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Gold/Mining/Energy : Valu-Net Corp (VNE on ASE - was Faymar) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Postman who wrote (171)	2/4/1998 8:03:00 PM
From: AGORA	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 974

Good evening to you all. Pursuant to the information you have received over the last 3 months with respect to Valu-net, please find enclosed some highlights of an Ernst & Young study which was released today. The article is directly on point and lends great support and credibility to Valu-net's e-commerce platform, technologies and marketing. As such, we recommend you review it very carefully. For those unfamiliar with the firm of Ernst & Young, they are located in over 600 cities across the world and specialize in serving clients from all sectors of business compete more effectively. As such, any study released by the firm is very credible and reviewed by industry with great interest. The full text of the release is available at Canada News Wire but we have taken the liberty of extracting the highlights. Following is some of our own commentary with respect to this article and how it relates to Valu-net. We trust you will find the analysis very interesting. ---------------------------------- WEB SITES CAN MAKE MONEY FOR RETAILERS: ERNST & YOUNG STUDY 81% predict profitability within 2 years "A staggering 81% of retailers project profitable web sites within two years, according to a recent Ernst & Young study. The study also predicts that by the year 2000, half of on-line sellers expect to generate at least 20% of their total sales on the web. Miles Faulkner, a principal with E&Y's Customer Connections and Strategic Services stated that 'shopping on the Internet is no longer a luxury, it is a competitive necessity for retailers, consumers and manufacturers as they enter the year 2000." "Retailers are extremely optimistic about the profitability of their web sites, with more than 67% predicting profitability in their FIRST year of operation." "Canadian Tire's e-Flyer program is a classic example of this site, where there are tens of thousands of subscribers now and many thousands using the shopping lists printed from the site." "Nearly 1/3 of consumers with on-line access have purchased products or services on the Internet. The survey shows the main reason for consumers shop on the Internet is convenience (53%) along with variety (46%) and cost savings (45%)." "Despite it's convenience, Internet security remains a top concern...yet satisfaction appears to grow with experience, as 52% of current Web buyers said they are happy with credit card security". ------------------------------------ In our opinion, the article does not present any new information. Afterall, we are all users of the Internet. What the article does reinforce is that e-commerce is not a future event waiting to occur, it exists today and it is profitable. Our food for thought is the following: If 81% of retailers expect to be profitable within the first two years of Internet commerce, what does that say for the companies supplying the e-commerce platforms and technologies to the retailers? Valu-net is not a company seeking to enter this market. The technology is in place and it is being used by some of the largest merchandise retailers in the world - the sports & entertainment industry. Currently, Valu-net is showcasing e-commerce and retail sales on the Internet through their NHLPA program, which delivers pre-paid Olympic phone cards and star athletes' merchandise via the web. VNE has already reported $438,000 in revenues in only the first month of the program and it has all been accomplished while using their proprietary e-commerce platform technologies. The very high profile of VNE's clients is in itself a testimony to the credit card security measures utilized by Valu-net. Conclusion? It is quite clear that VNE has established it's industry leadership in a very short period of time. We fully anticipate VNE to grow exponentially on a quarter by quarter basis as the remainder of professional hockey, professional sports and retailers in general witness this initial success and then desire participation for their own benefit. As such, VNE is a welcome member of the AGORA portfolio and we look forward to anticipated future gains. We invite any comments or questions you may have with respect to this report. Have a great night. Regards, Agora Internet Relations Corp.