HONG KONG, Mar 31, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – China Development Bank Financial Leasing Co., Ltd. (stock code: 1606.HK; "CDB Leasing" or "the Company", together with its subsidiaries as "the Group") announces its audited consolidated results for the year ended December 31, 2020 (the "Reporting Period").

Results Highlight
For the year ended December 31, 2020
— Total assets reached RMB303.3 billion, representing an increase of 16.08% YOY;
— Operating income was RMB19.329 billion, representing an increase of 5.37% YOY;
— Net profit amounted to RMB3.268 billion, representing an increase of 11.24% YOY;
— Total new lease financing to lessees amounted to RMB104.4 billion, representing an increase of 11.96% YOY;
— Return on average equity was 12.50%, representing an increase of 0.72 percentage point as compared with that as of the end of last year;
— Non-performing asset ratio was 0.80%, representing a decrease of 0.09 percentage point as compared with that as of the end of last year.

During the Reporting Period, the Company's total assets exceeded RMB300 billion for the first time, and amounted to RMB303.3 billion, representing an increase of 16.08% YOY. Operating income was RMB19.329 billion, representing an increase of 5.37% YOY. Net profit amounted to RMB3.268 billion, representing an increase of 11.24% YOY. Return on average equity was 12.50%, representing an increase of 0.72 percentage point as compared with that as of the end of last year. Total new lease financing to lessees amounted to RMB104.4 billion, representing an increase of 11.96% YOY. Non-performing asset ratio was 0.80%, representing a decrease of 0.09 percentage point as compared with that as of the end of last year. Withstood the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company did a solid job in pandemic prevention and control, and paid close attention to operation and management. Its annual operating performance bucked up and reached a new high, while continuously achieving steady and high-quality development.

During the Reporting Period, CDB Leasing actively served to build a new development pattern, actively supported the real economy, made an effort to build a "customer-centered" business development model, continued to focus on its strengths in aviation, shipping, new energy, environmental protection and infrastructure, as well as increased the new investment, which lead to a new success in business results. The new business investment in the whole year amounted to RMB104.4 billion, and took the lead in the financial leasing industry in realizing the annual new investment exceeding RMB100 billion, representing an increase of 11.96% as compared with that of 2019. In the meantime, the Company continued to strengthen the platform's capabilities and financial position, and maintained the high-level credit ratings by S&P (A), Fitch (A+) and Moody's (A1).

In terms of the aviation business, although the competitive environment is still fierce, benefited from its scale in the industry and the strength of the wider CDB Group, the Company also acted quickly in realigning its orderbook to the change in the industry outlook in close co-operation with manufacturers. During the Reporting Period, the aircraft leasing business systematically promoted the five-year planning, steadily launched the investment and continued subletting of expired aircraft, successfully sold 18 aircrafts, and further optimized the fleet structure. In 2020, the Company signed new lease transactions for a total of 77 aircrafts with 20 customers.

The Company started the construction of ship leasing business system in right time, strengthened the tracking research on the development trend of shipping market, established the quality evaluation system of operating lease assets and the ship value evaluation model, and examined the pre-credit approval mechanism of operating lease business. The above measures have greatly improved the management and professional ability of the Company's ship leasing business segment, further standardized the operation of ship leasing business, especially ship operating leasing business. The Company delivered 32 ships throughout the year, further increasing the proportion of mainstream ship types.

As for Infrastructure leasing business, the Company actively supported key areas such as Yangtze River Economic Belt, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, etc., and served the coordinated development of regions. In addition, the Company strengthened the development of new energy projects, continuously improved its specialization in the field of new energy power generation, and fulfilled the development requirements of green finance actively.

The Company adhered to its functional orientation, actively approached the market, strengthened the management of existing assets, optimized the allocation of incremental resources, improved various management processes and systems, and effectively promoted the sustainable and healthy development of inclusive finance business. At the same time, the Company vigorously promoted the digital transformation of inclusive finance business, further strengthened the refined management of the whole business process, and laid a solid foundation for realizing the digital management of inclusive finance business. The annual investment was RMB17.9 billion, representing an increase of 14% YOY, leasing more than 41,000 sets of equipment and serving nearly 13,000 small, medium and micro enterprises.

Fulfills social responsibility and corporate responsibility
During the Reporting Period, the Company has provided support for more than 50 key projects greatly affected by the pandemic and about 4,000 customers in inclusive financing, such as rent extension and change of rent repayment plan, so as to alleviate the financial pressure of enterprises. The Company has increased cooperation with domestic shipping companies, fully supported the shipping companies to resume work and resume production, and received 19 new ships worth US$620 million throughout the year; Signed eight new shipbuilding contracts with a project value of US$400 million, fulfilling the social responsibility of state-owned financial enterprises.

Expands asset trading channels and strengthens internal management and risk control
CDB Leasing actively tracked the trend changes, strengthened the financing rhythm and time limit scheduling, and the comprehensive cost of RMB and USD dropped significantly year-over-year, thus continuing to lead the industry. The Company successfully issued tier-2 capital bonds of US$700 million, creating a precedent for leasing companies.

Meanwhile, the Company put in place robust operating requirements in terms of internal management, strengthened coordinated and centralized resources, and explored the construction of a digital leasing company. The Company also continued to improve the overall risk management system, strengthened risk investigation and control of key industries, and intensified efforts to resolve risks and non-performing projects.

Looking forward, CDB Leasing stated: "in 2021, the Company will pay close attention to relevant policy trends and development opportunities after the pandemic, and combine its first-mover advantages in aviation, shipping, inclusive finance, infrastructure and other professional segments to achieve its business operation objectives while serving the country's major strategic objectives. The Company will further improve its research and analysis system, enhance its situational awareness of market competition and innovate its business development model, continuously improve its professional development capability, insist on the 'customer-centered' concept, optimize the process system, and further improve service efficiency; strengthen the information platform construction and digital empowerment leasing business, comprehensively improve the Company's business response efficiency, fully tap the value of big data, and accelerate the digital development, so as to achieve a good start in the 14th Five-Year Plan."

About China Development Bank Financial Leasing Co., Ltd
China Development Bank Financial Leasing Co., Ltd. (stock code: 1606.HK; "CDB Leasing"), a national non-banking financial institution regulated by CBIRC, is the first listed financial leasing company in mainland China and the sole leasing business platform and listing platform of China Development Bank. Its leasing assets and business partners reach throughout over 40 countries and regions around the globe. The Company enjoys relatively high international credit ratings, namely "A1" by Moody's, "A" by Standard & Poor's and "A+" by Fitch. Founded in 1984, CDB Leasing is a pioneer and a leader in the leasing industry in the PRC, and is in the first batch of leasing companies established in the PRC. Adhering to the mission of "leading China's leasing industry, serving the real economy", CDB Leasing is dedicated to providing comprehensive leasing services to high-quality customers in fields including aviation, infrastructure, shipping, inclusive finance, new energy and high-end equipment manufacturing.

The press release is distributed by Ever Bloom (HK) Communications Consultants Group Limited on behalf of China Development Bank Financial Leasing Co., Ltd.

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HONG KONG, Mar 30, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – Zhong Ji Longevity Science Group Limited ("Zhong Ji Longevity Science", together with its subsidiaries, the "Group"; stock code: 0767.HK) is pleased to announce its audited consolidated annual results for the year ended 31 December 2020 ("reporting year").

The Group was principally engaged in the business of money lending, securities and other investments, financial and investment advisory, as well as property investment before. The aging population across the globe has fuelled growing demand for health supplements and longevity products. The Group has discovered the huge potential and invested substantial resources in mapping out its blueprint in the longevity science sector, and subsequently realised the transformation of its business during the reporting year by extending its business to the development and sales of Nicotinamide Mononucleotide (NMN) longevity biological products with great breakthroughs. Meanwhile, the Group is committed to establishing a leading ecosystem platform in longevity science, tapping into the development of cell and gene therapy, as well as advanced medical technology.

During the reporting year, the Group's results were primarily contributed by the business of money lending, securities and other investments, as well as financial and investment advisory. Without having recovered from trade protectionism and geopolitical tensions, the global economy was crushed by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 ("COVID-19" or "pandemic"), poor investment sentiment and other unfavourable factors. The Group's revenue was approximately HK$80,022,000 (2019: HK$145,846,000) during the reporting year. Nevertheless, the Group managed to recover certain debts that had been made provisions in year ended 31 December 2019, loss for the year substantially narrowed to approximately HK$10,700,000 (2019: loss of HK$825,969,000). Basic and diluted earnings per share were HK0.30 cents.

Mr. YAN Li, Chairman and Executive Director of Zhong Ji Longevity Science Group Limited, said, "2020 was an exceptional year for the world. While the outbreak of COVID-19 struck a devastating blow to the globe, the accompanying instability and rapidly changing market environment have become new normal. Nonetheless, in the midst of every crisis lies a great opportunity. With increasing public awareness over health issues and aging population in society, professional services on extending human life span, enhancing quality of life and high-end medical care hold the keys to unlock the new blue ocean. While doubling efforts in operating its principal business, the Group grasped the huge potential in longevity science medical sector. Thanks to the tremendous support of shareholders and staff members, the Group successfully achieved strategic transformation of its business during the reporting year and outlined a blueprint for its brand new operation of longevity management solutions. Riding on the improved cognizance of health matters, the Group will give full play to its competence to pilot the blue ocean."

During the reporting year, the Group pushed forward the transformation to longevity science business in various aspects. Not only has the Group optimised its investment in the research of the segment, it also recruited an elite team of international biotech and medical talents, including the appointment of Academician Randy Wayne Schekman, a winner of Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, as the Honorary Chairman and Chief Scientist of the Group, as well as seasoned executives from the field of advanced medical and biotechnology. In addition, the Group leased a 36,000 square foot production plant in California, the United States, for the research and development ("R&D") and production of NMN longevity biological products. With certifications of cGMP, FDA and NSF of the United States, the production plant is certificated for drug manufacturing, healthcare product processing and organic food processing in California, thereby lending constant supports to the production and technology of the Group's flagship products. The longevity biological products of the Group are expected to deliver solid protection in health and longevity for people pursuing high-quality life worldwide.

Entering 2021, the Group has realised a strategic plan in developing advanced medical testing and life management, as well as the R&D and transformation of cell and gene therapy. In terms of advanced medical testing and life management, the Group completed the acquisition of two testing centres, namely Irving Weissman International Advanced Medical Testing Centre and Asian Advanced Medical Testing Centre. The testing centres boast a combined of 19 categories of cell, health index and disease testing platforms. Regarding the R&D and transformation of cell and gene therapy, the Group entered into a non-legally binding memorandum of understanding with a potential vendor in relation to the acquisition of the largest international auto-immune cell bank in the world to better serve the medical needs of general public. Moreover, to further enhance its R&D capability and extend its business network, the Group formed a strategic partnership with Thermo Fisher Scientific (Hong Kong) Limited ("Thermo Fisher"), a forerunner in the field of life science. Thermo Fisher will prioritise the Group in the provision of its latest life science technology, software and solutions, so as to propel the Group's development in longevity science and medical diagnosis. The Group also entered into an investment cooperation framework agreement with Hubei Mailyard Share Co., Ltd. (stock code: 600107.SH), in which a joint venture company will be established in Xiantao City, Hubei Province, focusing on commencing advanced medical services such as cancer prevention and early screening, longevity medical examination and cell management, as well as distributing longevity dietary supplements, and providing longevity management services and solutions.

Mr. YAN Li concluded, "Looking ahead, the Board is committed to accomplishing the vision of 'helping people live longer and healthier lives', leading the Group to give full play to its competence in longevity science and continue to capture opportunities in the industry. We will allocate more resources to the establishment of a full value chain for longevity science medical sector. The Group is determined to expand its market share and build a reputable brand through launching more products via different channels across the world. At the same time, we will join hands with our partners to navigate the Group's new journey in longevity science and contribute to human health, thereby delivering long-term returns to shareholders."

About Zhong Ji Longevity Science Group Limited
Zhong Ji Longevity Science Group Limited (0767.HK) is principally engaged in longevity science, money lending, securities and other investments, financial and investment advisory, as well as property investment. Leveraging the management's expertise and technologies in the biotechnology industry, the Group seeks to enter domestic longevity science medical industry in recent years, with a view to achieving the vision of "helping people live longer and healthier lives" via its new longevity management scheme. Capitalising on its longevity science technology namely longevity biological products, cell and gene therapy, as well as advanced medical technology, the Group makes contributions to human health, thereby building a good reputation.

For more information, please visit: https://www.irasia.com/listco/hk/zhongjilongevity/



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HONG KONG, Mar 30, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – What is the trend of the Internet industry in 2021? Chances are it's an open social platform. Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla, made Clubhouse popular around the world. Is Clubhouse the ultimate answer to an open social platform? It's hard to say at the moment, but the era of open socialization has arrived.

Youth tend to move with anything new. So although Facebook has an absolute advantage in the global social field, Snapchat and Twitter still have room for development. With the continuous development of the Internet, a new generation of young users has a higher acceptance of video and audio, and a new generation of open social apps has also emerged.

For Chinese Internet companies seeking growth opportunities in overseas markets, open social networking provides huge development opportunities, among which two of the most successful are China-based Newborn Town Inc (HKG: 9911), and AE-based Yalla Group Ltd (NYSE: YALA). First, let's take a look at Newborn Town, which has just released its 2020 financial report.

The great potential of strangers socializing

Since its listing in 2019, the changes in Newborn Town have been earth-shaking. Founded in 2009, its founder Liu Chunhe always cherished the dream of changing the world with Internet products. In 2013, Newborn Town began to expand overseas, since then overseas markets have become a company core strategy.

In the initial stage of going overseas, the company quickly accumulated internet tools, with hundreds of millions of users in the world. However, as the inherent shortcomings of tools, such as low stickiness and user duration, have been recognized by the capital market, the valuation of mobile Internet tools is at a low ebb, which is also a reason the share price of Newborn Town is still not high after its listing.

However, in 2020, Newborn Town engineered a magnificent makeover. The company's core development strategy was successfully upgraded and the company seized the opportunity for open social networking with audio and video social products including Yiyo, MICO and YoHo. The average monthly active users of social platforms were about 11.36 million, and they are still growing rapidly.

In early 2021, when the market began to reassess the company's stock, its price skyrocketed from HK$1.70 to a peak of HK$11.54. The price fell back, but is around HK$4.30, still up more than 200% from last year's low. If the stock price of Newborn Town has risen sharply, will there be a bubble? It depends on strong performance.

On March 24, the company released its earnings for 2020. Revenue came in at CNY1.18 billion, an anual increase of 203.2%, net profit of CNY110 million represented an increase of 67.1%. Newborn Town's current stock price is HK$4.3, with share capital of 999 million shares, and a market valuation of about HK$4.3 billion, or CNY3.6 billion. Compared to the growth in 2020 revenue and net profit, the share price is not expensive at all.

How was Newborn Town able to upgrade in just a year? In fact, Newborn Town began to lay out open social networking a few years ago. In 2016, the company incubated MICO, a social product aimed at overseas markets. After several years of rapid development, MICO has achieved rapid revenue growth and achieved profitability.

MICO ranked second as China's overseas social networking platform. According to official data from MICO, the platform currently covers more than 150 countries and regions around the world, has entered the top 10 App Store bestsellers in 92 countries and regions, and has accumulated hundreds of millions of successful pairings.

On July 2, Sensor Tower, the mobile app data company, announced China's Top 20 Short Video / Live Streaming Apps for the First Half 2020. MICO was once again on the list, ranking Top 20 in terms of download volume and revenue. Sensor Tower pointed out that with the global pandemic, people were seeking entertainment and socially networking online, with related apps ushering in an explosive round of growth in 2020.

In fact, MICO, which includes the live broadcast module, has been on the list many times before. In Q1 and Q2 2019, MICO continued in Sensor Tower's Top 20 for overseas revenue of China's Short Video / Live Streaming Apps, ranking firmly in the Top 10. Last year, MICO entered the list again ranking No. 6.

At the same time, YoHo, Newborn Town's social voice platform, was launched in 2018. It is entrenched in the Middle East and North Africa with the six core Gulf countries. It has also entered the top 10 best-selling Google Play social applications in the Gulf countries, becoming the second voice social product in the Middle East.

Yiyo, the company's video social product, aims at differentiation and creates social scenes in the form of video matching and one-to-one video chat, which is loved by young users. This product is among the top 20 of Google Play global social app download list in 2020, with a total of more than 50 million downloads.

By 2020, the average monthly active users of social platforms were about 11.36 million, and they are still growing rapidly. By the end of 2020, Newborn Town had a 'super-traffic ecology' with 1.2 billion users, and it was monetizing its 'traffic + X' business model on a global scale. In terms of core strategy, the company was focusing on stranger social business, supplemented by multiple businesses such as games.

After the stocks rise, it was still undervalued, and it may be the next tenfold gainer.
Although Newborn Town's stock price has risen sharply recently, compared with similar companies, the company's stock price is still seriously undervalued.

For example, Yalla, which has a business model similar to that of Newborn Town, was successfully listed on the New York Stock Exchange in October 2020 with a share price of US$20.3 and a market value of about US$3 billion by virtue of its product Yalla's success in the Middle East.

According to the latest financial report of Yalla Group Inc, in the fourth quarter of 2020, Yalla, the company's core social networking product, had 6.4 million monthly live users, which is only about half of the 13.18 million monthly live users of social networking platform of Newborn Town Technology in the fourth quarter of last year.

At the same time, the total income of Yalla in 2020 was RMB880 million, a year-on-year increase of 113%, and its net profit was RMB20.9 million, a year-on-year increase of 7%. These two key data are far lower than that of Newborn Town, but the current market value of Newborn Town is only HK$4.3 billion, or about US$550 million.

Through a comparison of monthly user data and financial data of the two companies, it is obvious that Newborn Town has greater potential and more stable financial data. But as the market has not fully recognized the potential of Newborn Town's social networking platforms, the company's share price is still seriously undervalued. Moreover, Newborn Town's platforms have outstanding performance in many countries, and the long-term potential is undoubtedly greater than that of Yalla, which is only deployed in the Middle East and North Africa.

From the characteristics of the US and Hong Kong stock markets, the HK market is less friendly to small-cap companies. In addition, the HK market doesn't fully tap the potential of Internet technology stocks, as leading blue-chip stocks are the market favorites. In the U.S. stock market, there are social media leaders like Facebook, and alternative social media companies such as Snapchat, Twitter, Match Group, and Pinterest. The U.S. stock market understands the business models and the growth potential of such companies.

Therefore, in the current Hong Kong stock market, the value of Newborn Town has been temporarily hidden. But with Kuaishou's landing in the Hong Kong stock market, coupled with the upcoming Byte Dancing, the value on Internet social networking in Hong Kong stocks is expected to be immediately discovered.

Of course, there is a huge gap between the two companies in terms of market value. On the other hand, it is also because Yalla Group has been on the market for less than half a year and there are fewer circulating shares.

Frankly speaking, with the current user data and financial data of Newborn Town, the valuation on the primary market should definitely exceed US$1 billion. According to the normal secondary market valuation, even with the most conservative estimate of 50% off, the market value of Newborn Town should be about US$1.9 billion, and the corresponding stock price about HK$15, which is 10 times last year's low of 1.5 Hong Kong dollars!

Going to sea is at the right time, with certainty and growth

The success of Newborn Town going overseas is not only a miniature of Chinese Internet companies going to sea, but also a typical successful case.

According to Senser Tower data, Chinese Internet companies will return with a full load from overseas markets in 2020. For the first time, the total revenue from China's overseas mobile travel market will exceed US$10 billion, with the highest growth rate is in the world. Revenue from the top 30 mobile travel products will reach US$9.2 billion, up 47% this year, while revenue from Tiktok, by Byte Dance, of US$1.26 billion, has increased 590%.

Focus on the social track. The rapid growth of social products of Newborn Town overseas is based on the rapid development of Chinese social products overseas.

The development of Chinese Internet companies is similar to that of mobile phone companies. After the bloody fight in the domestic market, with the "all-in-one martial arts" trained in the domestic market, China's Internet companies can make a big show in the overseas market through localized operations, such as Tiktok under Byte Dance. The overseas market has also given Chinese manufacturers ample room for development.

From another point of view, some domestic Internet companies, such as Momo, have missed opportunities for overseas development, which have hindered their development and their market value continued to fall.

For Newborn Town 2020 was undoubtedly a very successful year. The company transformed from a software tools company to a social product company, achieving a gorgeous upgrade, and the capital market has repriced the company. The company's share price has risen by 200% from the lowest point.

From the perspective of the company's development, high-speed growth in 2021 can still be expected. As the company's revenues and profit continue to increase, the capital market will change the underestimation of the company. In the long run, Newborn Town Technology has a chance to become another tenfold stock.

Media contact:
Heidi He, Peanutmedia
E: hemeiyu@czgmcn.com
Website: Peanutmedia.com

Copyright 2021 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

HONG KONG, Mar 30, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – PT International Development Corporation Limited ("PT International", Stock Code: 372, with its subsidiaries collectively referred to as the "Group") is pleased to announce the details of its very substantial acquisition in relation to subscription of 65% equity interest in Thousand Vantage Investment Limited.

On 29 March 2021, PT International entered into the Subscription Agreement through PT OBOR Financial Holdings Limited ("PT OBOR"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, with Thousand Vantage Investment Limited ("Thousand Vantage") and the Guarantor to subscribe for 668,571,429 new ordinary shares of the Thousand Vantage at the Subscription Price, being the Redemption Amount which is the aggregate sum of the subscription price for the Preference Shares of HK$200,000,000 and the Accrued Amount up to the date of Completion (for reference, the Accrued Amount up to 31 March 2021 is expected to be approximately HK$3,825,000). Based on the Subscription Price, the price per Subscription Share shall be approximately HK$0.3049. The Subscription Price shall be paid on Completion by way of offsetting against the Redemption Amount payable by the Thousand Vantage for redemption of the Preference Shares issued by the Thousand Vantage to PT OBOR on 16 April 2018. Upon Completion, PT OBOR will hold approximately 65.0% of all the issued shares of the Thousand Vantage as enlarged by the Subscription Shares, and all Preference Shares issued by the Thousand Vantage shall have been fully redeemed.

Thousand Vantage is a company incorporated in Hong Kong with limited liability, the entire voting equity of which is wholly and beneficially owned by the Guarantor prior to Completion. Thousand Vantage holds 75% equity interest in its PRC Subsidiary Guangxi Guangming Warehouse Storage Limited ("Guangxi Guangming"). The remaining 25% equity interest in the Guangxi Guangming is held by Shanghai Jianchen Industrial Development Co., Ltd., which in turn is wholly owned by Beijing Lianxing (Beijing) International Trading Development Co., Ltd ("Beijing Lianxing").

Guangxi Guangming was established in March 1995, and it is principally engaged in the provision of petrochemical port and storage service as well as port related services and strategically located in South Western PRC. It is primarily engaged in the business of handling and storage of liquid dangerous goods such as gasoline, diesel oil, mixed aromatics and fuel oil through operation of a terminal in Qinzhou Port in Guangxi Province, the PRC (the "Terminal"). It holds the required licences and permits for the operation of the Terminal including a port operation permit and Annexed Certificate for Hazardous Goods Operations at Ports. Qinzhou Port is one of the busiest deep-water ports near Qinzhou Petrochemical Park ("QPP") in Guangxi, an international shipping hub in South Asia, and QPP is one of the top petrochemical parks in South Central China.

The Subscription represents a rare and valuable opportunity to the Group. This has enabled the Group to expand its mid-market portfolio and have ports and storage facilities in strategic locations in China. The Management believe that the investment in port related operations remains a vital part of the growth of the Chinese economy and the petrochemical sector will yield better returns as compared with traditional cargo terminals. In view of this, the Group decided to strategically move up on the supply chain of commodity trading to midstream investment in storage facilities, which are midstream assets that major commodity trading firms usually own. Guangxi Guangming is the only entity in the form of a sino-foreign joint venture which owns petrochemical terminals and storage facilities in Guangxi. The Subscription and the investments in Yangtze Prosperity Development Limited and STX Corp form part of the Group's business strategy to establish the Group as an integrated commodities trading firm in Asia. The assets and resources of the Thousand Vantage, Yangtze Prosperity Development Limited and STX Corp strengthen the Group's ability in offering storage and transportation services to its suppliers and customers of the commodities trading business, and therefore significantly enhances the Group's business profile and bargaining power in the commodities trading sector.

The Terminal of Guangxi Guangming is strategically located in Guangxi to benefit from the One-Belt-One-Road Initiative introduced by the PRC government. In particular, energy connectivity infrastructure, being one of the most important strategic focuses of the One-Belt One-Road Initiative, would drive the expansion of the scale of and the needs for domestic and international petrochemical ports and pipelines connectivity. Further, the 13th Five Year Plan of the PRC government places a focus on energy security of the country, and therefore progress will be accelerated in relation to construction of strategic corridors for importing oil and gas; and construction of oil and gas storage facilities to increase capacity and peak saving ability. The location of the Terminal stands to benefit from the above global infrastructure development strategy and the national policy of the PRC government.

Guangxi Guangming has a Terminal fully equipped with the New Berth with a capacity of 50,000 DWT, 29 storage tanks with approximately 633,700 cbm of petrochemical and energy products storage capacity in aggregate, truck loading stations, and rail loading terminal to provide integrated port and port-related services including loading and unloading of containers and cargo for international and domestic trades, berthing, unberthing, moorage services of vessels, container inspection at gate inside the port area and intra-port container transportation services.

"The subscription of Thousand Vantage is in line with the Group's upstream integration strategy, which will help us fully grasp the opportunities presented by the Belt and Road Initiative and the 13th Five-Year Plan, and make the Group's business more diversified. Guangxi Guangming is the only entity in the form of a sino-foreign joint venture which owns petrochemical terminals and storage facilities in Guangxi, which can contribute to significant revenue to the Group. Hence, we are confident that the subscription will help the Group to complete the integration link between upstream and downstream services relating to the commodity trading business and lead the Group to new heights and create long-term value for shareholders." said Mr. Ching Man Chun, Louis, Chairman and Managing Director of PT International Development Corporation Limited.


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HONG KONG, Mar 30, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – Cirtek Holdings Limited ("Cirtek" or the "Group"; HKEX: 1433), one of the leading apparel labels and trim products manufacturers, has announced its audited annual results for the year ended 31 December 2020. Despite adversities, the Group successfully achieved a turnaround; moving from a loss-making position as reported for its interim results to a profit-making position.

Review of operations
As the pandemic raged on, the global retail market, including the apparel market, was seriously affected. As a result, demand for apparel labels and trim products decreased correspondingly. The Group's business was inevitably affected, resulting in a year-on-year decrease in revenue of 26.5% to approximately HK$259.3 million. Nonetheless, the Group's orders started to rebound in the second half year and showed improvement when compared with the first half year, narrowing the decline for the whole year. Gross profit dropped 25.5% to approximately HK$130.2 million. With effective cost control measures and flexible deployment of resources for efficiency improvement, in addition to the support of new products with higher gross profit, gross profit margin rose slightly by 0.7 percentage point to 50.2%. Despite the decline in gross profit as a result of the pandemic, and a one-off listing expense of approximately HK$10.6 million, the Group still managed to achieve profit attributable to the owners of the Company of HK$1.6 million, demonstrating marked improvement from the loss attributable to the owners of the Company of HK$11.8 million during the interim results ended 30 June 2020.

The Board recommended the payment of a final dividend in cash of HK0.075 cents per ordinary share for the financial year ended 31 December 2020 (2019: Nil).

Mr. Barry Chan, Chairman of Cirtek, said, "Aided by the strategic position of our factories, we have leveraged our advantages to deal with the challenges under the pandemic. With the market adapting to the post-pandemic new normal, we were pleased to see a recovery in orders for all product categories in the second half year, with Radio Frequency Identification ("RFID") products performing particularly well. Over the last few years, we have unceasingly expanded its product portfolio and unleashed the potential of RFID technology in an effort to develop the underlying products. Our efforts in portfolio expansion and quality enhancement have paid off. An overwhelmingly positive response from customers facilitated a spike in product sales during the year, thus attesting to the success of product development efforts."

In response to the challenges brought by the outbreak of the pandemic, the Group implemented a series of measures at the beginning of 2020, including strict prevention measures to ensure the safety of employees and arrangements for plants to resume operation as soon as possible. At the same time, it maintained close communication with business partners and adjusted production capacity based on customers' needs. In addition, stringent cost control measures were taken, such as adjusting working hours according to order requirements and implementing a shift system.

In terms of production, the Group has established production bases in China, Vietnam and Bangladesh, being the world's three largest garment export markets. Well before the outbreak of the pandemic, the Group gained insight into the increasing number of business opportunities arising from the growing demand for apparel labels and trim products in Bangladesh. It therefore made plans to expand local production capacity, and began construction of the new Bangladesh factory in October 2020. The new three-story plant has a gross floor area of approximately 10,600 square meters, which is expected to start production by the end of 2021. Through the new factory, the Group will be able to shorten production delivery times, improve production efficiency, increase production capacity and save costs, while providing additional space for the installation of new machines and for diversifying its product portfolio, which in turn will help the Group seize business opportunities arising from the market demand in the post-pandemic era.

In terms of products, sales of RFID products achieved the most handsome growth, achieving a year-on-year spike of 1.3 times, contributing HK$8.2 million in revenue. In order to meet the needs of customers with Internet of Things (IoT) applications, the Group established a subsidiary in mid-2020 with its own research and development team to focus on the development of RFID core technology and RFID system platforms, products and project solutions, which can be widely used in various areas of IoT applications, such as smart warehousing, smart production, anti-counterfeit tracking, file management, and smart washing. This is the Group's dedication to providing impetus for industry digitalisation.

Prospects
The Group is well prepared for 2021. The retail market has adapted to the new normal amid the pandemic, and it is expected that the increase in the number of orders during the second half of 2020 will continue into 2021. Following the industry's recovery, the Group plans to consolidate its business relationships with existing international apparel brands through its global offices, as well as expand its geographical coverage and customer base by setting up sales offices in the regions where its potential customers are located, particularly in Europe. Additionally, in order to respond to its customers' demands, the Group is conducting research into the feasibility of establishing factories in other Asian regions, Eastern Europe and South America, and thereby gain orders from local apparel suppliers to accelerate its business development.

In addition to market expansion, the Group will continue to invest in research and development, as well as the production of RFID products, and progressively promote the new RFID system platform, product and project solutions to its customers. In addition, Eco-concept products are set to be the most sought-after items in the near future, as evidenced by the enthusiastic demand for the products over the past year, hence Cirtek will develop and produce more eco-friendly products to diversify its product portfolio and create demand for its products.

Mr. Chan added, "As a leading manufacturer of apparel labels and trim products, with a wide range of apparel labels and trim products on offer, a well-established geographical footprint and a strong capability in product development, together with the commencement of operations at the newly established factory in Bangladesh in late 2021, Cirtek is able to satisfy the market demand for its products in the post-pandemic era. Under the leadership of our highly experienced management, we are confident that our Group is ready for a market recovery, and that it can return on right track to long-term growth, as well as maximize value for its shareholders."


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