(Yicai Global) March 12 -- Shares of First High-School Education Group tumbled during China's No. 1 listed private high school operator's first trading day in the US less than two months after submitting its prospectus.

FHSE's share price [NYSE: FHS] closed 12 percent lower at USD8.8 after opening 5 percent down. Its market cap was USD255 million. The initial public offering price was USD10.

The firm, which runs Long-Spring Education Group, raised USD75 million by issuing 7.5 million shares. Founded in 2005, Long-Spring Education Group is western China's biggest private high school operator.

China's burgeoning K-12 education sector has prompted an increasing number of listings such as those of Hailiang Education, Wisdom Education International, and China Maple Leaf Educational Systems. But FHSE's sole focus on high school is special.

China’s private high school sector is expected to reach CNY160 billion (USD26.6 billion) in scale by 2024, rising from 2019's CNY51 billion (USD7.9 billion), according to FHSE's prospectus. By 2024, 22 percent of domestic students are expected to enroll in private high schools, up from 2019's 14.9 percent, it added.

FHSE had 15 high schools and four special institutions for those students who wanted to retake classes to get a better grade in the national college entrance examination. The establishments are in southwestern Yunnan, Shaanxi, Guizhou provinces, and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The company had almost 26,000 students and nearly 2,000 teachers as of last September.

The firm was looking to fuel its expansion via the IPO, said Zhang Shaowei, founder of Long-Spring Education. Zhang owns almost 87 percent of that company's shares.

"The New York Stock Exchange favors high-growth companies, which is an important reason why we chose to go public on the US stock market," said Zhang. After the listing, the company focuses on long-term value creation rather than short-term fluctuations, he added.

Growth may have a limit as not everyone is expected to choose a private high school in the future. "In the long run, private education’s status as a supplement to public education will not change," said Zhang.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi