E*Trade Africa-- coming up (you still here Spy ??)
E*TRADE Africa to Initially Concentrate on Development of E*TRADE South Africa
MENLO PARK, Calif., Nov. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- E*TRADE(R) Group Inc.
(Nasdaq: EGRP) today announced that it has signed a joint venture agreement
with E-data Holdings Ltd. (JNB: EDT) to establish E*TRADE Africa. The newly
formed company, in which E*TRADE retains a 60 percent interest and E-data a
40 percent interest, marks the company's first presence on the African
continent and further demonstrates E*TRADE's continuing global expansion
strategy. The joint venture is being capitalized at $15 million dollars to
allow for the rapid rollout of a range of personalized online financial
services.
E*TRADE Africa will initially focus on establishing E*TRADE South Africa, the largest and most sophisticated economy
in Africa, and one that is supported by a well-developed telecommunications
infrastructure with the broadest Internet bandwidth throughout the continent.
South Africa currently has some 1.2 million Internet users, a number which
has more than doubled every year since web access became commercially
available in 1994. In addition, online investing is quickly gaining momentum
in South Africa, with five new online investing companies having entered the
market in the past six months alone.
"By establishing E*TRADE Africa, we are one of the first multinational
online investing companies to recognize the potential of this region," said
Judy Balint, president and chief operating officer of E*TRADE International.
"While we will initially focus on South Africa, which represents the largest
economy on the continent and an important emerging market worldwide, we plan
to eventually expand into other growing markets within the region. This
strategic investment provides further proof of how E*TRADE really is putting
power and choice back into the hands of individual investors, on a worldwide
basis."
E-data is a leading Internet-based provider of financial information and
services based in Johannesburg. It helped to pioneer the use of technology to
market South Africa's investment potential to the international and local
investment community by creating a branded platform for accessing South
African corporate information.
"E-data's vision always has been to develop a one-stop personalized
financial services resource for individual investors, and through this
relationship with E*TRADE we gain a global ally in making that goal a
reality," said James Stride, chairman and chief executive officer of E-data.
"As Internet, financial information and technology leaders, E*TRADE and E-data
are ideally suited to bring a compelling online investing experience to South
Africans, and to eventually extend that experience broadly across the
continent."
About E*TRADE
E*TRADE, a global leader in online personal financial services, is the
world's most-visited online investing site according to Media Metrix (9/99),
offering value-added investing and research features, premium customer service
and a redundant, proprietary Stateless Architecture infrastructure. In
addition to the US, E*TRADE presently serves customers through branded web
sites in Japan, the U.K., Sweden, France, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.
E*TRADE has been ranked the number one online brokerage by Gomez Advisors (for
four out of the last five quarters), Lafferty Information and Research Group,
PC Magazine and Smart Computing magazine. E*TRADE Securities Inc.
(Member NASD/SIPC), and its parent company, E*TRADE Group, Inc. have offices
in Northern California and in other major business centers in the US and
worldwide.
About E-data Holdings Ltd.
E-data is the recognized leader in the provision of Internet-based
financial information and services in South Africa. E-data has focused on
enabling investors to make intelligent investment decisions. By designing and
managing more than 50 corporate investor relations web sites, E-data aims to
promote Southern Africa as a dynamic investment destination. Through links
with Investor Access, a member of the Euromoney Institutional Investor Group
PLC, E-data is further expanding the community of investors in the region.
E-data's first web sites were designed for Anglo American and De Beers in
September 1995 to show the possibilities for enhancing investor relations
using the Internet. In November 1999, E-data's investor information site
(www.edata.co.za) was ranked the number one corporate web site by Business Day
in their 1999 Web Awards.
As a listed venture capital company purely focused on the Internet, E-data
has pioneered the use of web technology in South Africa to create a branded
platform for accessing investor-orientated information, decision support,
financial management tools and online transactions. E-data is committed to
the long-term potential of the Internet and to being an innovator, leader and
branded destination for investors in Africa.
Important Notice
E*TRADE is a registered trademark of the company. All other trademarks
are properties of their respective owners. The statements contained in this
news release that are forward-looking are based on current expectations that
are subject to a number of uncertainties and risks, and actual results may
differ materially. The uncertainties and risks include, but are not limited
to, changes in market activity, market acceptance of the Destination E*TRADE
web site, anticipated increases in the rate of new customer acquisition, the
conversion of new visitors to the site to customers, seasonality, the
development of new products and services, the enhancement of existing products
and services, competitive pressures (including price competition), system
failures, economic and political conditions, changes in consumer behavior and
the introduction of competing products having technological and/or other
advantages. Further information about these risks and uncertainties can be
found in the information included in the annual report filed by the company
with the SEC on Form 10-K (including information under the caption "Risk
Factors") and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.
SOURCE E*TRADE Group, Inc.
-0- 11/29/1999
/CONTACT: Heather Fondo of E*TRADE Group, Inc., 650-331-5248, or
hfondo@etrade.com; or Bronwyn Wormell of Blanc & Otus, 650-331-5978, or
bwormell@blancandotus.com, for E*TRADE/
/Company News On-Call: prnewswire.com or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 136683/
/Web site: etrade.com
(EGRP)
CO: E*TRADE Group, Inc.; E-data Holdings Ltd.
ST: California
IN: MLM FIN
SU: JVN
-0- Nov/29/1999 6:02
EOS (PRN) Nov/29/1999 06:02 85
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