KinderWorld Education Group, which runs schools across South-east Asia, is considering a Singapore initial public offering (IPO) that could raise about $70 million, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The company is working with advisers on a planned IPO that could value it at about $300 million, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the process is private. KinderWorld aims to sell shares as early as the second half of the year, they said.

South-east Asian school operators have been attracting interest from foreign investors including TPG and Swedish buyout firm EQT Partners, which are betting that rising incomes will translate into increased education spending.

A listing of KinderWorld would follow MindChamps PreSchool's IPO, which raised $49 million last year, data compiled by Bloomberg shows.

KinderWorld was founded in Singapore in 1986 and expanded abroad in the late 1990s, according to its website. It now has 17 campuses in Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand. The company's Pegasus International College based in Danang, Vietnam, provides post-secondary education courses in fields such as hospitality, tourism and culinary arts.

Deliberations on a listing of KinderWorld are at an early stage and details of the potential offering could change, the sources said.

When contacted, a representative for KinderWorld said there was no comment.

BLOOMBERG