BEIJING, Jan. 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Recon Technology,
Ltd. (NASDAQ: RCON) ("Recon" or the "Company"), a China-based independent solutions integrator
in the oilfield service, environmental protection, electric power
and coal chemical industries, today announced that the Company's
43%-owned subsidiary, Future Gas Station (Beijing) Technology, Ltd ("FGS"), has entered
into a strategic cooperation agreement (the "Agreement") with
Censtar Science & Technology Corp., Ltd. ("Censtar"),
to add prepaid refueling functionality to FGS' improved DT
Refuel application. This new refueling functionality offers
convenience to customers and payment security to gas stations.
Censtar is the leading enterprise providing complete equipment
solutions and management systems to gas stations in China, with approximately 40% market share in
the Chinese market. The Agreement
is scheduled to run through January 9,
2021, and covers
implementation of the protocols and software associated with the
prepayment functionality and upgrading and retrofitting fuel pumps
for compatibility.
FGS has updated the DT Refuel app to introduce the fuel
prepayment option into China.
Although fuel prepayment is common in the
United States, it is a relatively uncommon phenomenon in
China. The prepayment protocol
allows customers to set a monetary amount to refuel in the DT
Refuel app, which then generates a unique order number and
authorizes and secures payment using the customer's chosen credit
card or third-party mobile and online payment platform, such as
Alipay. When the customer enters the order number at the fuel pump
keyboard, he/she can begin refueling. Once the customer's monetary
limit is reached, refueling stops and the authorized amount is
automatically paid to the gas station. Because the majority of
customers in China need to pay for
the fuel inside the gas station, the DT Refuel app offers consumers
the convenience of avoiding payment lines, and can reduce labor
expenses for gas stations. Moreover, by securing payment prior to
authorization of the pump, the DT Refuel app will help gas stations
reduce incidents of non-payment by customers.
In addition to the updates to the DT Refuel app, existing fuel
dispensers will be upgraded to be compatible with the fuel
prepayment protocol. In some cases, the upgrade will be
accomplished with a software update; other pumps may require
physical upgrades. These upgrades will be at the gas stations'
expense, and such fees will be largely payable to Censtar. Pursuant
to the Agreement, FGS and Censtar agree to develop, optimize and
promote the prepayment functionality based on FGS' DT Refuel app
and gas dispensers produced by Censtar. FGS agrees to use its
internet technology and market resources to provide Censtar with
technology development support and marketing support. Censtar will
provide FGS with the fuel dispenser upgrades while FGS will assist
Censtar with receiving the upgrade fees from gas stations.
Censtar agrees to promote the application of the fuel prepayment
function in gas stations using its fuel dispensers.
Mr. Shenping Yin, CEO of Recon,
stated, "We are pleased that FGS has entered this agreement with
Censtar, China's leading provider
of fuel dispensers. We believe this collaboration between Censtar
and FGS has tremendous potential to promote technological
innovation and introduce a more efficient and convenient payment
protocol in the evolving gas station industry."
Mr. Yang Song, the founder of
FGS, said, "In Zhejiang Province, the gross value of payments made
through our initial version of the DT Refuel app was already over
RMB 609 million for 2018. We are
pleased with how our the DT Refuel app has been welcomed by car
owners and gas stations in China.
We're excited to introduce fuel prepayment in our DT Refuel app,
which will greatly improve the efficiency and operation of gas
stations and offer new convenience to consumers. We have started
the trial operation of this prepayment functionality with Censtar
at a few pilot stations in Zhejiang
Province. Through this agreement with Censtar, we are aiming
to expand the fuel prepayment option into more provinces throughout
China. We are eager to share this
technology with Censtar's client base as we bring this solution to
more gas stations and clean energy industry refueling stations and
to explore future markets for this technology."
About Future Gas Station (Beijing) Technology, Ltd.
Established in January 2016, FGS is a service company
focusing on providing new technical applications and data
operations to gas stations of oil companies such as PetroChina Co.,
Ltd. With its DT Refuel mobile application, FGS provides solutions
to gas stations to improve their operations and their customers'
experience. FGS aims to increase the overall income of gas stations
through integration of internet technique and New Retail E-Commerce
platform, and to help transform gas stations into comprehensive
service providers.
About Censtar Science & Technology Corp.,
Ltd.
Established in 1992, Censtar is located in Zhengzhou Hi-New Tech
Development Area in Zhengzhou,
Henan, PRC. Censtar specializes in
providing complete equipment solutions and management systems to
gas stations. Censtar has held the top position in
its industry in production and sales volume in the Chinese
market for the last 24 consecutive years, with an average market
share of approximately 40%. For additional information please
visit: en.censtar.com.
About Recon Technology, Ltd.
Recon Technology, Ltd. (NASDAQ: RCON) is China's first
listed non-state-owned oil and gas field service company on NASDAQ.
Recon supplies China's largest oil exploration companies,
Sinopec (NYSE: SNP) and CNPC, with advanced automated technologies,
efficient gathering and transportation equipment and reservoir
stimulation measure for increasing petroleum extraction levels,
reducing impurities and lowering production costs. Through the
years, RCON has taken leading positions on several segmented
markets of the oil and gas filed service industry. RCON also has
developed stable long-term cooperation relationship with its major
clients, and its products and service are also well accepted by
clients. For additional information please
visit: www.recon.cn.
Forward Looking Statements
Forward-Looking Statements in this press release, which are
not historical facts, are forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Our actual results, performance or achievements may differ
materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking
statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking
statements by the use of words such as "may," "could," "expect,"
"intend," "plan," "seek," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate,"
"predict," "potential," "continue," "likely," "will," "would" and
variations of these terms and similar expressions, or the negative
of these terms or similar expressions. Such forward-looking
statements are necessarily based upon estimates and assumptions
that, while considered reasonable by us and our management, are
inherently uncertain. Factors that may cause actual results to
differ materially from current expectations include, among others,
levels of spending in our industry as well as consumer confidence
generally; changes in the competitive environment in our industry
and the markets where we operate; our ability to access the capital
markets; the results of cooperation between parties to cooperation
agreements; and other risks discussed in the Company's filings with
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual
Report on Form 20-F, which filings are available from the SEC. We
caution you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking
statements, which are made as of the date of this press release. We
undertake no obligation to update publicly any of these
forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, new
information or future events, changes in assumptions or changes in
other factors affecting forward-looking statements, except to the
extent required by applicable laws. If we update one or more
forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that we
will make additional updates with respect to those or other
forward-looking statements.
For more information, please contact:
In China:
Ms.
Jia Liu
Chief Financial Officer
Recon Technology, Ltd.
Phone: +86 (10) 8494-5799
Email: info@recon.cn
In the United
States:
Ms. Tina
Xiao
President
Ascent Investor Relations LLC
Phone: +1-917-609-0333
Email: tina.xiao@ascent-ir.com
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SOURCE Recon Technology, Ltd.