Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Nice jump on TROR today
K
Is something going on with TROR?
Hoping just a matter of time $$$$$
K
Yep ;) eom
EZ check out news on TROR,
Let me know what you think. Thanks
K
Vegas, I am in, Hey Deb lets go
It will be nice to get away and have some real fun
For those who go back to 99, lets get the grove back and the $$ back to those days.
Have a great night all
K
aka: Aeasgal
ETLK ended in green HRCT next week EOM K
MM, May 10 is the day we should know.
I think it takes some watching.
IMO
K
$ Moody, thanks for the great post. K
$ Totally agree, things will start happening, and this time next year, we will all say, "remember those days"
Hang on to what you have, this will get better (IMO)
K
Not much tomorrow, market closed ;( lol
hoping for a nice break out Monday, would be nice to see it go over 2
K
jUST PASSING INFO ON: EPYC
Profile Alert!
Empyrean Communications, Inc. (OTC BB: EPYC)
Key Information
Stock Symbol OTCBB: EPYC Founded October 31, 2000
Shares Outstanding 25.5 m 52 Week Range $.05-$20.00
Float 3.9 m Industry Telecommunications
The Company
Empyrean Communications, Inc. was formed as a private company on October 31st, 2000 by Mr. Dale A. Renaud and VNet Investment Company (Thomas C. Skippon – Managing Director) to provide specialized optical digital broadband service on both a domestic and international basis. Utilization of the latest technical applications enables Empyrean to meet the voice, data and video communications needs of government and corporate customers on a single network. Empyrean's 'all optical' network can interface with private lines and private networks, coaxial cable, optical fiber, wireless networks and DSL enhanced circuits to provide seamless service to customers. The network utilizes IP technology incorporating network scalability and is managed through operating centers located at key nodes to provide secure, high quality broadband services.
Empyrean Communications, Inc. is a broadband provider capable of delivering fiber capacity to OC-192 levels. Empyrean intends to direct its marketing efforts towards Government and Corporate Financial / Banking Networks utilizing existing dark fiber and leading edge satellite communications systems in a scalable manner. Empyrean's mission is to "light up" the 29,000 miles of domestic fiber-optical digital broadband it currently has under contract and to expand its presence into South America and other selected countries. This would provide Empyrean's future clients with the ability to purchase, rent lease or joint-venture
Market Niche
Empyrean enjoys an enviable advantage compared to its competitors, in that it has the ability to increase its ownership position on dark fiber as well as lit fiber. This position, coupled with the benefits of its strategic alliances allows Empyrean to develop and provide infrastructures throughout North America and abroad specifically designed to provide government and corporate customers with complete turn-key packages, featuring the most sophisticated optical switching capabilities, thus providing its customer base with the ability to utilize full Voice, Data and Video communication means on a low-cost single network.
In addition to Empyrean’s network capabilities, and in concert with its strong financial relationships, Empyrean will selectively acquire long term broadband revenue flows from other major broadband suppliers and utilize these flows in a broadband securitization program uniquely developed by Empyrean and Monetary Services International Ltd. Empyrean will break new ground with the securitization of broadband revenue flows.
Recent Acquisitions
Empyrean Communications Inc. (OTCBB: EPYC) recently acquired two companies, Belfiber Corporation (Belfiber) and Basalt Corporation Inc. (Basalt)
Belfiber Company, a Virginia corporation, markets imported basalt and fiberglass fiber materials. The company sells a high margin product line serving the high-performance pulsejet segment of the high temperature filtration market. Belfiber plans on developing specific basalt products to increase materials and products to its sales line.
Basalt Fiber Company is a Virginia corporation, which, when fully operational, will produce and market continuous basalt fiber and related products to global markets. Basalt fiber, an advanced technology for the fiber and composites industry, replaces commonly used E or S Glass products and other conventional fiberglass products with better products at competitive prices.
APPLICATIONS
Russian and Ukrainian companies have made basalt glass filament for many years. The extrusion of vitreous fiber through a mechanical roller process was claimed to have been invented several years ago. Manufacture of basalt fiber was initiated at a Ukrainian technical institute and has been manufactured in the Ukraine for over 20 years.
Basalt glass filament, a filament relatively new to North America, can be used instead of E-glass filament and, in many cases instead of S-glass, AR-glass and ECR-glass filament. Beyond the use as a replacement of E-glass filament, basalt glass filament can also be used in special applications where E-glass cannot be used due to its properties, such as in cement reinforcement and in higher temperature applications. Since in these applications much higher priced special glass and other filament such as AR-glass and polypropylene fiber are used, basalt glass filament can command higher prices, making the business more profitable.
The basalts are extrusive naturally mined igneous rock. They are dense fine-grained rocks that are of very dark color- green or black and form when molten lava from deep in the earth's crust rises up and solidifies. Slightly coarser old sheets of basalt, now partially altered but still dark in color, are extensively quarried, crushed, and sold as "trap rock". Basalt is a hard, dense, dark volcanic rock composed chiefly of plagioclase, pyroxene, and olivine, and often having a glassy appearance.
Typical Applications: Crushed stone, concrete aggregate, railroad ballast, production of high quality textile fibers, floor tiles, acid-resistant equipment for heavy industrial use, rockwool, basalt plastic pipers, basalt plastic reinforcement bars, basalt fiber roofing felt (ruberoid), basalt laminate used as a
protective coating, heat-insulating basalt fiber materials, glass wool (fiber glass), etc.
Packaging: Jars, pails, drums, multiply paper bags, bulk bags and fiberboard containers
Machine- building companies. Gas furnaces treatment of metal articles (working lining of side and vaulting); furnaces with carriage-type hearth, bell-type furnaces, shaft furnaces, pusher-type furnaces. Etectro- furnaces: (insulating layers of inductor), electric resistance furnace for aluminum,
cooper etc. melting. Caps for slow metal cooling (lining of walls and roof).
Oil-refining industry. Different types of tube heaters (working lining of radiant chamber walls and roof, etc).
Power engineering. Boilers (all types), water-heating boilers with medium output, combustion space electric power station, cogeneration plant (working layer of walls, roof, caps), casing, shells for steam- pipe insulating. Materials for passive protective system of electrical stations, cogeneration plant, atomic stations (cable headings, ventilation boxes, fire-proof doors).
Chemical industry. Plants for manufacturing of nitrogen fertilizer (working chamber layer), plants for manufacturing of ammonia, collector of reactionary pipes.
Glass industry. Furnaces for glass mass melting, glazes and frits (working and insulating layers).
Shipbuilding. Equipment for setting of boilers (working and insulating layers, shaped parts for steam-pipes).
Processing industry. Heat units for sugar and production manufacturing (working and insulating layers). Furnaces for burning of trash, sawdust and other burnable wastes.
Consumer goods manufacturing. Thermal furnaces for annealing of ceramic, faience, china, sanitary articles. Drying ovens, insulating of water-heating boilers and house-hold gas ovens, boiling plants. Materials for manufacturing fire-proof doors.
LOOKING FORWARD THROUGH 2012
Empyrean currently has 5 OC-48 bandwidth dark fiber circuits under contract and an additional 20 OC-48 circuits under agreement in principle in ten U.S. cities for a ten-year duration. This bandwidth was recently valued by third party analysis and reflects a current value of $1.4 Billion for Empyrean’s fiber. Total Gross Revenues for ten years have been conservatively estimated to be $1.38 billion.
The potential for broadband backed securities is staggering. Just one major broadband supplier such as Qwest (which gets most of its broadband provisions from Broadwing and at a much greater cost than Empyrean’s fiber) would provide in excess of $1 Billion U.S. per year in gross revenues which Empyrean could acquire and securitize for a small fee. In this example (Qwest), a 2% fee would generate minimum gross revenues to the banking group of $20,000,000 U.S. per year for the term of the securitization. However, Empyrean foresees revenues to the banking group from this type of activity exceeding $100,000,000 U.S. per year.
Empyrean is targeting its services to government, government agencies, the business customer, including large and medium corporations, Internet service providers, inter-exchange carriers, telephone companies, Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs), electric utilities, colleges and universities, healthcare providers and others.
**IMPORTANT NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER FROM AfterHourTrades, INC.**
No information accessed through the AfterHourTrades, Inc. Web site, or any link contained on the AfterHourTrades, Inc. Web site, constitutes a recommendation by AfterHourTrades, Inc. to buy, sell or hold any security, financial product, or instrument discussed therein. Information accessed through linked sites neither is, nor should be construed as, an offer, or a solicitation of an offer, to buy or sell securities by AfterHourTrades, Inc. AfterHourTrades, Inc. may or may not hold positions in securities being discussed in this news release and/or mentioned on the AfterHourTrades, Inc. Web site. Investors shall be fully responsible for any investment decisions they make, and such decisions will be based solely on their evaluation of their financial circumstances, investment objectives, risk tolerance and liquidity needs. Investors are encouraged to consult with their registered broker and/or investment adviser before making any investment decision. The purpose of this advertisement, like any advertising, is to provide coverage and publicity for the advertising company, its products or services. The purpose of this advertisement, like any advertising, is to provide coverage and publicity for the advertising company, its products or services. The information provided in this advertisement is not intended for distribution to, or use by, any person or entity in any jurisdiction or country where such distribution or use would be contrary to law or regulation or which would subject us to any registration requirement within such jurisdiction or country. Verify all claims and do your own due diligence. This advertisement is not a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities and does not provide an analysis of the financial position of the company. We recommend you use the information found in this advertisement as an initial starting point for conducting your own research on the advertised company in order to determine your own personal opinion of the company before investing. An attorney should verify all information concerning the advertised company contained herein independently, with such company and an independent licensed securities analyst. We are not offering securities for sale. An offer to buy or sell can be made only with accompanying disclosure documents and only in the states and provinces for which they are approved. Many states have established rules requiring the approval of a security by a state security administrator. Check with http://www.nasaa.org and call your state security administrator to determine whether a particular security is licensed for sale in your state. Many companies have information filed with state securities regulators and many will supply investors with additional information on request. All statements and opinions contained in this advertisement are the sole opinion of the authors and are subject to change without notice. We are not liable for any investment decisions by our readers. Readers should independently investigate and fully understand all risks before investing. It is strongly recommended that any purchase or sale decision be discussed with a financial adviser or broker prior to completing any such purchase or sale decision. We are not registered investment advisers, or broker-dealers, or members of any financial regulatory bodies. The information contained in this advertisement is provided as an information service only. The accuracy or completeness of the information is not warranted and is only as reliable as the sources from which it was obtained. We disclaim any and all liability as to the completeness or accuracy of the information and for any omissions of material facts. This advertisement may contain hyperlinks to web sites operated by third parties other than us. Such hyperlinks are provided for the reader's reference and convenience only. We are not responsible for the reliability of these external sites nor are we responsible for any of the contents, advertising, products, or other materials on such external sites. Our inclusion of hyperlinks to such web sites does not imply any endorsement of the material on such web sites or any association with their operators. Under no circumstances shall we be held responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any loss or damage caused or alleged to have been caused in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods, or services available on such external site. Any concerns regarding any external link should be directed to its respective site administrator or Webmaster. We may refer to other sources of information, or other commentary. We intend to offer these items to readers as additional sources of information, but disclaim any implication that we endorse information contained in such outside sources. Any referral by us is no guarantee of the accuracy of any information provided by outside sources. As we disclaim any representation concerning source reliability, readers must contact information suppliers on their own and gauge to the reader's satisfaction the truthfulness of any source information. It should be understood that there is no guarantee past performance will be indicative of future results. Any reference to past performance(s) of companies previously advertised are specially selected to be referenced based on the favorable performance of these companies and the companies referenced may not be representative of all past advertised companies as not all past advertised companies may have performed as well. Readers are cautioned that small and micro-cap stocks are high-risk investments and that they may lose all or a portion of their investment if they make a purchase in our advertised stocks. In order to be in full compliance with the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, Section 17(b), we are receiving 24,000 free trading shares of Empyrean Communications, Inc. (OTC BB: EPYC) from Global Marketing and Management as compensation for the distribution of this and other advertisements. Since we are receiving compensation and hold stock in the advertised company there is an inherent conflict of interest in our statements and opinions and such statements and opinions cannot be considered independent. We will benefit from any increase in share price of the advertised company. We will sell our shares at any time, without notice, be that before, during or immediately after the release of this advertisement. The liquidation of our stock may have a negative impact on the securities of the company liquidated, including decreased market value and/or dilution of the company's securities. Furthermore, our associates and/or employees and/or principals may have stock positions in advertised companies purchased in the open market or in private transactions. These positions may be liquidated, without prior notification, even after we have made positive comments regarding the advertised company. It should be understood that any price targets and/or projections mentioned are solely opinions and should not be taken as suggested holding periods. In fact, we will sell our positions in any companies advertised before they reach such target prices. The receipt of this information constitutes your acceptance of these terms and conditions. Reading this advertisement shall not create under any circumstances an offer to buy or sell stock in any company advertised. Nor shall it create any principal-agent relationship between the reader and us. The stocks of advertised companies may trade in fast moving, highly volatile markets, and any reader should observe the trading behavior of any advertised company prior to investing. Advertised stocks are often thinly traded and large sell orders will have a substantially negative impact on share price. Investors in advertised stocks may experience difficulty in selling shares without seeing a decline in market price and may have difficulty in finding ready buyers of their stock. Information within this advertisement contains "forward looking" statements within the meaning of Section 27(a) of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21(e) of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, goals, assumptions or future events or performance are not statements of historical facts and may be forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are based on expectations, estimates and projections at the time the statements are made that involve a number of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those presently anticipated. Forward looking statements may be identified through the use of words such as expects, will, anticipates, estimates, believes, or by statements indicating certain actions may, could or might occur. We encourage our readers to invest carefully and read the investor information available at the web sites of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) at http://www.sec.gov and the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) at http://www.nasd.com. We also strongly recommend that you read the SEC advisory to investors concerning Internet Stock Fraud, which can be found at http://www.sec.gov/consumer/cyberfr.htm. The NASD has published information on how to invest carefully at its web site. Readers can review all public filings by companies at the SEC s EDGAR page. All information within this advertisement is qualified in its entirety by the detailed information and financial statements of the advertised company contained in its regulatory filings with the SEC. www
$Looks good for Monday 4Q results
Subject: 4th Qtr and Year End Results are In
Fr: Yahoo board
Hartcourt Reports Results for Fourth Quarter and Year end 2001
April 12, 2002 5:33:00 PM ET
LOS ANGELES, April 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Hartcourt Companies, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: HRCT; Frankfurt: 900009), www.hartcourt.com, today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and year ending December 31, 2001. Revenues for the year 2001 were $10,621,205 as compared to $1,391,666 for year 2000, a 663% increase. Revenues for the fourth quarter of 2001 were $4,680,453 as compared $3,809,526 for the third quarter of 2001 and
$507,258 for the fourth quarter of 2000. On a pro forma basis Hartcourt reported a six ($0.06) cents loss per share.
These pro forma results are exclusive of non-recurring one-time gains and losses, one-time legal and professional fees associated with the acquisitions and public offering costs. Hartcourt lost eight ($0.08) cents per share for year 2001 as compared to eleven ($0.11) cents for year 2000. Hartcourt recorded one-time write down of goodwill and intangible software costs of $1,785,262 or three ($0.03) cents per share, and one-time costs in legal and
professional costs of $1,300,199 or two ($0.02) cents incurred in connection with the acquisitions of the subsidiaries and public offerings. Cash flow from operating activities improved from ($2,513,094) for year 2000 to ($1,472,146) for year 2001. Revenues for the three months ended December 31, 2001 were derived from Hartcourt's 51% owned subsidiary Elephant Talk Inc.; its 58.53% owned subsidiary Financial Telecom Limited ("FTL"); its 66.67% owned
subsidiary Haike Caijin TV (HCTV); and its 85% owned subsidiary StreamingAsia.Com Ltd. ("StreamingAsia").
"We continued to show significant progress across our operating divisions," said Mr. Manu Ohri, Hartcourt CFO. "Revenues continued to expand during the fourth quarter and operating expenses continued to decline from consolidation, and strategic relocation of personnel and assets. In response to market conditions and pending accounting rule changes in 2002, Hartcourt took a conservative approach and impaired goodwill in Q4. The reduction in goodwill
serves to appreciably reduce amortization expense going forward and positions the company on a shorter path to profitable operations." Hartcourt CEO and President, Dr. Wallace Ching stated: "In spite of a challenging environment during 2001 we continued to record steady progress with revenue growth, execution of our business strategies, completion of key acquisitions, and the public divestiture of our ElephantTalk subsidiary. We expect Sinobull to
list in Q2 and recent agreements to acquire Control Tech Centenary Group Ltd. and Kangrun Technology will add to our steadily growing network of portfolio companies and lead the way to a market listing for AI- Asia to follow. Year 2001 was a building year for our young organization, and in spite of the severe market conditions, Hartcourt now consists of five operating divisions comprised of 12 companies with 200 employees. We have had a strong start
to this year in relation to revenue growth and will continue to assess operational performance across our organization as we strive to meet our goals for revenue growth and profitability during 2002." Hartcourt's fourth quarter 2001 accomplishments and subsequent events: -- Dr. Wallace Ching named as CEO and President of Hartcourt, Dr. Phanremains as Chairman -- ElephantTalk completed the merger with Staruni Corporation and tradesunder the
ticker ETLK-- AI-Asia purchases 100% of Control Tech Centenary -- ElephantTalk signed agreements with EADS Multicom, Jitong, Great WallBroadband and China Netcom Corporation-- Sinobull launches the Chinese version of Equis Meta Stock -- Financial Telecom provides financial content for Shanghai Net Bankcable TV-- AI-Asia and Kangrun Technology Ltd. Sign acquisition agreement -- Hartcourt announced the formation of Hartcourt Capital to
offerinvestment-banking services and launch China venture fund
Should be a nice monday IMO
Have a great day
K
$ Lucky your one of the best, thanks
and you have a great day too.
k
$ Stop pushing panic buttons. EOM
I agree with you Deb, we know things will get better eom
$ MORE GOOD NEWS
From AOL HRCT Stock quotes
Hartcourt Subsidiary, Sinobull Financial Group, to Launch MetaStock and Sinobull Wireless Internet at Securex Show in Shanghai
LOS ANGELES, March 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Hartcourt Companies, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: HRCT; Frankfurt: 900009), www.hartcourt.com, announced today that its subsidiary, Sinobull Financial Group, www.sinobullfinancial.com, will exhibit its products at the Securex show in Shanghai. Securex, http://luyan.sohu.com/securex/web/nae1.htm , is China's most popular financial products and services exhibition. Sinobull will use this occasion to showcase its newest products: MetaStock of Equis/Reuters and Sinobull Wireless Internet. Organizers expect over 80,000 investors to attend the show from Friday March 22 to Sunday March 24, 2002.
Sinobull Group has recently completed, and is now ready to market, the Chinese version of the MetaStock software, the world's leading technical analysis and charting software. MetaStock has won the Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities magazine's Reader's Choice award for analysis software the past 8 years running. Sinobull has converted the MetaStock software to localized language and programming to make it accessible to millions of Chinese investors demanding professional financial tools to manage their trading activity and portfolio positions. Sinobull Group is an exclusive Greater China distributor of MetaStock, appointed by Equis (www.equis.com), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reuters (Nasdaq: RTRSY).
Sinobull Group will also introduce Sinobull Wireless Internet, a powerful wireless application using "Streaming Mobile Application Real-Time Technology" (SMART) to provide streaming, automatically updating, stock market information in real-time over wireless devices from mobile phones, pagers to PDA's. Through Java programs, SinoBull Wireless Internet updates stock market information automatically, anytime, anyplace, with the latest Hang Seng Index, stock quotes, FX quotes, transaction volumes and chart analysis.
Mr. Stephen Tang, CEO of Sinobull Financial Group, comments, "Sinobull Financial Group continues to develop its position as a premier financial information and service provider for leading institutions and retail investors. These new products were created to meet the demand of China's investors for reliable, professional financial information, and equity and portfolio management software. Our launching of SinoBull Wireless Internet and the Chinese MetaStock software demonstrates our continuing commitment to develop innovative and market leading financial management services and technology."
The Hartcourt Companies has announced that it will publicly divest its Sinobull Financial Group subsidiary in a reverse merger with Global Telephone Communications Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: GTCI). The reverse merger will result in Sinobull Financial Group actively trading on the U.S. equity markets and is pending SEC approval.
About Sinobull Financial Group
Sinobull Financial Group develops financial technology, financial operating platforms and internet-based financial services. Sinobull's operating companies include: Shanghai Sinobull Information Company Ltd. (formerly Shanghai Guo Mao Science & Technology Company Ltd.), Sinobull Network Technology Company Limited (formerly Beijing Shangdi Net Technologies Center Company Limited), Financial Telecom Ltd, Fintel Wireless Ltd., Ton Bo Software, HCTV Financial TV Channel Ltd. and Sinobull Magazine Ltd. Sinobull.com is a financial information and stock trading website. Sinobull Group and its strategic partners provide news, data and analysis to the business community and media outlets. Services include: real-time pricing, historical pricing, indicative data, analytics and electronic communications. Clients include China's investment institutions, commercial banks, government offices and agencies, corporations, and news/media organizations. www.sinobullfinancial.com
Forward Looking Statement
The statements made in this press release, which are not historical facts, contain certain forward-looking statements concerning potential developments affecting the business, prospects, financial conditions and other aspects of the company to which this release pertains. The actual results of the specific items described in this release, and the company' operations generally, may differ materially from what is projected in such forward-looking statements. Although such statements are based upon the best judgments of management of the company as of the date of this release, significant deviations in magnitude, timing and other factors may result from business risks and uncertainties including, without limitation, the company's dependence on third parties, general market and economic conditions, technical factors, the availability of outside capital, receipt of revenues and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the company. The company disclaims any obligation to update information contained in any forward-looking statement.
For more information ... please contact
Larry Kristof
Vice President
Lexington Enterprises Ltd.
Suite 204, 910 Richards Street
Vancouver, BC V6B 3C1
Email: info@lexingtonenterprises.com
Telephone: 604.484.8286
Fax: 604.484.8287
MAKE YOUR OPINION COUNT - Click Here
http://tbutton.prnewswire.com/prn/11690X52031166
SOURCE The Hartcourt Companies, Inc.
CO: Hartcourt Companies, Inc.; Sinobull Financial Group; Equis; Reuters; Global Telephone Communications Inc.
ST: California, China
IN: CPR TLS MLM STW ITE FIN OTC
SU: PDT TDS TNM
03/22/2002 00:00 EST http://www.prnewswire.com
4K share buy this morning nice move eom
Lucky, as always, a class act post.
Thanks
K
$ This was on aol board. Interesting
Subject: A speech from Dr. Phan
Date: 3/11/2002 3:24 PM Pacific Standard Time
From: RedTops2
Message-id: <20020311182443.17436.00000852@mb-fd.aol.com>
Good morning gang.....
Dr. Phan recently gave welcoming remarks to a group of 32 MBA
students from the Business School of Columbia
University in New York. They are visiting China, and
among the major corporations they visited in Shanghai
are Hartcourt, IBM, Dell, Proctor Gamble..Here is what he had to say...Aloha
Ladies and Gentlemen:
It’s my pleasure to welcome you to Shanghai, the financial center of Asia for the next century. My name is Alan Phan, I am the founder and Chairman of Hartcourt, a small public company in Los Angeles, founded in 1990. Since 1999, we have devoted all our resources in developing China projects, especially in the fields of financial information, Internet services and broadband telecommunications. For the last 3 years, we have gone from zero revenue to
about $4.5 Million this quarter; from 3 employees to about 200 employees.
However, I won’t bore you with details and statistics about Hartcourt. For those who are interested, there are the handouts on the table and our Web site, www.hartcourt.com, or my Email, aphan@hartcourt.com.
I think you are more interested in the practical experience and challenges that Hartcourt and myself have been facing; and what lesson could we all learn from them. I will briefly give you some general observations, of course, strictly from a personal perspective, on 2 subjects: the China business environment with its special market characteristics and Hartcourt’s strategy in implementing its business plan.
The first thing you should have noticed by now is that China market is distinctly two entire different markets: the major urban populations along the East coast of China and the rural mass of the Western provinces. The differences in lifestyles, income and spending habits are so big that you might conclude they are from two different countries. The government is doing its best to close the gap; but this effort won’t see any real measure of success
until 10 or even 20 years from now. But eventually, they will close the gap. We all know that China GDP has grown over 10% per annum for the last 12 years straight. Even in 2001, when the world is in recession, China recorded a 7.3% growth. However, this result mostly comes from the urban market of about 22 percent of the population. When the rural mass catches up with the rising standard of living, you will realize the true magnetic of the size of
China market. Like my Alabama cousin used to say, “you ain’t seen nothing yet.”
The second thing old China hands like me always notice is the speed of transformation. Twenty years ago, I used to go to Guangzhou from Hong Kong. Our cars would stop at a small village next to the border so everybody could relieve themselves in the surrounding rice fields, after hours struggling with immigration and customs officers. Today, that village, called Shenzhen, has a population of over 5 Million, uncounted five-star hotels, traffic jam and
a night life that makes Hong Kong blush. Anyone who came to Shanghai 10 years ago would not recognize the skyline of all these new high-rises. Rome wasn’t built in 7 days, but make no mistake, the Chinese is creating a world record.
Which bring us another problem: this speed of transformation also applies to their legal and bureaucratic system. The rules of the game are being changed constantly; your advantages today can turn out to be your disadvantage tomorrow. Case in point: in 1999, one of our operational units, UAC Stock Online, obtained an exclusive right to use an Intranet called Chinapac162 to enable the customers of stock brokerage firms to trade on line. Government
guidelines prohibited the use of Internet to trade or send private financial information for fear of security breach. We spent over $1 Million USD to roll out the platform with China Telecom. When it was ready to be deployed 8 months later, government policy changed and Internet trades were allowed. All our efforts were written off. Another example is the announced plan to create a stock exchange for emerging companies, similar to the Hong Kong GEM
board. Everything was set up, from administrative units to the physical building. Five hundreds companies applied and the launch was set for March 2001. One year later, nobody knows when or what the plan is. Unofficially, they predict it will be launched in 2007. We, the China investors, always complain among ourselves, they change the rules right in the middle of the game.
Another interesting aspect of this market is its “freshness”, the willingness to try anything new and fancy. Comparing to the US, Europe and Japan, Chinese consumers are much younger, with “new” money. These hip, urban “nouvelle riches” create their own pattern of spending, their own trendy fashions, their own quirky behavior. It is very common to see a young secretary who makes $200 a month spends $500 on the newest cell phone model
without hesitation. Motorola and Nokia have benefited handsomely on this new wave. As a young market coming out of the Communist shadow for only 20 or so years, the brand building process is a free-for-all game among competitors. That is why Volkswagen is more popular here than Toyota, Carefour more than WalMart, Legend more than Dell or Compaq. This market gives young companies like Hartcourt, Sinobull or Elephant Talk some fighting chance against
the giant multi-nationals.
Lastly, a word of caution. As you know, to do business in China, it’s best that you work with a joint venture partner. There are too many unknown factors in the marketing and distribution, in the bureaucratic system, in the employee relations etc.. to go solo. Being trained in the best business schools of the world, coming from the most successful economies, the American and European businessmen normally carry with them the arrogance, the
“I-know-best” attitude. It’s always “our way or highway”. We expect an easy win because we expect the Chinese to play by the same rules. However, they did not go to Columbia Business School and due to their insecurity, they are more clever, cunning and creative. I have done business in China for 25 years, and I have never seen a Western businessman, myself included, outsmarting a Chinese partner or a Chinese competitor. You have no choice
but let the Chinese lead in the dance. The most successful Western ventures in China like Intel, Microsoft, Boeing, Motorola, Proctor Gambles… adhere strongly to this principle.
Finally, I would like to share with you a few more principles and strategies Hartcourt have been practiced in its China operations:
First, as discussed, we always rely on local partners, local managers and local employees. All our business plans are prepared and adapted with major participation from local people. From our side, there are always suggestions, but never an imposed American solution, only a Chinese solution.
Having said that, I must emphasize that all operations are monitored closely by Hartcourt executives. We believe in a “hands-on” management style. We insist in participating in all phases of the operations. This is utterly important, as we have witnessed so many failures by “remote control” management. That is why all Hartcourt executives are located in Hong Kong and China.
Third, we adopt the same strategy of GE: we are ONLY in the business where we can be a Number One, or Two or Three in market position. We must always find a small niche of a market segment to focus our activities and do not let ourselves get carried away in the excitement of the moment, when looking at the over-all size of the market. Additionally, we won’t invest in high-risk proposals and won’t waste time and resource on any new and unproven
concept or product.
Fourth, in anticipation of the fast-moving nature of China market and its business environment, we must remain very flexible in our execution of the business plan. We are very persistent in following our long-term goals; but we must revise our strategy every quarter to ensure our achievements will continue to push us forward to that goal.
Finally, we are patient. Very patient. China market has huge potential but it is full of great challenges and obstacles. I always tell my colleagues that with such an opportunities presented in China for the next 10 years, even the most stupid businessman will become a millionaire. Provided that he is willing to be patient and to continue his business to the end. Right here in China.
Thank you for your attention.
Minddoc, Romance is good, not enough going around. lol
$ Does anyone know the date for Earnings Report
Thanks
K
$Hi all,
Deb, I am in agreement with you. We (longs) have left RB and AOL because of the spineless individuals on the boards. I am hoping that will not happen here. We have a good crew. Lets not let this become the next butcher shop.
Lets keep the rats outside with the rest of the trash.
K
every little bit helps, eom
I hope so ;) eom
lol luv u too lolol
$Patience grasshopper lol
I agree some PR would be great. I have the feeling that when it (Pr) does arrive it will put HRCT/ETLK to a very nice positive level. JMO
K
Great Letter, Hope he responses,
anything would be nice. I agree with you, some PR would truely get this sleeping giant moving.
Be nice to end the week on a good note$$$
Later
K
ETLK should start to move in the upward position IMO. I beleive HRCT earnings out next couple of weeks or so. With all that has been going on with HRCT, I feel the only news will be good news. It has been a rough ride, I really believe the worst is over, and the better days are finally here. IMO
K
Nice Read, Minddoc, thanks
K
Ok let go, you name the casino, me and Deb will meet ya there. Don't have to ask me twice. Come to think about it, you didn't ask me at all. Oh well, deb, let goooooooo
K
No News yet. EOM
Hi Deb and Gang,
Well I think this is going to be a very interesting couple of weeks. I also went to ETLK web site, still not able to access the PR. Lets hope soon. It would be nice to end the month with some GREEN.
Later
K
This did well today, just the begining, hoping it continues.
K
Hi All
Does anyone have any idea what we will be opening up at the bell?
Hey deb, if that was me, I would have fainted when I saw the account. Etrade still has my SRUN and close amount for Friday.
Well Hope everyone has a great evening. I am going to watch the Pats and Raiders on our Big screen. It is snowing like a bugger at Foxboro. Should be a great game. In New England it is now dubed the "SnowBowl" just like in 82.
Chat later
K
Just a matter of time before we see this moving nicely up the scale.
Have a great weekend all
Karen
$ Nice way to close out the week.
Lets hope it double next week also, at least maintains. Hanging in there. Have a wonderful weekend.
The view is great here in New Hampshire
Karen
Ps Hi Deb
$ Must agree, a year ago if anyone told me I would be holding as many shares of HRCT that I currently have, I would have said order me a case of whatever your drinking. I have been lucky enough to have kept buying a little each month. Well, I too can now sit back and just watch. I know, as well as the some of the other longs, that this will all work out.
Have a safe and happy weekend
Karen
$ Hi roller LOL
Just kidding,but look you made it move yes
karen
$ Ole Home week ;) Chris thanks for the board, let see if SRUN can put smiles on all our faces in months to come. Have a nice day all
Karen