Carlyle invests $50 mln in China school operator

HONG KONG, Nov 27 (Reuters) - The Carlyle Group [CYL.UL] said on Thursday it would invest $50 million in China's Hao Yue Education Group, as it sought to tap demand for private higher-education services in the world's most populous country.

The Washington, D.C.-based private equity giant said the investment was funded by the Carlyle Asia Growth Partners Group and would support Beijing-based Hao Yue's plan to boost enrolment through campus expansion and acquisitions of other private vocational schools.

The deal comes after Carlyle, which had $91.5 billion of assets under management committed to 66 funds at the end of September, last year invested $20 million in Topia Education, which runs tutoring institutes in South Korea.

Private equity firms are increasingly investing in the fast-growing private learning sector, betting that the obsession of many Asian parents with their children's education will make it recession-proof. (Reporting by Jeffrey Hodgson; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)