer destination markets, especially the UK and the US. We have been doing this by upskilling our counsellors and investing in new technology platforms.”