LDC London Asia

RNS Number:8470M
London Asia Capital PLC
27 May 2005


For immediate release: 27 May 2005


                            LONDON ASIA CAPITAL PLC


        INVESTEE COMPANY LISTS ON OFEX - SIGNIFICANT UPLIFT IN VALUATION

       INVESTMENT IN CHINESE OUTSORCING BUSINESS - TARGETED FOR OFEX FLOAT


London Asia Capital plc ("London Asia"), the Greater China focused investment
and merchant banking group, announces that investee company Betex Group plc
("Betex") has been successfully admitted to trading on OFEX.


London Asia Corporate Finance Ltd acted as corporate adviser for the OFEX
listing, and assisted Betex in raising #1 million via a private placement with a
mixture of institutional and High Net Worth investors prior to the listing.


London Asia invested #200,000 via a Convertible Loan Note in November 2004,
which it converted into 1.47 million ordinary shares as part of the OFEX
listing, representing 2.8% of the issued equity in Betex. At the closing price
of 21.5p on 26th May, this values its stake at #316,000 representing an uplift
in valuation of 158% on the original investment. In addition, London Asia also
owns 1.47 million warrants to subscribe for ordinary shares in Betex,
exercisable at 13.6p per share.


Betex is an online football betting site operating an Asian-style handicap
betting system in which bets are taken on the favourite or the underdog rather
than "home win", "draw" or "away win". The handicap betting system has grown in
popularity as it provides both football teams with a roughly equal chance. The
favoured team will have to overcome a deficit of goals, while the other team
will have a head start. Betex attracts bets from the European, Asian and Middle
Eastern markets on UK, European and international football matches.


Johnny Hon, Chief Executive of Betex, said: "We expect to see significant
organic growth, but as the gambling sector remains fragmented we believe there
is also large scope for acquisition opportunities, a number of which we are
already looking at with London Asia's assistance. OFEX provides a useful
platform for our growth strategy, both for raising money and valuing our
business for when we make equity based acquisitions."


London Asia has today invested #340,000 for an 8% stake in Eastsea, a leading IT
outsourcing service provider for the petrochemical industry and central and
local government market in China. The company has to date completed over 60
projects with profits of over #900,000 for the year ended 28th February 2005.
London Asia has been appointed corporate adviser to raise additional funds to
fund the expansion of the business and to list the company on OFEX.


Simon Littlewood, Chief Executive of London Asia, commented: "Betex is the first
of our investments to list on OFEX and proves that there is significant appetite
among UK investors for the companies we have invested in. As well as the
significant uplift in valuation in our investment in Betex, we are also
receiving a fee for our work related to the listing and will be the on-going
corporate adviser to the Company, giving us multiple revenue streams. We intend
to replicate the success of Betex among other investee and client companies and
look forward to bringing Eastsea to OFEX in the next few months."



For further information please visit www.londonasia.com or contact:

Simon Littlewood, Chief Executive            Jeremy Carey/Clemmie Carr
London Asia Capital                          Tavistock Communications
Tel: 020 7248 7578                           Tel: 020 7920 3150





Notes to Editors - About London Asia Capital plc


London Asia is an AIM listed investment and merchant banking group focused on
the SME market in Greater China. London Asia operates three principal
businesses:


* Investment of own funds in profitable businesses in Greater China,
with exits via IPO or trade sale;

* Investment Banking services, mainly corporate finance advisory (fund
raisings, IPO's, M&A and restructurings); and

* Fund management


London Asia has offices and management teams, as well as strong local partners,
across the Greater China region. These work in conjunction with our
international network in London, New York, Hong Kong and Singapore.


About Betex


The Company was founded by Johnny Hon, Chief Executive, who previously worked at
ABN AMRO Bank as a financial adviser to high net worth individuals. He began
operating in the betting business in 2000. Betex began trading in the first
quarter of 2005. Betex already has a significant client base attracting bets
from the European, Asian and Middle Eastern markets. For more information, visit
www.betex.com



About Eastsea Group Holdings Limited


Eastsea was formed in 2004 through the buyout of the IT department of Sinopec
Zhenhai Oil Refining and Chemical Company Limited (a leading oil refinery in
China), and a series of other acquisitions.


The Group provides outsourcing services including IT strategy formulation,
system design, ERP implementation, software development, business workflow
processing and system maintenance. The Group has proprietary technology on a
management platform over Internet, intranet and corporate portals, as well as on
information integration. The Group has successfully leveraged its expertise in
search engines and information management to build customized products to grow
its government IT outsourcing market. 92% of the Group's 95 staff have bachelor
degrees and above.


Oil/gas industry clients include Sinopec Zhenhai, BP Ningbo and various
subsidiaries of Sinopec. Government clients include the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, the State Development Bank, the Ministry of Culture, the State
Development and Reform Committee and the municipal governments of Beijing,
Shanghai, Guangzhou and Ningbo. The Group's ERP project for Sinopec Zhenhai won
a prestigious National award for "Best IT Application".












                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

END
MSCZGGZKLNGGKZG

London Asia Capital (LSE:LDC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024

London Asia Capital (LSE:LDC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024