Press Room
China Unicom Selects Et-china to Provide Travel Services to
High Spending Customers
Et-china.com International Holdings Limited, the leading travel services group in the fast growing region of South China, has been exclusively selected by China Unicom's Jiangsu Province subsidiary to provide dedicated travel services to the mobile operator's high spending VIP customers with flight, hotel and frequent independent travel package services.
China Unicom (HKSE:0762 www.chinaunicom.com) is China's second largest mobile phone operator providing services across China to 151.6 million mobile users. It is dual listed on the Hong Kong and New York Stock Exchanges.
The Jiangsu Province, which is close to Shanghai, is one of the most prosperous provinces along the east coast of China with a population of about 75 million residents and a gross domestic product equivalent to RMB 2,154 billion ("141 billion*).
Jiangsu China Unicom has approximately 6 million mobile users of which about 600,000 are classed as VIP customers. The typical monthly spend of a VIP customer is RMB1,000 ("65) per month. Et-china will become the exclusive and dedicated business travel provider to its VIP club via its 10191 service hotline from mid October. In addition to raising brand awareness for Et-china, the agreement will also result in these mobile users receiving targeted messages through their phones offering relevant and timely information about travel services.
Et-china expects the hotline to generate at least 10,000 calls for its frequent independent traveler ("FIT") activities in the first month of operation. Et-China's Directors believe this arrangement could lead to similar agreements with other subsidiaries of China Unicom in more affluent coastal provinces.
Matthew Ng, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented: "This is a further significant step and part of our on-going effort to secure marketing alliances with leading financial and telecommunications service providers in China in order to increase our service reach in a targeted and cost efficient manner. We also believe this alliance will prove to be a highly effective way of accessing the FIT market, the fastest growing segment of the Chinese travel market.
"We have been chosen by China Unicom because we have demonstrated outstanding customer service capabilities in our 24x7 call centre as well as our extensive and dominant product offerings across South China, which is a frequent destination for the mobile operator's business and leisure VIP customers."
* Currency in this release is converted on the basis of GB"1 = RMB 15.3083
Contact details for enquiries:
| Et-china.com International Holdings Limited | 0207 067 0700 |
| Matthew Ng, President and Chief Executive Ranjit Murugason, Chairman |
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| Seymour Pierce, Nominated Adviser and Broker | 0207 107 8000 |
| Mark Percy | |
| Weber Shandwick Financial | 0207 067 0700 |
|
Terry Garrett Stephanie Badjonat John Moriarty |