HONG KONG — V1 Group Limited (“V1 Group” or the “Group”; Stock code: 82.HK) is pleased to announce that its direct wholly-owned subsidiary Smart Token Holdings Limited further subscribed for 50,190,323 new ordinary shares of Bank of Asia on 9 January 2017, representing approximately 31.1% of the total number of issued shares of Bank of Asia as enlarged by this subscription, for a subscription price of US$30,800,000 (equivalent to approximately HK$239,008,000). Upon completion of the further subscription, V1 Group will hold a total of 61,290,323 shares (including 11,100,000 shares by the 1st subscription) of Bank of Asia, representing approximately 38.0% of the total issued shares of Bank of Asia.
V1 Group has been committed to expanding its mobile Internet services since its establishment. In the process of providing mobile games and video news to hundreds of millions of Internet users, V1 Group has acquired a large number of loyal mobile Internet users. The Group has formulated a series of forward looking plans in respect of the “Internet Plus” businesses, including Internet Plus Finance, Internet Plus Healthcare, Internet Plus Elderly Care and etc.
Bank of Asia positions to become the most influential offshore merchant bank in the British Virgin Islands, dedicated to provide innovative and tailored financial services solutions to individuals, corporates and trusts in Asia. The core transactional banking services to be provided by Bank of Asia will include, inter alia, multi-currency remittances, multi-currency deposit taking, time deposits, multi-currency equities execution, third party research reports and bill payment. Bank of Asia also plans to provide services in lending, investment advisory, wealth management, corporate advisory and etc. over time, in order to both address the needs of customers and diversify its business into complementary products.
Bank of Asia was founded by Mr. Carson Wen, BBS, JP (“Mr. Wen”), a reputable lawyer and businessman in Hong Kong. Mr. Wen was a Deputy to the National People’s Congress of China for three terms and a member of the Business Advisory Council of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), and Chairman of its Task Force on Green Business. In business, Mr. Wen has invested in the media, logistics, new energy and other sectors.
The cooperation between V1 Group and Bank of Asia will also promote Bank of Asia’s advantage in Internet finance business, especially its advantage in providing offshore financial services to qualified potential clients in Asia-Pacific region.
By subscribing for shares of Bank of Asia, V1 Group will offer more financial services and platforms to hundreds of millions of Internet users and satisfy users’ needs. Meanwhile, subscribing for shares of Bank of Asia will improve V1 Group’s business layout and advance rapid development of the Group’s Internet finance business, which will largely enhance the Group’s strength and competitiveness in the market and bring more additional value to its users.
Bank of Asia, operating based on the Internet, is expected to become a low-cost, efficient Internet bank with significant profits by applying advanced Internet business model and taking advantage of the cloud computing platform and V1 Group’s large amount of users. In the meanwhile, as V1 Group’s online video, Internet healthcare and VR business form a synergistic effect with Bank of Asia’s Internet finance services, the Group is highly expected to achieve better performance than ever before.