Stock Watcher, some timely BULLISH news on Asia operating ASMC...
They supply "set top boxes" for the many Asians who can't afford a PC but want to be on the Internet at minimum cost, using their TV set.
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 22, 1999--New York-based Asia Media Communications' (OTC BB:ASMC) MyWeb business unit announced today its second strategic alliance in a week with a major operating unit of China Telecom. ChinaNet, the Internet Service Provider arm of the huge Chinese telecommunications company, has finalized an agreement with MyWeb under which ChinaNet will deploy and market the MyWeb On-Line Service (MOS) Web portal.
The agreement, believed to be the first co-marketing pact by ChinaNet with any company, will make MyWeb's Web portal available to ChinaNet's estimated 600,000 registered subscribers and 2.1 million users. When combined with the current user base of MyWeb's online service, MyWeb now has the potential to receive as many as 2.5 - 3.5 million unique visitors per month.
According to T.S. Wong, Asia Media's president and CEO, ''ChinaNet is the Internet backbone provider and bill collector for every ISP in China. Therefore, every Internet user in China is theoretically a ChinaNet subscriber.'' Under the terms of the first-ever co-marketing agreement for ChinaNet, both ChinaNet and MyWeb will jointly promote MOS, with ChinaNet placing a large MyWeb banner ad on its front page. Joint co-marketing activities will commence in May.
Internet usage in China is expanding exponentially, from 2 million users this year to as many as 10 million next year. This would place China second only to the United States in Internet usage, according to a recent report in Far Eastern Economic Review. Beijing recently announced programs to have at least 80 percent of its local governments linked to the Internet by the end of 2000, with a target of having 80 percent of all Chinese companies wired by 2001 in what has been described in ''The Wall Street Journal'' as ''the world's largest emerging economy.''
MyWeb, which already has a very strong position in other Asian countries, is very optimistic about its future. Earlier this month, Dennis Philbin, Singapore-based vice-president and managing director for IDC Asia-Pacific, said in ''China Daily'' that the Asian crisis had hampered IT industry growth. This was highlighted by lower computer sales, but the demand picked up in late 1998 and infrastructure modernization continued. ''One of the things that has worked in Asia's advantage in building information societies is that it doesn't have a lot of legacy systems in place,'' he said, citing the adoption of fiber optic technology.
Last week, MyWeb announced that it had signed an agreement with the Beijing Telecom arm of China Telecom for the deployment this year of 200,000 of MyWeb's set-top boxes through a combination of rental and leasing. This allows customers to use their television sets to connect to the Internet.
''Every new MyWeb set-top box that we sell, rent or lease, will channel visitors to our MOS system, thereby increasing our e-commerce revenues. Last month alone our recently launched e-commerce site, in a joint effort with Unilever (NYSE:UL - news) generated almost $500,000 in sales -- and that was in just our third month of operation!'' said T.S. Wong.
MyWeb's portal has six sections: Shopping, Business and Finance, Education, Entertainment, News and Services. ''It would be fair to say that we aim at becoming the Yahoo (Nasdaq:YHOO - news) or America Online (NYSE:AOL - news) of Asia with our portal. With the recent developments, we see this as a realistic goal,'' Wong states.
''The emphasis of MOS,'' Wong notes, ''is to provide useful applications for each member of a household, ranging from young children to senior members of the household. As an example, we have created alliances with local banks and stockbrokers to provide home banking and stock-trading services. Our online shopping mall with Unilever offers personal-care products directly from the manufacturer.''
The statements made by Asia Media Communications Ltd./MyWeb Inc.com may be forward-looking in nature. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements. Asia Media Communications Ltd./MyWeb Inc.com believes that its primary risk factors include, but are not limited to: the need for substantial financial requirements; the need to develop effective internal processes and systems; the ability to attract and retain high-quality employees; changes in the overall economy; changes in technology; the number and size of competitors in its markets; changes in the law and regulatory policy; and the mix of product and services offered in the company's target markets. Merger Communications (Merger) is a media relations firm employed by the Company. The statements and opinions presented here represent the views of the Company, not Merger, as the release is based on information provided by the Company. Merger and the Company believe that all information in this release has been obtained from sources considered reliable, but can't guarantee that the statements presented herein are accurate or complete. Merger's compensation for its media relations services, including preparation of press releases, consists of a monthly retainer and warrants for the purchase of the Company's stock. Merger may have a long position in the securities of the companies in which it distributes information to the media, and Merger may be buying or selling securities in the course of its regular business.
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Contact:
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Merger Communications Inc., Houston
David Drake, 713/267-2328
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For investment inquiries:
Asia Media Communications Inc., New York
Randy Slifka, 212/350-5025
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More Quotes
and News: America Online Inc (NYSE:AOL - news)
ASIA MEDIA COMM (OTC BB:ASMC - news)
Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - news)
Yahoo Inc (Nasdaq:YHOO - news)
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