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Hartcourt/Staruni PR...

Hartcourt's Subsidiary, ElephantTalk, to Merge With Staruni


LOS ANGELES, Calif., Sept. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hartcourt Companies, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: HRCT; Frankfurt: HCT), www.hartcourt.com, today announced that it will publicly divest its ElephantTalk (ET) subsidiary in a merger with Staruni Corp. (OTC Bulletin Board: SRUN). The reverse merger will allow ElephantTalk to actively trade on the equity markets and unlock its value for Hartcourt investors. In addition, ElephantTalk will now have its own access to the capital markets to raise the necessary capital to expand its businesses.

Mr. Russelle Choi, CEO of ET, comments, "We are excited and proud to be entering the US public market and we are planning to apply for listings on the Frankfurt and Hong Kong markets as well. We look forward to rewarding our shareholders with a well-managed, growing, profitable business that is poised to take advantage of the coming opportunities in Greater China. We are already moving forward with plans to add substantial revenues over the next few quarters and expand operations. ET has just begun recording revenues on two new international markets which should substantially impact our top line. ET has also reduced operating margins through a re-negotiation of our major lease line expenses. We have also unveiled our new website today at www.elephanttalk.com. These are just the first steps in our strategy to develop ET into a world class telecommunications organization in Asia and the US."

Hartcourt plans to continue its divestiture strategy with SinoBull and AI-Asia and is on schedule to have these subsidiaries enter the public markets during Q4. The education division will stay within Hartcourt. In 2002, Hartcourt shareholders will have major equity stakes in four operating companies trading on multiple world exchanges.

Dr. Alan Phan, Chairman of Hartcourt, said, "Today Hartcourt has achieved the first step in fulfilling its promise to maximize the value of its assets for investors. The spin off of ElephantTalk is the first in the process of monetizing Hartcourt's assets through public divestitures. We expect the capitalization of ElephantTalk to validate our investment in ET and set the stage for the public listings of SinoBull and AI-Asia. Further details of the merger, including equity distributions via dividend shares, will be forthcoming."

About Hartcourt

The Hartcourt Companies is a holding and development enterprise that has built a broad network of Internet, media, and telecommunication companies in Greater China. In partnership with leading Chinese entrepreneurs and government-sponsored entities, Hartcourt is developing and investing in emerging technologies while building an integrated commercial framework for its subsidiaries and their partners. Hartcourt's operative business strategy is designed to facilitate a series of venture divestitures via IPO or public merger to fully realize the value of these assets for its investors. Detailed information on Hartcourt can be obtained via the company's Web site: www.hartcourt.com.

About ElephantTalk

Based in Hong Kong, ElephantTalk 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 ElephantTalk can be found at www.elephanttalk.com.

About Staruni

Staruni Corp. is an Internet service provider. The Company provides a wide array of Internet services tailored to meet the needs of individual and business customers, including customers with little or no online experience. The Company does business mainly in southern California. Its primary service offering for individual customers is dial-up Internet access and value-added services.

Forward-looking statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, factors detailed in Hartcourt's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including recent filings of Forms 10-K and 10-Q. The forward-looking statements should be considered in light of these risks and uncertainties. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Hartcourt undertakes no obligation to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. The inclusion of any statement in this release does not constitute an admission by Hartcourt or any other person that the events or circumstances described in such statement are material.

For further information, please contact Mr. Manu Ohri of The Hartcourt Companies, Inc., [phone], ext 207.

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SOURCE The Hartcourt Companies, Inc.

CO: Hartcourt Companies, Inc.; Staruni Corp.; ElephantTalk

ST: California, China

IN: TLS MLM CPR NET ITE OTC

SU: TNM

09/25/2001 13:00 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com