NEWS
Hartcourt Announces the Formation of the Strategic Advisory Committee
The Hartcourt Companies, Inc. (OTCBB: HRCT) (FRANKFURT: 900009) (the "Company") today announced that it has formed the Strategic Advisory Committee. Six members have been appointed to the Advisory Committee. These members are Xiping Tao, Senior Education Expert; Min Tang, Deputy Chief Representative and Chief Economist, Asian Development Bank, Beijing Office; Gary Locke, Partner and Co-Chair of China Practice Group, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP; Andy Rothman, Chief China Strategist, CLSA, Ltd.; Brian Outlaw, Director for China for the China Britain Business Council and Executive Vice President of the Western Management Institute of Beijing; and Yungeng Hu, President and Chief Financial Officer of the Company.
Mr. Xiping Tao is currently the General Advisor of the China National Education Supervisory Board, the Chairman of Beijing Social Science Association, Vice Chairman of China Education Association, and Chairman of Asia-Pacific Regional Association of United Nations Educational, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Mr. Tao used to be the Secretary-in-General and the Commissioner of Beijing Education Bureau, assistant to Beijing mayor and vice director of Beijing People's Representative Standing Committee. As a senior education expert, Mr. Tao published numerous articles and books on education.
Dr. Min Tang graduated from and taught at Dept. of Economics and Management of Wuhan University in 1982. In 1984, he went to University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and obtained a Ph.D. in 1989, when he was hired by Asian Development Bank as an economist, covering the East Asia economy, regional economic cooperation, Asian debts and Asian financial markets. In 1985, Dr. Tang was promoted to Senior Economist at ADB's Planning Section, responsible for the economic policy and development strategy of Southern Asia, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. In 2000, Dr. Tang was transferred to Beijing as the Deputy Chief Representative and Chief Economist at ADB's Beijing Office. Dr. Tang was the first man who proposed to the State Council of PRC to expand the college and vocational education in China and thus named by the public as an "Education Activist."
Mr. Gary Locke was elected Washington's 21st governor on November 5, 1996, making him the first Chinese American governor in U.S. history. On November 7, 2000, Gary, a Democrat, was reelected to his second term by an overwhelming margin. As governor, he worked to make Washington a better place to live, work and raise a family by dramatically raising academic achievement in the public schools; strengthening the state's economy, improving transportation, expanding health care to vulnerable children and adults, and making the state government more accessible and user-friendly. Gary's organizational and managerial accomplishments have been recognized by Governing Magazine as one of America's five best managed states, as a finalist in the Harvard Innovations in Government program, and as the most Digital State Government. Gary obtained his J.D. from Boston University in 1975 and B.A. from Yale in 1972.
Mr. Andy Rothman provides institutional investors with analysis of economic and political trends in China, as well as assessments of China's impact on regional economies. Based in Shanghai, Andy has more than 20 years Chinese experience. Andy joined CLSA in 2000 after 17 years with the US Foreign Service focused on China. Before joining CLSA he was director of the Macroeconomic and Domestic Policy Office at the American Embassy in Beijing. Andy first went to China in 1980 as an undergraduate at Colgate University in New York, where he studied international relations. He received a Master of Public Administration from the LBJ School at the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied public policy and economics. Andy was a State Department Fellow at MIT's Seminar XXI program on national security, and he studied Chinese at the US Foreign Service Institute and Capitol Teachers College in Beijing.
Graduated from the University in Aberdeen with a BSc degree in geology in 1971, Mr. Outlaw worked in the oil industry for Burmah Oil Company, British National Oil Corporation and Britoil in Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the North Sea in a number of exploration and management roles. He joined BP in 1988 as President BP China, based in BP and was responsible for all BP's activities in China and Hong Kong. Managed exploration activities both onshore and offshore of China and was involved in the negotiation of the Chongqing acetic acid plant and initial discussions on the Shanghai petrochemical complex. He was a board member of several of BP's joint ventures in China. In 1996 he joined PowerGen as Country General Manager, China and Korea and led the acquisition of a 530 MW gas fired power plant in Korea and led negotiations for a number of projects in China. Brian's about 20 years direct experience in China made him absolutely a Chinese expert. Brian is a Fellow of the Geological Society of London.
Dr. Hu brings to Hartcourt substantial experience in investment banking, ECM, M&A and management. Right before Hartcourt, Dr. Hu served as a Managing Director of Investment Banking at CLSA, in the areas of ECM and M&A in China. Prior to CLSA, Dr. Hu was the General Manager of Hangzhou Hyatt Hotel with responsibility including designing and executing the turnaround strategy and rescuing the company out of the distressing situation. Before that, Dr. Hu worked for Chase Manhattan Bank in New York where he helped to restructure Chase's NPL and other international lending deals. Prior to Chase, He worked for Ministry of Commerce of PRC and Bank of Finland. Dr. Hu holds an MBA from Helsinki School of Economics and a Ph.D. from New York University.
The Strategic Advisory Committee is anticipated to provide guidance to the Company's strategic development. The diversity of member expertise will ensure that the Committee plays a key role in the successful business of the Company.
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