Looks like we have another STB maker to work on getting inside:
Tuesday March 23, 9:08 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: The Dii Group, Inc.; Capetronic
International Holdings Limited
Dii Group to Provide TV
Set-Top Boxes for
Wide-Scale Launch of Digital Video
Technology Throughout China
NIWOT, Colo., March 23 /PRNewswire/ -- The Dii Group, Inc.(Nasdaq:
DIIG - news), and Capetronic International Holdings Limited today jointly
announced that they have entered into a strategic partnership to provide
end-to-end digital platform solutions for delivery of video entertainment, data
and educational materials to the Mandarin Chinese-speaking market. The
partnership has an exclusive agreement pending with Ministry of Culture's
China Audio and Video Publishing House (CAVPH) to supply the technology
to deliver these video materials. In addition to state-of-the-art video and data
transmission, the technology will be used to combat video piracy in China.
First year plans also include service delivery in Singapore, Taiwan and Hong
Kong.
(Photo: newscom.com )
Dii will invest US$15 million to acquire preferred stock, which can be
exchanged into common stock of Capetronic, a Hong Kong publicly traded
company. Ronald R. Budacz, chairman and chief executive officer of the Dii
Group, will join Capetronic's board of directors. In return for its investment,
Dii will have the exclusive right to manufacture the majority of the venture's
TV set-top boxes and will direct the production of the remainder. Production
of the set-top boxes is expected to commence in the fourth quarter of 1999,
and anticipated revenues for the year 2000 will make it a top-five revenue
generating program for the Dii Group. Manufacture of the electronic devices
will occur mainly at the Dii Group's Zhuhai, China, manufacturing campus.
Capetronic's wholly owned subsidiary, DVB Company, will act as the
systems integrator for the multi-year project. DVB has a number of exclusive
arrangements and joint ventures pending in China that provide video
materials to be transmitted and exclusive rights of distribution. DVB will
provide CAVPH with technical services to distribute approved video rights to
first-run Mandarin movies for planned digital video delivery to theaters and
thousands of other entertainment venues throughout China. In addition, data
and material for distance learning can be transmitted. The existing
telecommunication and cable network infrastructure will be utilized, and
interactive communications will be introduced over time.
''Smart Card'' technology will be used to handle receipts, and cable and
other network operators will control most hardware sales or leases to
end-users. The technical model for the electronics equipment will employ an
open architecture scheme with expected collaboration provided by China
Aerospace, Pace Micro Technology of the United Kingdom, and Scientific
Atlanta from the United States.
Bruno Wu, DVB's chief executive officer, commented, ''After years of
exhaustive fact-finding, planning, technical development and partner
selection, we are ready for the full-scale project launch. The market potential
for providing value-added service applications to existing networks is
overwhelming -- there's already an installed base of nearly 320 million TV
sets in the PRC alone, and the economic growth rate is expected to be very
high for the foreseeable future. Furthermore, there's virtually no similar
technology in the market. We anticipate that this project will ramp up quickly
-- we have already received our first letter of intent for 500,000 units from a
local PRC client, one of more than 100 cable TV operators of its kind in the
country. As an added benefit, China's Ministry of Culture anticipates this
project will help curb video piracy by providing near-instantaneous release of
video rights to first-run movies throughout China at a fraction of the cost of
pirated videos.''
Wu continued, ''Our unique strategy, marketing know-how, and familiarity
with this region, combined with Dii's demonstrated commitment to bring
leading-edge, vertical manufacturing technology to China, provide an elegant
technical solution to the digital video needs of this region. Dii's vast
experience manufacturing TV set-top boxes on two continents, combined
with its large manufacturing presence in the PRC, made it the natural choice
as our partner.''
Dii's Ronald R. Budacz stated, ''We are honored to have been invited to
participate in this venture, which has been structured to provide the Dii
Group a preferred manufacturing arrangement for more than seven years.
Certainly the commitment we made to the Chinese market in August of last
year, when the Dii Group purchased a 1.5 million sq. ft. integrated
electronics manufacturing campus in Zhuhai, was due to our confidence that
the local market would provide compelling opportunities. Through the
combined capabilities of the Dii Group companies, we will provide order
fulfillment, box build, test, printed circuit assembly, and printed circuit board
fabrication from our local facility in Zhuhai. We also plan to provide design
services, and eventually semiconductors, from our other worldwide locations.
As order volumes for the project begin to exceed our planned plant capacity
allocation, Dii will participate in the selection of other local manufacturing
partners.''
This press release contains historical information and forward-looking
statements. Statements looking forward in time involve risks and
uncertainties, including risks associated with customer concentration,
dependence on the electronics industry, economic conditions, the successful
integration of newly acquired businesses and other risks associated with
acquisitions, changes in product mix, competition, and international
operations. For further information, reference should be made to the Dii
Group's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the
company's ''Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition
and Results of Operations'' included in the company's most recent Annual
Report on Form 10-K.
Capetronic International Holdings Limited (HK Listing No. 500) is a
Hong-Kong based electronics company. Its subsidiary, DVB Company,
provides end-to-end digital video platform solutions for value-added services
on existing networks. Its turnover for 1998 was HK$850 million.
The Dii Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: DIIG - news) is a leading, value-added
electronics design and manufacturing outsource service provider, which
operates through a global network of companies in North America, Europe,
and Asia. The company serves the electronics industry through its core
competencies: circuit design; semiconductors; printed circuit boards; circuit
board assembly; box build and distribution. The Dii Group employs
approximately 8,000 people and had revenues of $926 million in fiscal 1998.
Its Internet (Web) Site can be reached by accessing ''www.diigroup.com'' to
view recent press releases, company information, and financial data relating
to the Dii Group.
SOURCE: The Dii Group, Inc.; Capetronic International Holdings Limited
I'n not familiar with this company but they have some pretty respectable revenues and China would be a nice market to tap into. |
