(COMTEX) B: Hartcourt Discloses Additional Details of Revenue Driven
B: Hartcourt Discloses Additional Details of Revenue Driven Business Strategies
For Elephant Talk and ETNS in China ETNS' Fiber Optic Network Offers Nationwide
Telecom Services and Revenue Growth From Leased Lines, IXCs, VPN, and
Voice-Over-IP
LOS ANGELES, Jan 26, 2001 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- The Hartcourt Companies
Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: HRCT; Frankfurt: HCT), www.hartcourt.com, today
responded to shareholder questions by offering further details regarding its
recent agreement to purchase 51 percent of Elephant Talk and its relationship
with ETNS, which recently acquired permanent usage rights to an 8,307 kilometer
optical fiber backbone network in China.
By acquiring Elephant Talk and participating directly in ETNS' network expansion
and service offerings, Hartcourt has undertaken to assist ETNS in accomplishing
its goal of going public via IPO, merger or spin-off. This strategic
relationship will position StreamingAsia and SinoBull Financial Group to
directly support ETNS' market and service development on a short and long-term
basis. It is anticipated that these partnerships will generate additional
revenue for Hartcourt's StreamingAsia and SinoBull subsidiaries.
The followings five areas are included in Hartcourt's immediate plan to realize
significant revenue and profit growth:
(1) Telecom Services: Elephant Talk is a brand-name provider of telecom
services in Hong Kong and China. Elephant Talk reported total revenue
of HK$ 202 Million (US$ 26 Million) and a net profit of
HK$ 7.3 Million (US$ 0.94 Million) in fiscal year 1999. The company
has structured and will continue to progressively expand its telecom
services platform in China utilizing the ETNS network. Additionally,
in partnership with Innostar, the companies plan to expand an already
steady stream of income from IP-based telephone services.
(2) Leased Line Business: ETNS has acquired permanent usage rights to an
8,307km long optical fiber backbone network in China, and is
expanding the global coverage of its network. The network connects
15 major cities and surrounding areas in China including: Beijing,
Shanghai, Hangzhou, Fuzhou, Xiamen, Wuhan, Guangzhou, Shenzhen,
Zhuhai, Dongguan, Jinan, Nanjing, Suzhou, Changsha, as well as Hong
Kong. The ETNS network will begin offering high-speed private leased
circuit or frame relay connections for high quality communication
needs.
(3) Internet eXchange Center (IXC) -- ETNS has developed next generation,
strategically located, fault-tolerant facilities -- IXCs for network
and facilities outsourcing. ETNS now has IXCs in Hong Kong,
Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, Singapore and the US.
Through this IXC infrastructure, corporate customers will be able to
remotely manage their Internet operations that will be hosted at the
IXCs. A broad range of co-location server hosting services will be
provided.
(4) Virtual Private Network (VPN) services: IP based virtual private
network (VPN) services will be offered for corporate clients. These
provide fully managed scalable private network connections among
geographically distributed customer sites with guaranteed
application-level quality of services.
(5) Voice-over-IP (VoIP) Gateway Co-location services: ETNS networks
will concentrate high capacity PSTN (Public Switched Telephone
Network) lines at each individual IXC for just-in-time provisioning
of VoIP service expansion. They will also offer services to exchange
voice traffic through ETNS' distributed VoIP gateway to other cities.
Dr. Charlie Q. Yang, CEO of Hartcourt, said, "ETNS has acquired the permanent
usage rights to a national optical fiber backbone network. In the past,
companies such as China Telecom or China Unicom controlled networks of this
scope. We are excited to now be in a position to participate in such a far
reaching venture of untold opportunity. Working and investing jointly with ETNS,
we can further expand the network and offer value added services such as
broadband connectivity, co-location server hosting, e-commerce platform and
collaborative systems management in the PRC and Hong Kong. These services
represent a logical extension of Elephant Talk's pre-established voice
communication business and offer significant growth potential well into the
future."
Dr. Alan Phan, Chairman of Hartcourt, commented, "The purchase price of Elephant
Talk will be disclosed upon the closing of the transaction as required by
existing ET shareholders. The payment of cash and shares is already in place. As
for the financing of the ETNS project, the $30 million needed to extend the roll
out of services is quite small when compared to the total value of the entire
project. An IPO or a reverse merger with an equity line would easily satisfy
this requirement. Upon completion of this year's scheduled IPO of StreamingAsia,
merger or IPO of SinoBull, and spin-off of ETNS, Hartcourt will have fulfilled
its stated mission two years ahead of schedule."
Detailed information on Hartcourt, Elephant Talk, and ETNS can be obtained via
the companies' web sites, www.hartcourt.com, www.elephanttalk.com, and
www.etns.net.
About Elephant Talk
Based in Hong Kong, Elephant Talk is one of the leading international
long-distance service providers to China and Hong Kong. Established in 1995, it
holds a number of licenses including US FCC 214, HK ETS and ISP PNETS allowing
it to provide voice, data transmission like IDD, pre-paid calling card and ISP
services. Its customers include major telecom carriers in the U.S. including
AT&T, Cignal Global, Frontier, and MCI WorldCom and from Hong Kong: New World
Telephone, New T&T, and MCI Asia. Additional information on Elephant Talk can be
obtained via the Company's web site: www.elephanttalk.com.
About ETNS
ETNS is a leading provider of Internet solutions to enterprises. It is a Hong
Kong based ETS, ISP PNETS, and External FTNS license holder and has been engaged
in the provision of broadband Internet access and outsourcing services for
international and multi-national business. Moreover, ETNS is a leading provider
of high performance, managed co-location and Internet solutions for enterprises
and mission-critical Internet operations in Asia. Through a joint venture with
China Huandao Group, a unit of the People's Liberation Army of China, ETNS
acquired an 8,300 km long fiber optic network. The network connects and runs
over 15 major cities of China, enabling ETNS to provide broadband connectivity,
co-location server hosting, IP phone services, collaborative systems management
and other Internet technology services. A complete roll out of all these
services will begin in March 2001. In 2000, ABN-AMRO completed a valuation of
the network, giving ETNS an estimated value from $450 Million to $650 Million,
with the EBIT reaching $262 Million in the fourth year of operation. Other
details could be obtained via the company web site at www.etns.net.
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 (China), including Hong Kong, in partnership with Chinese
entrepreneurs as well as Chinese government-owned entities. Hartcourt's business
goal over the next three years is to complete a series of IPOs or spin-offs
focused on four main divisions: StreamingAsia, the streaming content
(video/audio) web-casting and web hosting leader in Hong Kong; SinoBull
Financial Group, the multi-media financial data provider and online securities
trading platform; the Broadband ISP and Internet Infrastructure Group; and
Hartcourt Capital Inc., the E-Finance transactions platform offering online
banking, securities, insurance, equipment leasing, credit, and B2B transaction
settlements. 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.
SOURCE The Hartcourt Companies Inc.
CONTACT: Jack Westfield, Vice President, Corporate Finance of The
Hartcourt Companies, Inc., 310-410-7290, JWestfield@Hartcourt
com
URL: etns.net
hartcourt.com
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