A body representing Hong Kong’s semi-private schools is considering promoting its institutions to Southeast Asian countries, with more than 60 per cent of members saying they plan to admit more non-local students under a new government trial scheme.

Sharing its enrolment strategy on Tuesday, the Direct Subsidy Scheme Schools Council said that the region was being eyed because of its proximity to the city.

Last month, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said in his annual policy address that the semi-private institutions would be allowed to apply for extra places for pupils with student visas to join on a self-financing basis.

Dion Chen, council chairman and the principal of Ying Wa College, said the representative body would consider visiting overseas markets to promote Hong Kong’s education in the short run and share information about schools under the Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS).

DSS schools have greater flexibility in designing their curricula, student admission policies and the mediums of instruction. The institutions can also collect tuition fees in addition to receiving government subsidies.

“I think during the initial implementation stage of the policy, we will focus on students from Southeast Asia as it is comparatively nearer to Hong Kong and the syllabus is similar to Hong Kong’s,” he said.