VIASPACE CHAIRMAN ANNOUNCES NEW LOAN AGREEMENT AND ISSUES CORPORATE UPDATE
January 25, 2016 - Walnut, California - VIASPACE Inc. (OTC: VSPC) reported that Board Chairman, Dr. Kevin Schewe, issued a corporate update to inform shareholders of recent corporate developments and strategic direction.
Dr. Schewe stated, "On September 30, 2012, I entered into a loan agreement with VIASPACE to provide up to $1,000,000 in convertible loans to the Company over a five-year time frame. On January 13, 2016, that loan agreement was completed with a cumulative $1,000,000 loaned to VIASPACE and converted to common shares over a 3 year and 4 month time frame. I have purposely converted that entire loan amount to common shares in an effort to keep debt off our books. Including the 100 million common shares that I had previously purchased on the open market, I now preferentially hold nearly 530 million common shares or roughly 26% of the 2.04 billion outstanding shares. I have not sold a single share of VSPC common stock and have no near-term plans to sell shares. My shares are not trading, and to the contrary, I plan to increase my share holdings."
"On January 25, 2016, I have entered into a new loan agreement to continue to help fund the Company's operations for the near future. This new convertible loan agreement provides up to an additional $300,000 through the end of January 2017. This money will be used for working capital related to general operations and also including the ongoing commercialization of the Giant King Grass (GKG) business. In addition to assisting the Company with its capital needs, I have been a hands-on, active Board Chairman working directly with the Management Team and I am always available to them. Since becoming Chairman, I have personally traveled to meet with clients/business partners, reviewed various contracts/agreements, supported our management team and I have reviewed and/or edited every VIASPACE press release."
Dr. Schewe continued, "We have come a long way these past three years in a business space where many companies have failed. The biomass and bioenergy business has incredible scientific merit to reduce greenhouse emissions and evolve into a spearhead to reduce the forces of global warming. Despite the current phenomenon of low global oil prices and oil oversupply, the truth is that burning oil and fossil fuels at any price adds to CO2 emissions and global warming. It is our desire to be part of the global warming solution. Making this work economically is a challenge that we are addressing and plan to accomplish. In late December 2015, our CEO, Mr. Haris Basit, and our CTO, Dr. Carl Kukkonen, both came to Denver and we met to review and establish our strategy for 2016. We have divided our business strategy into two lines of business, namely bioenergy and animal feed."
"Our Energia Reino Verde (ERV) 12.3MW Giant King Grass fueled power plant project in Nicaragua has required much of our efforts and resources the past 3 years. We have learned a lot along with our Nicaraguan partners to make this amazing project a reality. We know that baseload power is important (as opposed to intermittent solar or wind power), that all electricity
is not priced equally -- that baseload power may cost more than intermittent power, and that with private developers, the financial partners need to make an adequate return on investment. This project is ready to go and is awaiting final government approval. We are not static and waiting, but actively seeking the final government approval. Our Nicaraguan partners have excellent working relationships with the government in Nicaragua."
"One of our corporate strategies to address the economic challenges of this business space is to couple animal feed business activities with biomass and bioelectricity business. In other words, we can create cash flow using GKG animal feed while establishing a GKG plantation for biomass/bioelectricity purposes. We are working with our Nicaraguan partners to advance this concept and believe that our overall project in Nicaragua will be an attractive global business model that can be replicated anywhere that GKG can be successfully cultivated. We are partnered with Almaden Energy Group (AEG) and we are growing GKG for animal feed in California's Central Valley and Imperial Valley. We are moving into the animal feed business ourselves so that we are the experts and self-reliant but can also effectively partner with others as the middle-man. We are rapidly developing significant supportive data and proprietary processes related to our budding animal feed business."
Dr. Schewe concluded, "Last year, we had two long-term shareholders (who were qualified investors) make significant investments in VIASPACE and directly purchase discounted, restricted VSPC shares from the Company. Any qualified investor potentially wanting to make a significant direct investment in VIASPACE can inquire and do the same. We are on the cusp of success and that is why I have committed to another significant loan to VIASPACE. We have active projects and new projects (both bioenergy and animal feed) underway on multiple continents. Every week we receive multiple inquiries from parties interested in biomass, bioenergy and animal feed projects. We have been working with a lobbying firm in Washington DC, since August 2015 to try and participate in government-funded grants and develop government-sponsored partnerships. A successful entrepreneur, Mr. Haris Basit, became our CEO in July 2015 and he and I together know that new revenue creation is our number one priority and job number one. We will continue to work hard to grow the value of this
Company and make this Company a green energy and animal feed success."
Very nice to hear that Schewe has not sold any shares, as has been claimed, and instead is looking to further increase his holdings.
