Hong Kong, September 20, 2001 - Systems integrator and i-enabler Technology Venture Holdings Limited (SEHK: 61) announces today that for the six months ended June 30, 2001, the Group's turnover was HK$265,343,000, 44.5% higher than the previous period. During the same period, the Group recorded a net loss attributable to shareholders of HK$36,558,000. It did not declare an interim dividend.

"The first half of the year was a period of business repositioning and restructuring for the Group. We are redoubling our efforts in re-aligning the Group's business focus in the banking and finance sector by adding a new edge on the service front, streamlining operations in non-performing areas and strengthening areas of growth from among both the existing business portfolio and newly acquired ventures," said Mr Ron Chan Tze-ngon, Chairman and Managing Director, Technology Venture Holdings Limited (TVH).

The Group has identified several key factors, in addition to prevailing market conditions, that contributed to these losses. First, the Group's software development operation in Hong Kong continued to face a difficult business environment exacerbated by the global slow-down in e-business development and keen competition in the area of public sector projects. Despite cost control measures introduced into the division since the first quarter of the year, the division incurred a considerable loss during the first half. To deal with this situation, the Group will tightly control the size of this operation and its expenditure and to focus only on viable projects that bring a reasonable rate of return. For the remainder of the year, the division will continue to serve the Bank of East Asia and government units such as the Information Technology Services Department and the Housing Authority on a number of software development projects.

The Group's mainframe systems integration (SI) operations have also experienced a slow-down in growth rate after years of robust expansion. Falling gross margins on hardware sales coupled with the increasing cost of financing due to the tight credit policies of vendors, have compelled the division to gradually shift its principal business focus from hardware integration to maintenance and service provision and to applications development. Considerable investment and effort have been and are being made to enhance the capacity of the division in these areas. In the near to medium term, the division will focus on areas such as server consolidation, credit cards and systems upgrade projects.

Mr Chan added, "We identify Topasia, Advanced Digital Technology (ADT) and DMX as the key drivers of the Group's future business growth. To strengthen their positions and enhance their profitability, we will incorporate more value-added services, including maintenance and software development, in their business mix to upgrade their respective profiles. We are confident that these business strategies will drive the Group into sustainable long-term profitability and growth. We view the remainder of the year with cautious optimism."

Topasia, TVH's financial peripherals SI operation, continued to perform well. Going forward, it intends to adopt a more aggressive pricing strategy in order to increase the sales of ATMs. For the first half of the year, the division recorded healthy growth in sales of ATMs with lower gross margins compared to last year. One the other hand, the division has successfully expanded its ATM maintenance and service operation which commands higher gross margins. During the first half of the year, turnover from this operation almost reached that recorded for the previous twelve months. The division will continue to expand its provision of supplementary systems-integration services in collaboration with EMC, the world's largest independent provider of enterprise intelligence storage systems and software.

During the period, ADT, in which the Company holds a 55% interest, secured a number of contracts from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and the China Construction Bank, as well as from other banks such as Hua Xia Bank, CITIC Bank and China Everbright Bank. In terms of product range, the company has added a new home-grown financial front-end system, a personal foreign-exchange trading system and a new Call Center system, as well as NOVA, a new-generation Web-based development platform. In addition, ADT has expanded the scope of its services into software export and has recently signed a contract with NEC for the development of various financial software products. In the years ahead, the company plans to invest considerable resources in the expansion in this area.

Network solutions provider DMX, in which the Group holds a 51% interest, concluded contracts to build the Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs) for Suzhou CATV and the Gansu and Ningbo branches of China Telecom. MANs and Internet Data Center solutions have been and will continue to be the major business focuses of DMX. It plans to set up new offices in Shanghai and Xian this year, in addition to the current four offices, to capture the growing demand for the company's services. To complement its solutions, the company has signed up with Top Layer Networks, Infolibria and Comtrend in the development of secure network solutions, multi-media streaming and content distribution solutions as well as access solutions with copper technologies.

Technology Venture Holdings Limited (SEHK: 61) is a systems integrator and information enabler, specialising in providing banking and finance, and public-sector solutions.

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-")
URL : http://www.t6pr.com