Digital China Software and SJI Will Form a Strategic Partnership to Jointly Develop Businesses in China and Japan
HONG KONG, Nov. 4 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Digital China Holdings Limited
("Digital China" or the "Group"; Stock Code: 00861.HK), a leading IT services
provider in China, announced that its non-wholly owned subsidiary Digital
China Software (BVI) Limited ("Digital China Software") and King Tech Service
HK Limited ("King Tech"), in which the Group owns a 16.1% interest, will
acquire 23.65% and 6.96% equity interest respectively in the Japan-listed IT
company SJI within this year. The consideration for the transaction is JPY
2,805 million (equivalent to about HK$242 million). Moreover, both companies
will acquire SJI share options which will allow Digital China Software and
King Tech to raise their equity interests in SJI to 30.81% and 10.07%
respectively from 16 June 2010 to 25 December 2011. When the share options are
fully converted into SJI shares, Digital China Software has to pay the amount
of JPY1,665 million (equivalent to about HK$144 million) for the equity
interest. Meanwhile, Digital China Software agreed to transfer the entire
interest of its stake in DGT Information Systems Limited ("DGT Information
Systems") to a wholly-owned subsidiary of SJI. The consideration for the
transfer of DGT Information Systems has not been determined yet.
"The Group has a long history of cooperation with SJI. The strengthening
of our cooperation will create a win-win situation to both parties. The Group
and SJI agreed in principle that we will share specialties and intellectual
property, technology, human resources and sales network with each other to
jointly expand businesses in China and Japan. The Group believes that the
cooperation with SJI will contribute to its development of IT operations in
Japan and further enhance its outsourcing business and management capability,"
said Mr. Guo Wei, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Digital China.
SJI Inc. is a company established in Japan and listed on the JASDAQ
Securities Exchange, Inc. (Stock Code: 2315). From the company's corporate
website, for the financial year ended 31 March 2009, SJI reported sales of
approximately JPY25.8 billion (equivalent to about HK$2.21 billion). As of 31
March 2009, its total assets amounted to JPY20.5 billion (equivalent to about
HK$1.76 billion) and its net assets were JPY9.2 billion (equivalent to about
HK$790 million).
About Digital China
Digital China Holdings Limited ("Digital China" or the "Group"; Stock Code:
00861.HK) is the largest IT services provider in China. Headquartered in
Beijing, Digital China has regional centres in 19 major cities nationwide with
8,300 employees. The Group provides customers with comprehensive IT products
and services, driving technological innovations for work and life and
enhancing the digitalization process in China with four core businesses: IT
Services, Enterprise Systems, IT Products Distribution and Supply Chain
Services. The Group has maintained its No. 1 position in IT product
distribution while it has increasingly focused on expanding into IT services.
Digital China remains one of the top five IT services providers across various
sectors in China including telecommunication, finance and government, by
providing self-developed and proprietary products that are customized for
specific industry needs.
