Friday, February 08, 2008

Yantai completes reverse merger with China Agro-Technology

Yantai Completes Reverse Merger With China Agro-Technology, a China Forestry Technology Company With Net Income of $32.8 Million in 2007

Santa Monica, Calif. (ANTARA News/PRNewswire-AsiaNet) - The Yantai Dahua Holding Company (OTC Bulletin Board: YDHCF) today announced that it had completed a reverse merger with China Agro-Technology, Ltd.

The name of the listed company has been changed to China Agro-Technology Holdings Ltd. and expects to receive a new stock symbol in the coming days.

The Yantai Dahua issued 288 million shares of common stock in exchange for all of the issued and outstanding shares of China Agro-Technology, Ltd. ("CAT").

As a result of the transaction, CAT became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yantai Dahua.

CAT, an agro-biotechnology firm, has total revenues of $37 million in fiscal year ended September 30, 2007, with gross profit of $35 million and net income of $32.8 million.

Leveraging its many competitive advantages, CAT is executing the following strategies in order to broaden its market penetration, deliver results consistently, and increase shareholder value in the long term:
  • Focus on acquiring additional forestry plantation trees and access to long-term supply of wood fiber in promising Chinese markets;
  • Continue to improve the yields at its plantations by investing in research and development;
  • Leverage its unique non-tube plant propagation technology and broaden its business scope into other products, such as bamboos, Jatropha, and aromatherapy plants;
  • Continue to practice sustainable forestry management; and
  • Continue revenue & IP growth through technology-transfer.

CAT is also seeking to establish a strong market position in the bamboo cultivation industry, a $5 billion worldwide growth market, by leveraging its non-tube propagation technology.

CAT's technology allows it to harvest bamboo within just two years and increase unit yield by 20-30%.

CAT will also seek diversified growth by cultivating a market for Jatropha, which produces seeds containing up to 40% oil.

When the seeds are crushed and processed, the resulting oil can be used in a standard diesel engine, while the residue can be processed into biomass to power electricity plants.

According to an August 24, 2007 Wall Street Journal article, which was also cited on CNBC on September 14, 2007, Goldman Sachs spotlighted Jatropha as one of the leading candidates for biodiesel production.

CAT has signed a Memorandum of Understanding for 50,000 acres of Jatropha plantation in Indonesia.

CAT owns 100% of the capital in Tian Agro-Technology Ltd. (TAT); TAT owns 100% of the shares in Tian Agro-Technology Pte Ltd., a Singapore incorporated company, which in turn owns 80% of the capital in Qing Yuan Zhao Tian Eco-Agriculture Co., Ltd. (QYZT).

QYZT was set up in Qing Yuan City, Guangdong Province, China in 1997 for eucalyptus cultivation.
QYZT currently owns and operates a 16,650-acre eucalyptus plantation.

About China Agro-Technology, Ltd.

China Agro-Technology, Ltd. ("CAT") is an ecologically sustainable agricultural technology enterprise that aims at promoting a global reforestation program, generating environmental rehabilitation and serving the acute demands for paper products.

CAT is primarily involved in the ownership, management and operation of Genetically Engineered plantations, the non-tube clone plantations and the marketing of the proprietary rights and technological know-how to the global market.

CAT's strength is its group of highly innovative research scientists and agronomists who specialize in the R&D of agriculture and intelligent computer non-tube plant propagation technology.

Driven by agro-biotechnology, CAT is able to achieve higher output with a shorter growth period.

CAT's Genetically Engineered Eucalypt Trees (GEET) strains are suitable for cultivation at different climatic conditions and are able to grow within just 4-5 years time to a height of 35 to 40 meters, as compared to other species that take about 6 to 8 years.

The Company's trees also yield 50% more in wood timber, about 150 cubic meters per hectare as compared to 100 cubic meters per hectare for those which currently leads the world in eucalyptus production.

Other unique features of CAT's GEETs include increased resistance against pests and weeds, the ability to flourish under adverse weather and soil conditions, reduced usage of agro-chemical and growth of at least 8 rotations over a period of 50 years without the need for replanting of new saplings.

Safe Harbor Statement: Under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Except for historical information contained herein, the statements in this news release are forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause a company's actual results, performance and achievement in the future to differ materially from forecasted results, performance, and achievement.

These risks and uncertainties are described in the Company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes in the Company's plans or expectation.

Contact: Ashley Hull
310-450-9100 opt. 3
hunnyhull@propublicmedia.com
SOURCE: China Agro-Technology, Ltd.
CONTACT: Ashley Hull
+1-310-450-9100, opt. 3,
hunnyhull@propublicmedia.com
for China Agro-Technology, Ltd.

COPYRIGHT © 2008 - ANTARANEWS

Fund/Bank: DBS Bank puts money on Asian fragrancing and music styling soln

Singapore, (ANTARA News/Xinhua-PRNewswire-AsiaNet) - To impart a more "Asian" brand supporting a recent strategic brand repositioning, DBS Bank has introduced a fragrancing and music styling solution developed by environmental brand consultant Equal Strategy. The solution will initially run as a pilot scheme in DBS Bank's Shenton Way Branch, Singapore.

DBS Bank had taken the decision to emotionally communicate the brand's Asian heritage and specialisation as part of its overall brand positioning.

The Bank's Shenton Way Branch was recently renovated to reflect a distinctly Asian aspect -- table corners are curved to represent Asian warmth rather than the cold "right angles" characteristic of western designs. Instead a bi-sensory Asian experience, the branch now incorporates a quad/Quattro-sensory approach.

To complement the Asian theme, Equal Strategy proposed an integrated approach which embraced both fragrance and music styling. An Asian themed fragrance was selected together with a remotely managed play list of music with subtle Asian elements to suit both the time and day of the week.

The environmental branding solution achieved two key objectives simultaneously -- to reinforce the DBS brand image and to create the right environment and set the mood for DBS customers. The main priority was to turn the archetypically passive customer experience of being in a bank into both a pleasurable and memorable one.

The pilot service by Equal Strategy will run for a period of 3 months. The fragrancing and music styling (otherwise known as Location Media Management) have been installed on the first floor (at the bank entrance) and also at the main banking hall in basement 1.

The fragrance recommended for DBS by Faure-Field was Ginger Flower, a floral fragrance with top notes of ginger flower, green floral and citrus, middle notes of jasmine, violet, rose and muguet (Lilly of the Valley), and a vanilla bottom note.

Said Simon A. Faure-Field, CEO of Equal Strategy, "Banks have begun looking beyond simply products and service to differentiate themselves, they are now exploring ways to make the actual experience of banking pleasurable for their customers. What DBS has succeeded in doing through this pilot scheme at their Shenton Way branch is to show that time spent waiting for service or attention can be pleasant and enjoyable rather than a necessary chore."

"At the same time our choice of both music and scent serves to reinforce the brand proposition of DBS Bank which is of a distinctly Asian flavour, so strategic objectives are also met as well" said Mr. Faure-Field.

Equal Strategy has consulted numerous retail brands and hotel chains including OCBC Malaysia, Courts Singapore, Mercedes-Benz, Westin Hotels, Starwood Hotels and Pan
Pacific.

Since 1999, Mr Faure-Field has been the only consultant in Asia specializing in combining music with fragrance to synergise a consistent brand experience for customers. His work is grounded in behavioural science research and draws extensively upon research into the effects of background music and atmosphere on retail environments.

For more information: http://www.equalstrategy.com

About Equal Strategy

Equal Strategy delivers "music", "fragrance" and "recorded telephone messages" to businesses in a scientific way that enhances the overall customer experience of the brand and causes the customer to stay longer and buy more! Equal Strategy is the only company in Asia that specialises in deploying "music" and "fragrance" solutions to business where the two senses are stimulated in synergy with each other. Sound and smell deliver stimuli directly to the memory centres of the brain, influencing behaviour and creating suggestion at both the conscious and unconscious levels.

Decades of behavioural research into the habits of consumers has found that "consumer arousal" can be either stimulated or suppressed through the use of mood settings like music and fragrance.

About DBS Bank

DBS Bank is part of DBS Group Holdings Ltd. DBS has the largest retail network in Singapore with 83 branches island wide. It is also the fourth largest bank in Hong Kong. Other branches are located in key Asian markets like Hong-Kong, Indonesia, China and India. DBS bank has access to 5 million customers in the region.

Contact:
Danny Chaplin
Tel: +65-6256-5100
Email: danny.chaplin@chaplinpr.com
SOURCE: Equal Strategy

TheTrackShack.com launches new marketplace to buy & sell music

New Service To Increase Ways for Artists & Labels to Monetize Music

Sacramento, California (ANTARA News/PRNewswire-AsiaNet) - TheTrackShack.com has launched a first-of-its-kind marketplace to allow artists and labels to buy & sell music CDs, Songs & Tracks. In contrast to music websites that sell CDs and songs, like Amazon, iTunes, and CD Baby, TheTrackShack.com allows users to sell music CDs, songs and their individual production tracks.

Users of the new service pay a one-time fee of US$24.99 and can upload up to 15 songs with up to 20 tracks per song. A maximum of two (2) gigabytes of storage is included for each CD, with 80 per cent of proceeds paid to users.

Coinciding with its launch, TheTrackShack.com, in association with Strokeland Records, has released Bumped Up To First Class, the first ever CD to make available its digital library of songs and tracks. Featuring artists like Huey Lewis, Edgar Winter, and Lenny Pickett, Bumped Up To First Class includes over 270 tracks, including Mix Minus Ones (e.g. minus drums, minus vox), Vox Mixes, Horns, Session Video Clips, Sheet Music, and Lyrics. Tracks are exclusively offered at The Shack. MORE