Staruni Corporation (SRUN)

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WE GOT NEWS!!!

October 08, 2001 09:30

ElephantTalk, a Hartcourt Subsidiary, Forms Partnership With JiTong; ET to Resell JiTong PRC IPLC/I-phone/I-fax Service Under Co-Brands Worldwide

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hartcourt Companies, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: HRCT; Frankfurt: HCT 900009), www.hartcourt.com, announced today that ElephantTalk, its telecom subsidiary, has entered into a reseller agreement with JiTong Network Communications Company Limited ("JiTong") to provide a variety of IP-based telecom services. JiTong is one of the five government-owned telecom giants in China with their own communication infrastructure. It is the famous owner and operator of the Golden Bridge fiber optics and Internet services. Both companies will jointly develop and market new brands of IP telephony solutions in major countries worldwide.

Under the terms of agreement, ElephantTalk will interconnect its global point-of-presence (POPs) with JiTong's network. ElephantTalk will market and resell JiTong's IP-based services including I-phone and I-fax services, while JiTong will be responsible for service provisioning, technical support and after-sales services to customers. The agreement signifies the beginning of close, long-term, working partnership between the two companies.

"This is a perfect opportunity for both companies to expand their networks globally by sharing their resources, especially services to the commercial sector," said Mr. Russelle Choi, CEO of ElephantTalk. "To meet the projected exponential growth of demand for IP-based services after China's access to WTO, we will be providing and delivering, on time, innovative, branded technology solutions for IP telecommunications."

"The combined force of the two company's technologies will help deliver IP-based network and telecommunication services to business enterprises in the most efficient way possible, minimizing service latency and delivering best links to end-users," continued Mr. Choi, who added the fusion of expertise will enhance both companies' competitiveness in the global market while establishing them as leaders in China's IP services market.

On September 25, Hartcourt announced that it will publicly divest its ElephantTalk (ET) subsidiary in a reverse merger with Staruni Corp. (OTC Bulletin Board: SRUN). The reverse merger will result in ElephantTalk actively trading on the U.S. equity markets. After all necessary approvals, Staruni's ticker and name will change to become ElephantTalk. Hartcourt targets the completion of all the merger requirements during the fourth quarter and will maintain a majority interest in the new public company.

About Elephant Talk Ltd

ElephantTalk, a licensed ISR carrier (including US FCC 214, HK ETS and ISP PNETS allowing it to provide voice, data transmission such as IDD, pre-paid calling card and ISP services), commenced operations in 1995. Its customers include major telecom carriers in the U.S. including AT&T, Cignal Global, Frontier, and MCI WorldCom; and Hong Kong's 1st-tier carriers New World Telephone, New T&T, and WorldCom Asia Pacific. More information on Elephant Talk could be founded at www.elephanttalk.com.

About JiTong Network Communication Co, Ltd.

Designed primarily to serve the finance and economy sectors, JiTong's dedicated broadband communication network covers 80 cities nationwide with 80 nodes and 18 international that connect to the Internet backbones of China Telecom, AT&T, Global One and MCI among others, with a total bandwidth capacity of 91Mbps. Its services and solutions include Internet access (the 167 connection), data transmission, web hosting, internet data centers, virtual private networks, VPND, E-commerce solutions, Internet Global Roaming etc ... Additional information on JiTong could be founded at www.jitong.com.

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 spin-offs 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.

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.

/CONTACT: Manu Ohri of The Hartcourt Companies, Inc.,
[phone], ext. 207/

/Web site: http://www.jitong.com /

/Web site: http://www.elephanttalk.com /

/Web site: http://www.hartcourt.com /

(HRCT SRUN)