Another effort to Simplify Company's strategy and focus on gaming
and CRM BEIJING, China, May 4 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- PacificNet,
Inc. (NasdaqGM: PACT), a leading provider of Customer Relationship
Management (CRM), mobile internet, e-commerce and gaming technology
in China, announced today that it has entered into a definitive
agreement to sell its entire interest (51% ownership) in Guangzhou
3G Information Technology Co., Ltd. ("Guangzhou 3G"), a leading
Value-Added Services (VAS) internet company in China, to HeySpace
International Limited ("HeySpace Group"). The sale price for
PacificNet's 51% ownership in Guangzhou 3G is US$6 million to be
paid in cash in 5 installments over 7 months. PacificNet acquired
51% controlling interest in Guangzhou 3G in March of 2005 for
US$5.5 million consideration which was paid partially in cash and
mostly in PACT stock. HeySpace International Limited
(http://www.heyspace.com/ , http://www.169.net/) is a leading
social network services (SNS) and virtual community service
provider in China, and an integrated Internet and mobile
entertainment media platform base on Web2.0 technology. Based in
Guangzhou and Hong Kong, HeySpace is in the process of building one
of the largest lifestyle and community destinations in China. "This
strategic sale made business sense and was in line with our new
focus on gaming," said Tony Tong, CEO of PacificNet. "As we stated
previously in our conference calls, PacificNet will continue to
seek strategic alternatives for our legacy businesses while
focusing on gaming and CRM going forward. We will continue to
explore strategic sale of our legacy businesses including our other
value-added service units, mobile e-commerce distribution and
telecom units. This sale represents one more step in that
progression and we are very happy to announce the positive terms of
this sale to our shareholders as we believe this will help to
improve PacificNet's balance sheet by converting goodwill into
cash. Our goal is to streamline our operation, downsize the
non-performing legacy operations, and simplify our business
strategy with an emphasis on our new focus on gaming technology
development." About PacificNet PacificNet Inc.
(http://www.pacificnet.com/) is a leading provider of Customer
Relationship Management (CRM), mobile Internet, e-commerce and
gaming technology in China. PacificNet's clients include the
leading telecom companies, banks, insurance, travel, marketing and
business services companies and telecom consumers in Greater China.
PacificNet's corporate clients include China Telecom, China Mobile,
Unicom, PCCW, Hutchison Telecom, Bell24, Motorola, Nokia, SONY,
TCL, Huawei, American Express, Citibank, HSBC, Bank of China, Bank
of East Asia, DBS, TNT, Hong Kong Government, and leading hotel-
casinos in Macau and Asia. PacificNet employs over 1,400 staff in
its various subsidiaries throughout China with offices in Hong
Kong, Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Macau, and branch offices in 28
provinces in China and is headquartered in Beijing and Hong Kong.
PacificNet Games Limited (PacGames), is a leading provider of Asian
multi- player electronic gaming machines, gaming technology
solutions, gaming related maintenance, IT and distribution services
for the leading hotel, casino and slot hall operators based in
Macau, China and other Asian gaming markets. PacGames is a leading
developer of electronic versions of popular table games which are
less expensive to run resulting in higher casino profits with great
appeal to the mass market players. The growing market in Macau is
for Asian table games such as Baccarat, Roulette, Fan Tan,
Fish-Prawn-Crab and Sic-Bo Cussec as these games have wider
acceptance in the Asian market than Western games such as poker or
slots. The development, manufacturing, maintenance, and service of
electronic Asian table games are underserved areas which are
predicted to grow considerably as Macau's gaming market matures.
PacGames products include multi-play electronic gaming machines
such as Baccarat, Fish- Prawn-Crab, Sib-Bo Cussec, Roulette, and
Video Lottery Terminals (VLT) such as Keno and Bingo, as well as
other traditional slot machines. Take1 Technologies
(http://www.take1technologies.com/), a member of PacificNet group,
is in the business of designing and manufacturing electronic
multimedia entertainment kiosks, coin-op kiosks and machines,
electronic gaming machines (EGM), bingo and slot machines, AWP
(Amusements With Prizes) games, server-based downloadable games
systems, and Video Lottery Terminals (VLT) such as Keno and Bingo
machines, including hardware, software, client- server systems and
cabinets. Take1 is a leading designer, developer and manufacturer
of multimedia entertainment and communication kiosk products
including photo and video entertainment kiosks, digital camera
photo development stations, multimedia messaging services (MMS) and
mobile content download stations for mobile phones, and other
coin-operated peripherals and consumables. Take1 Technologies is
based in Hong Kong and markets and distributes its products around
the world including the USA, Canada, Mexico, Europe, China, and
Southeast Asia. Recently, Macau has become the largest and
fastest-growing gaming markets in the world, and just recently
surpassed the Las Vegas Strip in total revenues. According to
recent statistics provided by Macau government, in 2006, Macau's
gaming revenues exceeded US$7 billion (MOP 56.2 billion patacas),
surpassing the Las Vegas Strip gaming revenues of US$6.6 billion.
Macau borders Zhuhai City of Guangdong Province of China, one of
the country's wealthiest and most developed regions and is an hour
away from Hong Kong via ferry. In 2006, the number of tourists
visiting Macau reached an all-time record of 22 million, an
increase of 17 percent compared with 2005, of which 55% or 12
million visitors were from mainland China. At the end of 2006,
there were 22 casinos, 83 hotels and similar establishments in
Macau with close to 13,000 rooms. By 2010, the number of tourists
is expected to nearly double to nearly 30 million visitors per
year. Approximately one billion people live within a three-hour
flight of Macau. Numerous hotel, gaming, and other projects are in
the works in Macau which are expected to add over 10,000 guest
rooms and over 20,000 live entertainment seats in eight separate
venues. The number of hotel-casinos in operation and in development
in Macau continues to grow, including well-known Chinese names such
as Galaxy and Melco, and famous Las Vegas names such as the Sands,
the Venetian, and the newly opened Wynn Resort, which celebrated
its grand opening on September 6. With the disposable income of the
average Chinese on the rise, Macau's gaming and entertainment
market is expected to grow for years to come. Macau is the only
area in China where gambling is legal. Safe Harbor Statement This
Company's announcement contains forward-looking statements. We may
also make written or oral forward-looking statements in our
periodic reports to the SEC on Forms 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, etc., in our
annual report to shareholders, in our proxy statements, in press
releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by
our officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements
that are not historical facts, including statements about our
beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. These
statements are based on current plans, estimates and projections,
and therefore you should not place undue reliance on them.
Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and
uncertainties. We caution you that a number of important factors
could cause actual results to differ materially from those
contained in any forward-looking statement. Potential risks and
uncertainties include, but are not limited to, PacificNet's
historical and possible future losses, limited operating history,
uncertain regulatory landscape in China, and fluctuations in
quarterly and annual operating results. Further information
regarding these and other risks is included in PacificNet's Form
10K and other filings with the SEC. Contact: PacificNet USA office:
Jacob Lakhany, Tel: +1-605-229-6678 PacificNet Beijing office: Ada
Yu, Tel: +86 (10) 59225000 23rd Floor, Building A, TimeCourt, No.6
Shuguang Xili, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China 100028 PacificNet
Shenzhen Office: Tel: +86 (10) 33222088 Room 4203, JinZhongHuan
Business Center, Futian District, Shenzhen, China 518040
DATASOURCE: PacificNet, Inc. CONTACT: PacificNet USA office: Jacob
Lakhany, +1-605-229-6678; PacificNet Beijing office: Ada Yu, Tel:
+86 (10) 59225000; PacificNet Shenzhen Office: Tel: +86 (10)
33222088 Web site: http://www.pacificnet.com/
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