Hartcourt Companies (fka HRCT)

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HRCT NEWS ALERT !

(PR NEWSWIRE) Hartcourt Completes Acquisition of Fifty-One Percent of Elephan
Hartcourt Completes Acquisition of Fifty-One Percent of Elephant Talk

Hong Kong Based Elephant Talk is a Leading International Long Distance Telecom
Service Provider

LOS ANGELES, May 17 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hartcourt Companies, Inc.
(OTC Bulletin Board: HRCT, Frankfurt: HCT), www.hartcourt.com, announced today
that the company has completed the purchase of fifty-one percent of Elephant
Talk. Details of the transaction will be disclosed on form 8K, which the
Company will file shortly.
Mr. Russelle Choi, Chairman and CEO of Elephant Talk, said, "We are happy
to be a member of the Hartcourt Group. Through our dedicated effort and
excellent customer service, Elephant Talk is now viewed as a premium brand
name company throughout Hong Kong and parts of China. With the support of
Hartcourt, we intend to spread our wings and target a much larger portion of
the growing Asian market."
Hartcourt Chairman, Dr. Alan V. Phan, commented: "Upon completion of this
acquisition, we will be able to consolidate Elephant Talk's revenue onto
Hartcourt's balance sheet. We are looking forward to assisting Elephant Talk
in developing an improved profit model and significant expansion of its
telecom services within the fastest growing and most profitable telecom market
in the world."

About Elephant Talk
Based in Hong Kong, Elephant Talk is one of the leading international
long-distance service providers to Hong Kong and portions of China.
Established in 1995, it holds a number of licenses including US FCC 214, HK
ETS and ISP PNETS allowing it to provide voice, data transmission like IDD,
pre-paid calling card and ISP services. Its customers include major telecom
carriers based in the U.S. and Hong Kong.

Additional information regarding Elephant Talk can be found at
www.elephanttalk.com.

About Hartcourt
The Hartcourt Companies is a holding and development company that is
building a network of Internet and telecommunication service companies in The
People's Republic of China, including Hong Kong, in partnership with Chinese
entrepreneurs as well as Chinese government-owned entities. Hartcourt's
business goal over the next three years is to benefit from a series of IPOs or
spin-offs of its core business holdings and investments in Greater China.

Additional information regarding Hartcourt can be found at
www.hartcourt.com.

Forward-looking statements
Certain statements in this news release may constitute "forward looking"
statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934. Such forward looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other
factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievement
expressed or implied by such forward looking statements to differ materially
from the forward looking statements.

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SOURCE Hartcourt Companies, Inc.
-0- 05/17/2001
/CONTACT: Jack Westfield, Senior Vice President, Corporate Finance of The
Hartcourt Companies, Inc., 310-410-7290, ext. 210, [e-mail]/
/Web site: http://www.hartcourt.com/
(HRCT)

CO: Hartcourt Companies, Inc.; Elephant Talk
ST: California, China, Hong Kong
IN: TLS MLM OTC
SU: TNM


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