HONG KONG and BELLINGHAM, Wash., Dec. 17, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Asia Properties, Inc. or "API" (Pink Sheets:ASPZ) announced today that it issued the following Letter to Shareholders:
Dear API Shareholders,
I am writing to you from Hong Kong where API has completed the acquisition of three properties for 2007: Swiss Gardens and a land site, both in Guangzhou, China and the first of our acquisitions of our new island resort destination in the Philippines. We at API are most pleased to have acquired such exceptional assets in China and the Philippines. The company purchased the three properties for around US$51 million, all with no debt attached to the properties.
China Opportunity
As reported on November 28th, API is currently negotiating and completing final due diligence on a large central business district land site of 150 hectares in the center of a large Chinese city. The Governor of this province visited our Hong Kong offices recently and the city wants us to build a whole new downtown area complete with offices, commercial and residential properties, and hotels. "We are mandated by the city to make this the world's first 'green city' incorporating all the latest and green renewable technologies in order to make this city a showcase," said CEO, Daniel McKinney. Starting in the early 1990s, McKinney's construction business based in Bangkok built several of the large CBD complexes in Thailand, one such site with a built out area of 2 million sq. ft. "This project is a hundred times the size of anything that I have done before and we are most excited by this challenge," added McKinney. API expects this deal to close in January 2008 and has already gained strong interest from institutions in funding the USD multibillion development costs.
Philippines Opportunity
As reported on December 10th, Asia Properties, Inc. (Pink Sheets:ASPZ) reported it closed on the 1st phase of prime beachfront land acquisition in Camarines Norte, Philippines.
Asia Properties CEO Daniel McKinney said, "This spectacular beach resort development site in the Philippines is one of the most exciting and significant new tourist developments in all of Asia. We anticipate closing on the other remaining areas on the island with our extended exclusive option through the end of 2008. API looks forward to its future in the Philippines, and with the completion of this first step, achieving our ambitions of launching this new beach resort destination."
Please see pictures at: http://asiaprop.com/images/tinaga.jpg
McKinney also stated, "This is our most important deal to date and the first for Asia Properties in the Philippines. We are currently working to acquire or lease the remaining part of the island adjoining this first land acquisition. We consider Camarines Norte one of the most picturesque and scenic beach areas in Asia. API's goal is to develop numerous 4, 5 and 6 star resorts with such international hotel brands as Hyatt, Starwood and Movenpick already expressing keen interest in managing the resorts."
Microart Subsidiary
API announced on November 15th that its board has approved a 1:10 dividend of its subsidiary Microart, Inc. ("MCRT") common stock.
The share dividend entitles each holder of ten shares of API's common stock to receive a dividend of one common share of MCRT. Asia Properties shareholders of record on November 30, 2007 will be entitled to receive the common stock dividend distribution. Daniel S. McKinney, CEO said, "We want to reward our loyal shareholders in API by this dividend for a portion of this potentially valuable stock held by the company."
API anticipates that the shares and the accompanying stock certificates representing each stockholder's MCRT dividend shareholdings will be issued and mailed to stockholders following the filing of all required forms with the appropriate regulatory agencies sometime in Q1, 2008. The Company then plans to file a SEC registration statement, and list MCRT on the OTC Bulletin Board in 2008. MCRT is currently traded on the Grey Sheets market with a quoted asking price of $1.00 per share.
MCRT is anticipating to acquire a cutting edge Internet TV channel in January in which the details will be further disclosed early next year. "MCRT is going to add significant value to API in 2008," said McKinney.
All in all, 2007 was an excellent year for API. We anticipate sales to come in at around US$15 million with a net profit of US$2.5 million that reflects an EPS of around $0.06 per share. "With our current NAV of around US$1.40 per share, I believe our stock is significantly undervalued right now," said McKinney.
About Asia Properties, Inc.: Asia Properties, Inc. was established to develop resorts and prime real estate in Southeast Asia. Asia Properties currently operates as the only listed U.S. public company focusing on S.E. Asian real estate investments. API is a Nevada corporation and trades on the Pink Sheets under the symbol "ASPZ." There are currently 39,115,112 fully diluted shares consisting of 16,672,740 free trading and 22,357,376 restricted. The transfer agent is Computershare, Inc. of Golden, Colorado.
The Asia Properties, Inc. logo is available at http://www.primenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=1733
Statements, which are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements. The Company, through its management, makes forward-looking public statements concerning its expected future operations, performance and other developments. Such forward-looking statements are necessary estimates reflecting the Company's best judgment based upon current information and involve a number of risks and uncertainties, and there can be no assurance that other factors will not affect the accuracy of such forward-looking statements. It is impossible to identify all such factors, factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those estimated by the Company. They include, but are not limited to, government regulation, managing and maintaining growth, the effect of adverse publicity, litigation, competition and other factors which may be identified from time to time in the Company's public announcements.