Pacific Internet Seals Strategic Partnership with Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation; E-Business Subsidiary Pacfusion.com Valued At US$38 Million
SINGAPORE--Jan. 23, 2001--Asia's leading Internet service provider Pacific Internet Limited today announced that it has forged a strategic alliance with Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi Corporation.Under the partnership, Mitsubishi Corporation will make a strategic investment in Pacific Internet's e-business subsidiary, Pacfusion.com by injecting US$3 million for an eight- percent stake. This capital injection, which values Pacfusion.com at US$38 million, will be used to finance the growth of e-commerce operations.
"Pacfusion.com's ability to attract such a strategic investment by a global Japanese conglomerate reflects the confidence in the long-term viability of its business model and approach to e-business," said Mr. Larry Ang, President of Pacfusion.com. "Mitsubishi is an ideal partner for us at this phase of our development. The conglomerate's wide and deep array of industrial, logistic, finance, transportation activities synergize completely with Pacfusion.com's own e-commerce capabilities."
Pacfusion.com will leverage on Mitsubishi Corporation's wide industrial base to identify business-to-business (B2B) and other e-commerce services and business opportunities. In addition, Mitsubishi Corporation is expected to support Pacfusion.com's e-business exchanges by providing logistics and other value-added services such as banking and insurance.
Said Mr. Hajime Kimura, Division COO, eCommerce Division of Mitsubishi Corporation, "This strategic partnership enables Mitsubishi Corporation to establish a greater on-line presence in the Asia-Pacific region by extending our e-commerce capabilities through a pan Asian e-commerce platform such as Pacfusion.com."
In addition, Pacific Internet and Mitsubishi Corporation will undertake collaborative e-business projects in the following areas:
| -- | E-commerce services and business-to-business (B2B) exchanges for commodities, etc. |
| -- | Provide logistical and financial solutions to complement and grow Pacfusion.com's e-commerce activities in the Asia Pacific region. |
Launched in March 2000, Pacfusion.com already dominates the online business-to-consumer (B2C) scene in Singapore, having been consistently rated as one of the country's top web properties by AC Neilsen eRatings.com. In the B2B space, Pacfusion.com is also developing an integrated travel service after having acquired the travel business of Safe & Mansfield Travel Group, one of Singapore's largest travel agencies. Pacfusion.com has successfully transformed the acquired business into a full-fledged "click and mortar" e-Travel company called Safe2Travel.com.
About Pacific Internet
Pacific Internet is listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker symbol PCNTF. Pacific Internet offers award-winning Internet access services in six countries (Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Australia, India and Thailand) and portal sites under Pacfusion.com. The Group delivers the ultimate web lifestyle with the "4Cs" (connection, commerce, content and community) and was awarded a licence to offer telecommunication services in Singapore in April 2000. Pacific Internet won the "Best Asian ISP" award in 1999 and 2000 from Telecom Asia, and the "Best ISP in Singapore" award in 1997, 1998 and 1999 from ComputerWorld.
About Pacfusion.com
Rated Singapore's most popular local website by ACNielsen eRatings.com, Pacfusion.com is positioned as Asia's premier portal focusing on both the business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) segments.
About Mitsubishi Corporation
Mitsubishi Corporation is a general trading company. In this capacity, the company is engaged in a broad range of fields, including the information industry, fuels, metals, machinery, chemicals, food products, textiles and materials. Activities include exporting and importing of a diverse lineup of products, which are also traded in Japan and offshore. A full range of services such as information and communications, finance and logistics complements these trading activities, as do business investments that span the world. In this way, Mitsubishi Corporation conducts diverse businesses in a wide range of fields.
Included in this press release are various forward-looking statements which can be identified by the use of words such as "may," "will," "should," "seeks," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "believes," and similar expressions. Pacific Internet has made forward-looking statements with respect to the following, among others, regional acquisition and expansion strategy; projected capital expenditures; development of services; development of additional revenue sources; development and maintenance of profitable pricing programs; and market acceptance of the Internet and technological advancement. These statements are forward-looking and reflect Pacific Internet's current expectations. They are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to, changes in the economic and political environment in the countries where Pacific Internet operates, or may in the future operate, changes in technology and the Internet marketplace. In light of the many risks and uncertainties surrounding Pacific Internet and the Internet marketplace, its actual results could differ materially from those discussed in this press release.