Asia Online Rolls Out Pan Pacific Expansion; Announces Acquisitions in Australia and New Zealand.WALNUT CREEK Walnut Creek, residential city (1990 pop. 60,569), Contra Costa co., W Calif., in the San Francisco Bay area; inc. 1914. It is the trade and shipping center of an extensive agricultural area where walnuts are among the major product. , Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 5, 1999-- As part of its plan to roll out a full service network of Internet related operations throughout the Asia Pacific region, Asia Online, Ltd., with its Asia Online Americas headquarters based here, today announced the acquisition of three ISPs across Australia and New Zealand New Zealand (zē`lənd), island country (2005 est. pop. 4,035,000), 104,454 sq mi (270,534 sq km), in the S Pacific Ocean, over 1,000 mi (1,600 km) SE of Australia. The capital is Wellington; the largest city and leading port is Auckland. . "Australia and New Zealand are key components of our overall strategy to develop a cohesive network of Internet companies in Asia Pacific. With the vast Asian population both in Asia and around the world, we see a huge opportunity for a company that can help improve communications and, ultimately profitability, for people with links to this region," said Kevin Randolph, Asia Online's President and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. . After initial acquisitions in Hong Kong Hong Kong (hŏng kŏng), Mandarin Xianggang, special administrative region of China, formerly a British crown colony (2005 est. pop. 6,899,000), land area 422 sq mi (1,092 sq km), adjacent to Guangdong prov. and the Philippines, and the opening of offices in Walnut Creek, California Walnut Creek is a largely affluent suburb several miles east of Oakland in Contra Costa County, California, USA, in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. While not as large as the neighboring Concord, Walnut Creek serves as the business and entertainment hub for the , the Asia Online network has been expanded to include Melbourne-based Internet Access See how to access the Internet. Australia and InterACT in Canberra. This initial phase of the Australia New Zealand rollout also includes the purchase of Auckland's Internet Company of New Zealand. "We believe Asian businesses have much to gain from Internet services which will enable them to save time, money and expand their potential customer base far beyond what they are dealing with today. At the same time we offer markets outside Asia which want to establish stronger links with this dynamic region, a depth of experience gained from years of Internet experience in Asia Pacific," Randolph continued. Asia Online, Ltd. is a holding company launched in late 1998 chartered with building a Pan Pacific network of Internet companies dedicated to the facilitation of better global communications among people with a link to the Asian region. Each company purchased by Asia Online was selected on the basis of its ability to go beyond the traditional access offering of Australian ISPs, to make a strategic contribution to Asia Online's plans to provide high quality, end-to-end Internet solutions for corporate clients. "The corporate ISP (1) See in-system programmable. (2) (Internet Service Provider) An organization that provides access to the Internet. Connection to the user is provided via dial-up, ISDN, cable, DSL and T1/T3 lines. of the future will be about more than access," said Mr. Randolph. "Today's businesses want high-quality solutions for their Internet needs. They want Web design and hosting, provision of voice-over-IP or virtual private network solutions, and high quality electronic commerce capabilities. Asia Online plans to cover all these options in one stop, through our widening network of Internet-related communications solution providers." The company is planning further expansion throughout Asia and is aiming to provide specialized services that will enhance communications around the globe for anyone with a business or cultural link to Asia. With backing from investors including Softbank, J.P. Morgan and GE Capital, Asia Online is well positioned to play a central role in linking Australian businesses to Asia and the rest of the world. Asia Online recently announced a US$35 million round of private equity funding Equity funding An investment consisting of a life insurance policy and a mutual fund. The insurance policy is paid by the collateral value of fund shares, giving the investor the advantages of insurance protection with the growth potential of a mutual fund. from a J.P. Morgan-led syndicate which also included Pequot Capital, GE Equity, Softbank Technology Ventures, Nexus Capital Partners and Concentric Network. "The vote of confidence we have from leading investors has given us the financial resources we need to make a strong commitment to the Australian market," said Mr. Randolph. "However, while funding is an important part of this support, of equal significance is our investors' collective expertise and their other Internet-related investments. This gives us the unique ability to leverage world class products to deliver a full range of Internet-related solutions to our customers throughout the Asia Pacific." In addition to this week's acquisitions, Asia Online is in the process of finalizing several additional investments, and will be undergoing a rapid expansion in this market over the next six months. ABOUT ASIA ONLINE Asia Online, Ltd. is the holding company for Asia Online - Hong Kong, the city's oldest independent Internet Service Provider Internet service provider (ISP) Company that provides Internet connections and services to individuals and organizations. For a monthly fee, ISPs provide computer users with a connection to their site (see data transmission), as well as a log-in name and password. (ISP), Asia Online - Philippines, the Philippines, The (fĭl`əpēnz'), officially Republic of the Philippines, republic (2005 est. pop. 87,857,000), 115,830 sq mi (300,000 sq km), SW Pacific, in the Malay Archipelago off the SE Asia mainland. country's leading Web site developer and Asia Online - Americas, the Walnut Creek, California headquarters for the Company's US operations. Asia Online currently offers a variety of Internet-related services including dial-up, leased lines, ISDN ISDN in full Integrated Services Digital Network Digital telecommunications network that operates over standard copper telephone wires or other media. , roaming, Web design and hosting, advertising and e-commerce. Through partnerships with leading US Internet companies and internal development, Asia Online plans to offer Internet-based communications products to both international and domestic customers. These will include voice-over-IP, Internet fax Using the Internet to send faxes. Fax servers accept an incoming fax message and route it to a fax server in the same locality as the destination fax machine. The fax server then makes a local telephone call to send the fax. , digital signatures, and certified email to mention few. Additional information about Asia Online is available at www.asiaonlineltd.com. |
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