During the first half of 2000, TVH has covered a great deal of positive ground in its various business domains - banking, e-commerce and public sector enabling. In the period, TVH has secured contracts with the China Construction Bank, under the bank's nationwide "Server Consolidation Direction Project". The Group was also entrusted with establishing the core banking system of the Agricultural United Bank and the setting up of a disaster recovery centre and smart-card system for the Hunan Postal Savings Bureau.

On the Internet banking side, the Group has signed a contract with Hua Xia Bank to build a nationwide Internet banking system. Other banking enabling projects were secured from the Bank of China, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the China Merchants Bank and the Hangzhou Commercial Bank.

TVH's banking enabling team was further expanded through a recent acquisition of 55% interest in Advanced Digital Technology Limited (ADT), which has one of the leading banking and finance systems integration teams in China. "With this new force, we look to enhance our position as a leading banking enabler on the mainland, and also to expand our systems integration services to the telecommunications, utilities and public sectors," noted Ron Chan Tze-ngon, Chairman of TVH.

The Group has also demonstrated strong capability in delivering e-commerce solutions, and is experiencing considerable growth in these operations. During the year, TVH has undertaken notable projects including i-Med2000's B2B marketplace, Dah Sing Bank's bank-hosted online credit card payment gateway, e-Net's complete B2B2C marketplace for IT products, as well as eWeb21, a global cyber shopping mall.

In addition to the Survey CartoCAD System for the Lands Department and the Performance Assessment Scoring System (BPASS) for the Housing Authority, TVH has recently been appointed by the Labour Department as the IT training provider for the Youth Pre-employment Programme (YPTP). The Group will provide to YPTP trainees, through TopTrain, a range of Internet, data centre operation, GIS and help desk related courses.

"On the software development front, we are developing an in-house application for the transmission of data through radio frequency, catered to the requirements of public transport companies wishing to equip their fleets with on-screen entertainment and e-commerce capabilities. We also intend to expend resources in the development of the insurance sector, which demonstrates tremendous IT deployment potential," added Mr Chan.

The Company was informed by ChinaCast Technology (BVI) Limited (CCT), in which the Group has a 19.9% interest, that it is in advance negotiations with several strategic and financial investors in respect of a possible placing of new shares in CCT. Should the CCT placing materialise, the Company intends to top up its shareholding in CCT through the acquisition of shares in CCT representing 10.8% of its issued share capital for US$4.5 million.

TVH is an information enabler specialising in providing banking, e-commerce and public sector solutions. The Company also invests in incubator IT projects, including 19.9% interest in ChinaCast Technology (BVI) Limited. CCT is the technology and management partner of ChinaCast Co., Ltd., who has a contractual arrangement with China Telecom to provide the first nationwide satellite-based broadband Internet service in China.

Issued by :
Technology Venture Holdings Limited

Through :
Troika Communications Limited
Jenny Lee or Angus Ho
tel: 2511 8388 / fax: 2511 8238
email: enquiry-at-t6pr.com (use "@" to replace "-at-")