News Today - June 19, 2000 07:15
Hartcourt to Invest in China Online, Largest Private ISP in China; Hartcourt and Rayes Group Will Develop COL into a Commercial Broadband ISP in China
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 19, 2000--The Hartcourt Companies Inc. (OTC:HRCT) (Frankfurt:HCT), www.hartcourt.com, today announced that it has reached an agreement in principal to joint venture with Shenzhen Rayes Group to provide investment and technical support to COL (China Online, www.col.com.cn), the largest privately owned ISP in China.
The agreement calls for Hartcourt to support COL's new business strategy and implementation plans, including broadband Internet infrastructure developments. COL currently has 105 wholly owned or joint-ventured subsidiaries covering all major provinces and cities in The Peoples Republic of China (China). Since its inception in 1994, COL and these subsidiaries have developed more than 80 COL-branded portals with localized content. At present, the ISP business of COL has more than 240,000 customers.
The closing of the Hartcourt's acquisition and investment into China Online is contingent upon the completion of three steps: (1) COL's to develop a new business plan satisfactory to Hartcourt's broadband ISP strategy in China; (2) Completion of a due diligence process by a leading U.S. investment bank appointed by Hartcourt and Rayes to value COL's business; and (3) All necessary legal documents being completed and approved by Chinese authorities and all parties.
According to People's Post & Telecommunications, the official newspaper of Ministry of Information Industry of China, E-commerce and China are now converging. As of June 7, 2000, China has more than 270,000 registered Internet domain names.
By June 5, China had 90,817 Web sites with registered ".cn" China domain names, up 50% from 60,267 Chinese domain names recorded by May 2000. These numbers indicate the explosive growth in China's business Internet service market. Since 1999, COL has shifted its ISP strategy toward mainly business Internet services, and thus the number of individual ISP subscribers has decreased since and the business customer base is growing.
Dr. Alan Phan, chairman & CEO of Hartcourt, said: "Given the fact that China is rapidly deploying its fiber-optic capacity for broadband ISP services and other wireless applications, Hartcourt has been aggressively developing and evaluating our business partners in China for a timely investment and broadband Internet infrastructure development.
"Once the WTO is approved and implemented, we want to be sure that Hartcourt is the first foreign company to participate directly in China's broadband Internet market growth. Our agreement with COL is one option we have been evaluating, and we are excited about the backbone infrastructure that COL provides for potential business growth on a nationwide scale."
About Shenzhen Rayes Group and COL (China Online)
Shenzhen Rayes Group is registered in Shenzhen, and its main business is in developing network infrastructure and services via China Online (COL). Since 1994, COL has deployed a large-scale ISP network with national coverage of 105 major cities in China. COL was approved by MII (Ministry of Information Industry, formerly Ministry of Post and Telecommunications) in 1997 as a national ISP and related services provider. COL and China Telecom's 169 national ISP network has a strategic alliance since 1998.
About Hartcourt
The Hartcourt Companies is a holding and development company that is building a network of internet and telecommunication service companies in The People's Republic of China, including Hong Kong, in partnership with Chinese entrepreneurs as well as Chinese government-owned entities.
Its mission is to become one of the leading broadband applications infrastructure providers in Asia, including developing broadband networks and vertical market focused contents for broadband applications. Detailed information on Hartcourt can be obtained via the company's Web site, www.hartcourt.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this news release may constitute "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievement expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements to differ materially from the forward-looking statements.
CONTACT: The Hartcourt Companies Inc., Los Angeles
Jack Westfield, 310/410 7290
Hartcourt to Invest in China Online, Largest Private ISP in China; Hartcourt and Rayes Group Will Develop COL into a Commercial Broadband ISP in China
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 19, 2000--The Hartcourt Companies Inc. (OTC:HRCT) (Frankfurt:HCT), www.hartcourt.com, today announced that it has reached an agreement in principal to joint venture with Shenzhen Rayes Group to provide investment and technical support to COL (China Online, www.col.com.cn), the largest privately owned ISP in China.
The agreement calls for Hartcourt to support COL's new business strategy and implementation plans, including broadband Internet infrastructure developments. COL currently has 105 wholly owned or joint-ventured subsidiaries covering all major provinces and cities in The Peoples Republic of China (China). Since its inception in 1994, COL and these subsidiaries have developed more than 80 COL-branded portals with localized content. At present, the ISP business of COL has more than 240,000 customers.
The closing of the Hartcourt's acquisition and investment into China Online is contingent upon the completion of three steps: (1) COL's to develop a new business plan satisfactory to Hartcourt's broadband ISP strategy in China; (2) Completion of a due diligence process by a leading U.S. investment bank appointed by Hartcourt and Rayes to value COL's business; and (3) All necessary legal documents being completed and approved by Chinese authorities and all parties.
According to People's Post & Telecommunications, the official newspaper of Ministry of Information Industry of China, E-commerce and China are now converging. As of June 7, 2000, China has more than 270,000 registered Internet domain names.
By June 5, China had 90,817 Web sites with registered ".cn" China domain names, up 50% from 60,267 Chinese domain names recorded by May 2000. These numbers indicate the explosive growth in China's business Internet service market. Since 1999, COL has shifted its ISP strategy toward mainly business Internet services, and thus the number of individual ISP subscribers has decreased since and the business customer base is growing.
Dr. Alan Phan, chairman & CEO of Hartcourt, said: "Given the fact that China is rapidly deploying its fiber-optic capacity for broadband ISP services and other wireless applications, Hartcourt has been aggressively developing and evaluating our business partners in China for a timely investment and broadband Internet infrastructure development.
"Once the WTO is approved and implemented, we want to be sure that Hartcourt is the first foreign company to participate directly in China's broadband Internet market growth. Our agreement with COL is one option we have been evaluating, and we are excited about the backbone infrastructure that COL provides for potential business growth on a nationwide scale."
About Shenzhen Rayes Group and COL (China Online)
Shenzhen Rayes Group is registered in Shenzhen, and its main business is in developing network infrastructure and services via China Online (COL). Since 1994, COL has deployed a large-scale ISP network with national coverage of 105 major cities in China. COL was approved by MII (Ministry of Information Industry, formerly Ministry of Post and Telecommunications) in 1997 as a national ISP and related services provider. COL and China Telecom's 169 national ISP network has a strategic alliance since 1998.
About Hartcourt
The Hartcourt Companies is a holding and development company that is building a network of internet and telecommunication service companies in The People's Republic of China, including Hong Kong, in partnership with Chinese entrepreneurs as well as Chinese government-owned entities.
Its mission is to become one of the leading broadband applications infrastructure providers in Asia, including developing broadband networks and vertical market focused contents for broadband applications. Detailed information on Hartcourt can be obtained via the company's Web site, www.hartcourt.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this news release may constitute "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievement expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements to differ materially from the forward-looking statements.
CONTACT: The Hartcourt Companies Inc., Los Angeles
Jack Westfield, 310/410 7290
