VONGROUP LTD

In an extension of its PRC non-bank financial services businesses, VG has entered into a significant partnership of strategic importance in relation to smart-card payment nationwide in the PRC. VG has signed a joint venture to invest up to US$50 million in China E-Ticket, the first nationwide RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) contactless smart-card network for payment and ticketing throughout the nation. China E-Ticket was founded by SCIO Investment, and is part of the national “Deng Xia Liang” program. SCIO Investment is owned by affiliates of the PRC Government’s State Council Information Office, and charged with responsibility for the China E-Ticket network.

China E-Ticket fits into VG’s strategy to enter high-growth consumption-driven financial services businesses, primarily in the PRC.
SCIO Investment and China E-Ticket are the optimum partners for this business in the PRC.
A technologically advanced and friendly service to end users in the PRC, that modernizes payment collection systems throughout the country.
Capitalizes on the strengths of unique synergies in traffic management, admission payment automation, mobile payment, and multimedia content and advertising.
China E-Ticket’s RFID contactless smart-cards are expected to become the only nationwide digital media and advertising platform of its kind that is capable of reaching hundreds of millions of international tourists and domestic citizens each year.
China E-Ticket will initially prioritize those sites with the highest number of admissions, e.g., the 32 UNESCO World Heritage sites, the 785 sites that are rated AAAA, as well as over 521 sites that are rated AAA.

SCIO Investment is owned by affiliates of the PRC Government’s State Council Information Office, and charged with responsibility for the China E-Ticket network.
Management Shareholders of China E-Ticket include Barry J. Kefauver, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State of the United States, responsible for Passport Services, and an internationally renowned identification technology expert, who has chaired many international fora, including the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Work Group on New Technologies, as well as within the International Standards Organization (ISO), with the goal of developing world standards for identity and biometric measurement and machine verification of domestic and international documents.
VG (0318.HK) is the Hong Kong Main Board publicly-traded subsidiary of Vongroup Holdings, an innovative investment holding company whose interests focuses on highly-regulated industries. Focusing on highly-regulated high-growth consumption-oriented financial sectors in the PRC, VG has businesses engaged in consumer finance and retail, in addition to its investment in the China E-Ticket contactless smart-card ticketing/payment network. VG’s Board of Directors includes chairman David Vong, and Xu Siping, formerly with the PRC’s State Planning Commission and the State Development and Planning Commission. Headquartered in Hong Kong, VG has established offices in Beijing and Shenzhen. VG can be found at www.thevongroup.com.