omniture

Global Payments Asia-Pacific Expands Its Joint Venture with HSBC to the Philippines

Global Payments Inc.
2008-08-01 09:23 2297

ATLANTA and HONG KONG, July 30 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN), a leading provider of electronic payment processing solutions, announced today that its joint venture with The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited ("HSBC") will expand to provide payment processing services to merchants in the Philippines. The Philippines will also be included in the current ten-year marketing alliance agreement, in which HSBC refers new merchant customers exclusively to the joint venture for payment processing services.

(Photo: http://www.prnasia.com/sa/200808010919.jpg )

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation is the founding member of the HSBC Group, one of the largest financial services institutions in the world, with assets of approximately US$2.4 trillion and over 10,000 offices in 83 countries and territories, as of December 31, 2007.

"We are thrilled that HSBC has agreed to expand our joint venture into the Philippines," said Global Payments’ President of Worldwide Processing, Carl Williams. "We continue to execute on our commitment to aggressively grow the payment processing market in the Asia-Pacific region. This acquisition underlines the success the joint venture has already experienced in the two short years since we combined our strengths across the ten countries and territories of Brunei, the Hong Kong SAR (Special Administrative Region), India, the Macau SAR, mainland China, Malaysia, Maldives, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Taiwan," Williams continued.

Mark Watkinson, president and CEO of HSBC in the Philippines said, "We are pleased to build on the worldwide relationship between HSBC and Global Payments. Our merchant customers will benefit from a wider range of card payment solutions and a sharpened focus on the development of this business. They will continue to enjoy the combined strengths of HSBC, with our strong brand and significant international footprint, and of Global Payments, with its technological expertise and operational scale. We believe this is a powerful combination."

"We are excited to add another country in the region to our existing joint venture relationship. We look forward to welcoming the customers and employees of HSBC Philippines and to leveraging our technological expertise to provide state-of-the-art products and services in the country," said Ian Courtnage, Managing Director for Global Payments Asia-Pacific.

Under the terms of the agreement, the merchant acquiring business of HSBC in the Philippines was valued at approximately $20 million based on current exchange rates. Global Payments’ cash obligation for the acquisition will equate to its 56 per cent ownership interest in the joint venture, or approximately $11 million. The transaction is expected to be slightly accretive to Global Payments’ diluted earning per share in the first year. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals and is expected to close during Global Payments’ second quarter of Fiscal 2009.

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN) is a leading provider of electronic transaction processing services for consumers, merchants, Independent Sales Organizations (ISOs), financial institutions, government agencies and multi-national corporations located throughout the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, the United Kingdom, and the Asia-Pacific region. Global Payments offers a comprehensive line of processing solutions for credit and debit cards, business-to-business purchasing cards, gift cards, electronic check conversion and check guarantee, verification and recovery including electronic check services, as well as terminal management. The company also provides consumer money transfer services from the United States and Europe to destinations in Latin America, Morocco, and the Philippines. For more information about the company and its services, visit http://www.globalpaymentsinc.com .

This announcement by Global Payments’ may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe-harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements that are not historical facts, including revenue and earnings estimates and management’s expectations regarding future events and developments, are forward-looking statements and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Important factors that may cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated by such forward-looking statements include the following: continued certification by credit card associations, foreign currency risks, competition and pricing, product demand, market and customer acceptance, development difficulties, the effect of economic conditions and consumer spending, security breaches or systems failures, costs of capital, changes in state, federal or foreign laws and increases in credit card association fees, utility or system interruptions, the ability to consummate and integrate acquisitions, and other risks detailed in the Company’s SEC filings, including the most recently filed Form 10-Q or Form 10-K, as applicable. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise any of these statements to reflect future circumstances or the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Investor Relations Contact:

Jane M. Elliott

Tel: +1-770-829-8234

Email: investor.relations@globalpay.com

Media Relations Contact:

Phyllis McNeill

Tel: +1-770 829-8245

Email: phyllis.mcneill@globalpay.com

Source: Global Payments Inc.
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