China Unicom Agreement

11 Oct 2007 07:00

Et-china.com International Holdings11 October 2007 For Immediate Release 11 October 2007 ET-CHINA.COM INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS LIMITED ("Et-china", "the Group" or "the Company") China Unicom Selects Et-china to Provide Travel Services to High Spending Customers Et-china.com International Holdings Limited, the leading travel services groupin the fast growing region of South China, has been exclusively selected byChina Unicom's Jiangsu Province subsidiary to provide dedicated travel servicesto the mobile operator's high spending VIP customers with flight, hotel andfrequent independent travel package services. China Unicom (HKSE:0762 www.chinaunicom.com) is China's second largest mobilephone operator providing services across China to 151.6 million mobile users. Itis dual listed on the Hong Kong and New York Stock Exchanges. The Jiangsu Province, which is close to Shanghai, is one of the most prosperousprovinces along the east coast of China with a population of about 75 millionresidents and a gross domestic product equivalent to RMB 2,154 billion (£141billion*). Jiangsu China Unicom has approximately 6 million mobile users of which about600,000 are classed as VIP customers. The typical monthly spend of a VIPcustomer is RMB1,000 (£65) per month. Et-china will become the exclusive anddedicated business travel provider to its VIP club via its 10191 service hotlinefrom mid October. In addition to raising brand awareness for Et-china, theagreement will also result in these mobile users receiving targeted messagesthrough their phones offering relevant and timely information about travelservices. Et-china expects the hotline to generate at least 10,000 calls for its frequentindependent traveler ("FIT") activities in the first month of operation.Et-China's Directors believe this arrangement could lead to similar agreementswith other subsidiaries of China Unicom in more affluent coastal provinces. Matthew Ng, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented: "This is a furthersignificant step and part of our on-going effort to secure marketing allianceswith leading financial and telecommunications service providers in China inorder to increase our service reach in a targeted and cost efficient manner. Wealso believe this alliance will prove to be a highly effective way of accessingthe FIT market, the fastest growing segment of the Chinese travel market. "We have been chosen by China Unicom because we have demonstrated outstandingcustomer service capabilities in our 24x7 call centre as well as our extensiveand dominant product offerings across South China, which is a frequentdestination for the mobile operator's business and leisure VIP customers." * Currency in this release is converted on the basis of GB£1 = RMB 15.3083 - Ends - Contact details for enquiries: Et-china.com International Holdings Limited 0207 067 0700Matthew Ng, President and Chief ExecutiveRanjit Murugason, Chairman Seymour Pierce, Nominated Adviser and Broker 0207 107 8000Mark Percy Weber Shandwick Financial 0207 067 0700Terry GarrettStephanie BadjonatJohn Moriarty This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange