HANGZHOU, China, January 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- China Jo-Jo Drugstores, Inc. (NASDAQ CM: CJJD) (the "Company" or "China Jo-Jo"), a leading China-based retail and wholesale distributor of pharmaceutical and health care products through its own online and retail pharmacies, announced that it has recently signed a service agreement with Alipay (China) Internet Technology Ltd. ("Alipay") to launch an online payment service ("Alipay Service") for its customers. With over 300 million registered users and over 200 partnering financial institutions, Alipay is China's dominant third-party online payment provider which processes about 50% of China's e-commerce transactions, including mobile payments.
Through Alipay' s popular services such as Alipay and Alipay Wallet, Chinese consumers can now make e-payment for China Jo-Jo's products, in both retail and online pharmacies, through mobile devices such as smartphones. China Jo-Jo will be able to better engage mobile consumers through such features in the Alipay Service Window as push notifications for deals and sales promotions, app download and customer service. In addition, Alipay's enterprise software offers the Company better management tools, including transaction management, big data collection, marketing and financial control.
Mr. Lei Liu, Chairman and CEO of China Jo-Jo, stated, "Our cooperation with Alipay gives us a great opportunity to get access to Alipay's 300 million registered users who, like most Chinese consumers, are seeking more convenient pharmacy shopping experiences. In addition to maintaining our traditional customer base, we hope to attract more young, affluent, and tech-savvy consumers by answering to their needs for pharmaceutical and healthcare products."
About China Jo-Jo Drugstores, Inc.
China Jo-Jo Drugstores, Inc., through its own retail drugstores, wholesale distributor and online pharmacy, is a leading retailer and wholesale distributor of pharmaceutical and healthcare products in China. As of September 30, 2014, the Company had 51 retail pharmacies in Hangzhou. The Company's wholesale subsidiary not only supplies its retail stores, but also distributes drug and other healthcare products to other drugstores and drug vendors. The Company routinely posts important information on its corporate websites at www.jiuzhou-drugstore.com (Chinese) and www.chinajojodrugstores.com (English).
About Alipay (China) Internet Technology Ltd.
Launched in 2004, Alipay (www.alipay.com) is a commonly used third-party online payment solution in China. Alipay provides an escrow payment service that reduces transaction risks for online consumers. As of the end of 2013, the number of Alipay registered users reached 300 million and the number of partnering financial institutions exceeded 200. In addition, Alipay handles over 80 million transactions daily, 45 million of which are through mobile payment accounts. In November 2013, Alipay's mobile application, Alipay Wallet, started operating as an independent brand. As of today, there are 190 million annual active users. In addition to providing basic services such as shopping payment, credit card repayment, money transfer, and utilities bill payment on mobile phones, Alipay Wallet is expanding its offline applications to shopping malls, convenience stores, taxis and hospitals. Alipay partners with multiple financial institutions including leading national and regional banks across China as well as Visa and MasterCard to facilitate payments in China and abroad. Apart from Taobao Marketplace and Tmall.com, Alipay provides payment solutions to merchants in a wide range of industries including online retail, virtual gaming, digital communications, commercial services, air ticketing and utilities. It also offers an online payment solution to help merchants worldwide sell directly to consumers in China and supports transactions in 14 major foreign currencies.
Alipay (China) Internet Technology Ltd. is an affiliate of Alibaba Group Holdings, Ltd. (NYSE: BABA).
Forward Looking Statement
Statements in this press release regarding the Company that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual future events or results to differ materially from such statements. Any such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, financial guidance, are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believe," "expect," "may," "will," "should," "project," "plan," "seek," "intend," "anticipate," the negatives thereof, or comparable terminology. Such statements typically involve risks and uncertainties and may include financial projections or information regarding the progress of new product development. It is routine for the Company's internal projections and expectations to change as the quarter and year progresses, and therefore it should be clearly understood that the internal projections and beliefs upon which the Company bases its expectations may change. Although these expectations may change, the Company is under no obligation to inform you if they do. Actual results could differ materially from the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements as a result of numerous factors, including the risks associated with the effect of changing economic conditions in the People's Republic of China, variations in cash flow, reliance on collaborative retail partners and on new product development, variations in new product development, risks associated with rapid technological change, and the potential of introduced or undetected flaws and defects in products. Readers are referred to the reports and documents filed from time to time by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a discussion of these and other important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those discussed in forward-looking statements.
Contacts
China Jo-Jo Drugstores, Inc.
Ming Zhao
Chief Financial Officer
Tel: (561) 372-5555
Email: frank.zhao@jojodrugstores.com
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