NEWTOWN, Pa., Oct. 13, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Weida Communications, Inc. (Other OTC:WDAC), a U.S. company providing satellite communications services throughout China, reported today that it has targeted the more than 200 million students in China's colleges and high schools for its satellite TV programming and Internet access services.
"The numbers and potential are simply staggering," noted Chris Lennon, Weida CEO. "There are 300 million personal computers in China and more than 130 million Internet users, many of whom are students. But there is little domestic content of interest to the youth market, ages 15 to 23," he reported. "Weida intends to provide both this content and the satellite (VSAT) communications infrastructure for delivering it."
While in China, Lennon was invited to speak at the Second Annual Conference of the Education Forum for Asia -- Cross-cultural Management and Training in a Global Economy being held in Beijing from October 13 through 16. Lennon will be joining domestic experts, scholars, and government officials from China and abroad to discuss the training methodology for cross-cultural management. One hundred participants are expected from more than 30 of the world's top-rated educational institutions.
Weida's VSAT satellite communications terminals both send and receive voice, video and data, making them ideally suited for interactive educational programming, Lennon explained.
"Pursuing this market, we expect to broaden Weida's revenue basis from a wide range of direct and ancillary services," Lennon said. "These include direct user fees collected by student representatives, media revenue from advertising promoting both Chinese and overseas products, direct product sales and online education through cooperative programs with Chinese primary and secondary schools and universities."
The timing for this direction proved particularly appropriate given that the 11th Five Year Plan recently approved for China includes specific initiatives encouraging the use of satellite technology for remote primary and secondary education, Lennon noted. Lennon said that Weida plans to combine American marketing techniques and youth oriented programming with its local knowledge of the communications market in China. "As an American company with a single focus on serving the communications needs of China, we are well positioned to draw on the strengths of both stations," he explained.
Lennon also said that Weida has retained the services of a leading expert on the educational system in China to help it forge links to students, student organizations and educational institutions there.
"While the educational market is a developing business for Weida," Lennon said, "we are excited over the prospects of contributing to the educational system in China while broadening our other activities including providing satellite communication services for the power distribution, emergency recovery, gasoline, banking and telecommunication industries throughout China."
About Weida Communications, Inc.
Weida Communications is a U.S company that provides data communication services via satellite to businesses and government agencies throughout China. The company participates in the fast-growing China telecom market through its majority profit sharing interest in and control of the only wholly privately owned company in China holding a license for bi-directional VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) satellite communications services. VSAT is an attractive telecommunications solution in China with its exploding demand for telecommunications, dense urban areas, and extensive mountainous terrain. For more information, visit the Weida Communications, Inc. Web site at http://www.weida.com/.
This press release contains forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are based on the current expectations of the management of Weida Communications, Inc. (the Company) only, and are subject to a number of risk factors and uncertainties, including but not limited to the Company's immediate need for equity financing in order to continue operations and to consummate the acquisition of a legal ownership interest in Guangzhou Weida, limited operating history, Weida Communications' historical and likely future losses, uncertain regulatory landscape in the People's Republic of China, fluctuations in quarterly operating results, the Company's reliance on the provision of VSAT-based communications services for the majority of its revenues, changes in technology and market requirements, decline in demand for the Company's products, inability to timely develop and introduce new technologies, products and applications, difficulties or delays in absorbing and integrating acquired operations, products, technologies and personnel, loss of market share, and pressure on pricing resulting from competition, which could cause the actual results or performance of the Company to differ materially from those described therein. We undertake no obligation to update these forward-looking statements. For a more detailed description of the risk factors and uncertainties affecting the Company, refer to the Company's reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the information about risk factors provided in Item 1, "Business," in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2004, filed with the SEC on October 12, 2004.