BNN Resources Regulatory News (BNN)

30 June 2016

DJI HOLDINGS PLC

("DJI" or the "Company")

Director appointments

Significant strengthening of the Group's Board

at Executive and Non Executive level

DJI Holdings plc (AIM: DJI), a provider of technology for the promotion and transaction of online bookings, mobile payments and lottery sales in China, is pleased to announce the appointment to the Board of Mr Scott Kennedy as Chief Financial Officer with effect from 8 August 2016, and Mr Wei Qi as China CEO and Chief Operating Officer and Mr Dong Jinhua as a Non-Executive Director with effect from 1 July 2016.

Mr Kennedy is a highly experienced finance professional. He began his career with GE Capital, performing a range of finance functions, culminating in his role as Profitability Initiatives Leader for GE Capital Solutions. In 2009, he joined HSBC, beginning in the group's insurance division before becoming Global Head of Business Information, Planning & Analysis for the Commercial Bank. In 2014, Mr Kennedy moved to Willis Group Holdings plc as Group Head of Financial Planning & Analysis. Following the merger of Willis Group Holdings plc and Towers Watson & Co. in 2016, he assumed the role of Finance Director, Corporate Risk & Broking for Willis Towers Watson plc. 

Mr Kennedy graduated with a BA (Hons) in Economics from Lancaster University and has an MBA from Manchester Business School. He is also an ACMA CIMA qualified accountant.

Mr Wei is at present the Chief Executive Officer of the Company's operations in China. Having founded NewNet in 2002, Mr Wei left to resume his earlier career at Beijing Holdings Ltd, a Hong Kong listed conglomerate controlled by the Beijing municipal government, becoming Chief Executive Officer of the Company's International Trade division, which had revenues in excess of US$1 billion. Mr Wei joined DJI in 2009 and has since worked closely with the Group CEO, Darren Mercer, building relationships throughout China across government departments and key channel partners. Mr Wei holds a Bachelor's degree in International Trade.

Mr Dong owned and managed a number of businesses in China's mobile telecoms and payments sectors before becoming, in 2006, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Xinhuatong Software Development (Beijing) Company (Xinhuatong). The Company is now a subsidiary of the Xinhua News Agency group, the official Chinese Government news and media authority. Xinhuatong is a business which has exclusive rights for utility payment processing, payment facilitation, lottery promotion and barcode payment tools to support the Xinhua News Mobile App. The app is rapidly becoming a leading portal for mobile payments and information nationwide and is targeted to reach 300 million users next year. Xinhuatong also enjoys a number of very significant relationships with some of China's largest organisations. In addition to representing our important relationship with Xinhua, Mr Dong brings valuable experience in establishing commercial agreements with blue-chip partners and key government departments in China.

Commenting on the Board appointments, Darren Mercer, CEO of DJI Holdings plc, said:

"In Scott, the Board has found a very capable and dynamic individual, with significant experience at the most senior level in some of the world's largest financial services organisations and whose background is highly relevant to the new areas of development that the Group is pursuing. Scott has a considerable track record of liaising with large institutional shareholders and of financial reporting on behalf of a NASDAQ listed company. We are excited to be working with Scott and delighted to have attracted such a high calibre candidate, which we believe is testament to the Directors' progress in repositioning the Group and its strong technology platform at the heart of China's migration to mobile.

"As a company whose focus is primarily on the Chinese market, with all of its key management and executives Chinese nationals and others working and residing in China for large parts of the year, it is hugely important for the Group's Chinese corporate identity to be reflected in the Board at both Executive and Non Executive level. At the same time, the Board intends to maintain the highest standards of international corporate governance, both internally and in its dealings with external parties.

"Mr Wei was my first senior appointment in China when I first entered the market in 2008/9. His skills and qualities are vital to the future development of the Company. I have very much enjoyed working with Mr Wei in recent years and look forward to him making a significant contribution as a Board member.

"Mr Dong is central to the operations of Xinhuatong, which is our key strategic partner not only in our involvement with the Xinhua app, but in many other areas of potential revenue growth. Mr Dong shares the Company's vision of placing DJI at the heart of online opportunities in China and will provide assistance in concluding negotiations for partnerships presently under discussion.

"Both Mr Wei and Mr Dong have already contributed greatly to the development of our business on the ground in China and we envisage that they will be key to the continuing repositioning of the Group as it capitalises on the exciting and substantial opportunities available to its strong technology platform. We look forward to announcing further strengthening of the Board in due course."

Additional information on Mr Scott Stewart Kennedy (aged 36)

The additional information below is provided in accordance with paragraph (g) of Schedule Two of the AIM Rules for Companies ("AIM Rules"):

Mr Kennedy holds 41,838 ordinary shares in the Company representing approximately 0.02 per cent of the Company's currently issued share capital.

Additional information on Mr Wei Qi (aged 50)

The additional information below is provided in accordance with paragraph (g) of Schedule Two of the AIM Rules for Companies ("AIM Rules"):

Mr Qi holds 3,038,385 ordinary shares in the Company representing approximately 1.8 per cent of the Company's currently issued share capital.

Additional information on Mr Dong Jinhua (aged 52)

The additional information below is provided in accordance with paragraph (g) of Schedule Two of the AIM Rules for Companies ("AIM Rules"):

Mr Dong holds no ordinary shares in the Company.

There is no other information that is required to be disclosed pursuant to paragraph (g) of Schedule Two of the AIM Rules.

- ENDS -

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Notes to editors

DJI's strategy is to use its secure, robust and versatile marketing technology platform to capitalise on the migration online of China's consumer and public services sectors.

The Group has a partnership with Xinhuatong Network Co., Ltd. and provincial offices of Xinhua News Agency, the state news organisation in China, to supply game technology platform and facilitate mobile payments through the Xinhua News Mobile App for public utility bills including electricity, gas, water, mobile phone top-ups and traffic fines in an initial nine of twelve targeted provinces in China.

DJI also has invested in an associate with the Heilongjiang Provincial Sports Bureau (HSB) to provide support services to all of HSB's commercial activities. These include football and winter sports in the province, notably China's largest ski resort, Yabuli.

The HSB associate contains, for the first time in a Chinese province, a Business-to-Business (B2B) online booking system for sports, based on DJI's technology. The associate agreed terms with three of China's largest online portals to sell and promote this B2B system from 1 November 2015.

DJI will continue to work with Chinese government agencies at national and provincial level, e-commerce channel partners and payment providers to develop opportunities to support a wide range of services and transactions online, including mobile and digital media.