BAT International Announces Strategic E-Commerce Alliance With EBTGlobal.com.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 22, 1999

BAT International (OTC:BAAT) announced today a strategic alliance with EBTGlobal (EBTG), an international business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) barter trading and e-commerce company.

BAT International has acquired a 9% interest in EBTG which currently manages an extensive barter trade network of worldwide trading partners in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Cambodia, Australia, Turkey, Russia, Belgium, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico, the United States, and Canada. EBTG recently announced plans to launch EBTGlobal.com, "the first fully-automated international e-commerce transaction exchange for international barter trading."

"BAT International management has been working for months with the principals of EBTGlobal.com in the planning, funding and startup of this new e-commerce company," said Joe LaStella, president and CEO of BAT International. "EBT has been working with one of the nation's leading e-commerce production houses and they are on schedule for the launch of EBTGlobal.com in the near future. In addition to our stock position in EBTG, we will receive assistance from EBTG to introduce BAT products and services worldwide. Enormous growth has been projected in e-commerce barter trading, from $400 million dollars in 1998 to $12 billion dollars in 2002.

LaStella continued, explaining that, "Our strategic alliance with EBTGlobal.com and use of their forthcoming "eHub" barter exchange system positions our company to leverage the enormous pent-up worldwide demand for direct exchange of goods and services." According to EBTG, EBTGlobal.com's proprietary eHub technology is based upon next-generation Internet and communication technologies and will enable EBTGlobal.com's new barter trade exchange system to standardize trading transactions and provide real-time customer management and billing services. These transaction processing capabilities are essential to meet the rapidly growing international demand for B2B and B2C direct exchange of goods and services.

"Barter, or the exchange of goods and services with an alternate form of currency, is projected to be one of the fastest growing sectors of the global e-commerce industry," explained LaStella. Indeed, a recent report by Forrester Research notes that the B2C e-commerce market is projected to grow from $7.8 billion dollars in 1998 to $108 billion dollars in 2003, an increase of 1380%. In comparison, the B2B e-commerce market is projected to grow from $43 billion dollars in 1998 to over $1 trillion dollars in 2003, an increase of 2,325%. The on-line barter-trade sector of the e-commerce industry is expected to grow even faster, from $400 million dollars in 1998 to over $12 billion dollars in 2003, an increase of 3,000% in only five years.

"We are really excited about our partnership with EBTG and the opportunities it will provide for both of our companies," LaStella said. "Teaming with top notch companies in emerging markets is what BAT International is all about. Our product line managers have participated in many of the planning meetings over the last several months. We are prepared to take full advantage of the international B2B and B2C opportunities that EBTGlobal.com will provide us and other companies around the world."

BAT acquired positions in EBTGlobal.com in exchange for business management assistance and transfer of intellectual property. BAT, which can draw on advice from a large base of stockholders (12,000+) and a "think tank" of specialists, has used these resources to assist in the formation and initial operational planning of EBTGlobal.com. This has included assisting EBTGlobal.com to:

--   define its global business mission

--   establish its product-market strategy

--   develop its business plan

--   coordinate meetings with initial venture participants

--   obtain first-round funding

--   build its e-commerce engineering team

--   recommend product roll-out timing and deployment requirements

Persons interested in obtaining additional information about the company should call Investor Relations at 619/235-5501 or send an email inquiry to [e-mail]. Persons interested in using EBTGlobal.com trading services should call Customer Service at 619/235-5502 or send an email inquiry to [e-mail]. Additional information about EBTGlobal.com is also available from the company web site at www.EBTGlobal.com.

BAT International is organized as a holding company with major ownership positions in a set of subsidiary companies now commercializing advanced automotive and energy technology products. Technologies developed over the last seven years include electric vehicles, composite chassis, super-efficient or high power engines, electric bicycles and scooters, advanced batteries, lubricant additives, and electric power generation. For additional product and company information visit the BAT International web site at www.baat.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements that should not be used to make an investment decision. Please refer to the BAT International web site at www.baat.com and other sources for more detailed Company information or call Investor Relations at 619/409-8977.