Business Editors/Technology Writers
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 8, 2000
NorStar Group, Inc., (OTCBB:NSTG) confirmed today that its innovative and cutting edge domain www.veearecity.com is aggressively marketing its VeeAreCity Far East Internet Edition to Asian Advertisers trying to reach existing and new markets for their products. The VeeAreCity Far East Edition will provide the same unparalleled local/regional coverage as its U.S. counterpart. The VeeAreCity Far East Edition will initially target China, Japan, and Hong Kong and then focus on other rapidly growing markets in Indonesia, Malaysia, Viet Nam, Thailand, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan.
"The numbers are staggering." Said Jay Sanet NorStar's Director of Corporate Development. "Industry sources report that there are currently 12.3 million Internet users in China and 19.4 million in Japan alone. Over 20 percent of Japanese homes are now on online an increase of over 129% In one year alone.
"There are 1.85 million users in Hong Kong with proportionally more home users, an estimated 1.5 million users, in Hong Kong than in China."
"In China, the figures are 5.7 million home users and 5 million work users. A substantial number of users in both Hong Kong and China use the Internet at locations other than work and home, such as school or cyber-cafes. Industry studies have found that the Internet in China has become so popular," stated Sanet, "that, aside from Japan, China is expected become the largest IT market in the Asia/Pacific region even ahead of Australia according to a published report by IDC. Last year, industry sources conservatively estimated that the Chinese market alone was worth USD $11 billion and predicted that it would increase to USD $14 billion in 2000, and then triple by 2004 to constitute one-third of the regional market.
"To the Company's advantage," said Sanet, "is that the majority of users in China and Hong Kong are young. In China, 63 percent of users are aged between 15 and 29, while 24 percent are aged between 30 and 44. The equivalent figures for Hong Kong are 48 percent and 38 percent respectively"
"We're aggressively pursuing our fair share of advertising revenues," said Sanet. "According to IDC, online advertising revenues in the Asia-Pacific region are set to grow from last year's total of USD $67 million to a staggering USD $1.5 billion by 2004, and this figure doesn't include Japan. Right now we're in a rapid deployment mode and we have our best people working on the VeeAreCity Far East Edition. We'll have our Far East Edition launched with plenty of time to spare. We're also thinking that after we launch our VR Games, we'll introduce Virtual Reality into the advertising market place. I have no doubts that we will have the most innovative, cutting edge, and effective form of advertising the world has ever seen", added Sanet.
Sanet went on to say, "The Asian stats are very impressive and confirm the rapid growth we anticipated a couple of years ago. We are preparing to quickly deploy and penetrate these markets. The statistics are beyond anyone's imagination and the Asians are hungry for Internet based products
E-commerce is becoming increasingly popular. Roughly 5 percent of users in China and 15 percent in Hong Kong have bought products or services online. Books, groceries and computer products are the top-selling categories.
This all boils down to a vast marketplace that can yield millions in revenue for NorStar, and I haven't mentioned anything about Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, or Viet Nam, etc. We will have so much to offer, VR Games, VR Chat, and VR Advertising. Our expectation is for the VeeAreCity Far East Edition to take traction, and become a popular Internet destination hot spot for both Asians and non-Asians alike. And after we've launched the VeeAreCity Far East Edition we'll launch the European, African, Middle East, and Central & South American Editions of VeeAreCity.com. We aim to place a lot of power at everyone's fingertips."
Through selective acquisitions and partnering alliances, NorStar Group, Inc. (OTCBB:NSTG - news) is positioning itself to be a leading provider of interactive, virtual reality, entertainment, educational, and business products and services. NorStar is also the co-developer of a proprietary lightweight, comfortable and affordable virtual reality headgear, The Cybervisor(TM), which is designed for home and school.
Safe Harbor: Certain statements contained in this press release, including but not limited to information regarding the future economic performance and financial condition of the Company, the plans and objectives of the Company's management and the Company's assumptions regarding such performance and plans, are forward-looking in nature. Many factors and conditions could cause actual results to differ from the forward-looking information contained in this public announcement.
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