BEIJING and CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom, May 14, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- AsiaInfo-Linkage, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASIA) ("AsiaInfo-Linkage," the "Company," "we," "us" or "our"), a leading provider of telecommunications software solutions and related services, today announced that the Company plans to open its European headquarters in Cambridge, UK as part of an ongoing initiative to expand its operations across international markets.
AsiaInfo-Linkage has an established leadership position in China with a greater than 50% share of the telecommunications billing, CRM, and business intelligence markets. In 2009, AsiaInfo-Linkage began expanding its core business in Southeast Asia. AsiaInfo-Linkage is now targeting broader geographical expansion in the Europe, Middle East and Africa ("EMEA") market.
The new regional headquarters in Cambridge will be led by two former executives of Geneva Technology, the Cambridge-based billing software company acquired by Convergys Inc. in 2001. Mr. Stephen Newton, formerly chief operating officer of Geneva Technology and president for the EMEA market at Convergys, will set up AsiaInfo-Linkage's Advisory Board and act as its chairman. Comprised of senior industry figures, the Advisory Board will provide expert advice on emerging technology as well as insights into conducting business in diverse global markets. Meanwhile, Dr. Andy Tiller, formerly vice president in charge of product marketing at Geneva Technology and Convergys, has joined AsiaInfo-Linkage as vice president in charge of corporate product marketing. He will lead an international team to promote AsiaInfo-Linkage's global solutions.
"The opening of our new European headquarters is another major step in our international expansion efforts," said AsiaInfo-Linkage President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Zhang. "Our focus over the past few quarters has been to ramp up our product standardization and integration initiatives as we position ourselves to grow globally. We believe we can leverage our technical knowledge and experience in serving China's three telecom carriers, as well as our experience serving carriers in Southeast Asia, to provide the EMEA market with world-class products and services."
Mr. Zhang continued, "We are confident that the accomplished leadership of our new European headquarters has the capacity to grow our business and enhance our industry position in the region. Both Stephen and Andy bring a wealth of industry knowledge and proven track records, having successfully grown Geneva Technology's business, which culminated in its sale to Convergys. Our vision is to become a worldwide market leader, and the opening of our first European office is representative of our global ambitions."
The Company plans to hire locally-based sales, professional services, and customer support staff for the EMEA region through 2012.
About AsiaInfo-Linkage, Inc.
AsiaInfo-Linkage, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASIA) is a leading provider of high-quality software solutions and IT services to the telecommunications industry. Headquartered in Beijing, the Company has offices throughout China and a joint venture in Singapore to support customers across Asia. The Company employs more than 10,000 professionals worldwide, of which approximately 8,500 are highly skilled engineers and research and development professionals. AsiaInfo-Linkage's systems serve more than 890 million customers daily.
With almost 20 years of deep industry know-how, AsiaInfo-Linkage provides a full suite of BSS/OSS solutions and associated professional services. The Company's core business support systems include billing, customer relationship management, business intelligence, network management and security solutions. In China, AsiaInfo-Linkage has more than 50% market share in billing, CRM and business intelligence through the Company's longstanding partnerships with China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom.
AsiaInfo-Linkage's comprehensive offering, dedicated employees and world-class R&D capabilities enable the Company to deliver high-quality software systems and services, helping customers successfully deliver highly complex projects. AsiaInfo-Linkage's vision is to be the leading IT solutions provider to the global telecommunications industry, enabling the "Connected Digital Lifestyle," and helping customers build, maintain, operate and constantly improve their network infrastructure and IT environment.
For more information about AsiaInfo-Linkage, please visit www.asiainfo-linkage.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
The information contained in this document is as of May 14, 2012. AsiaInfo-Linkage assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this document as a result of new information or future events or developments.
This document contains forward-looking information about AsiaInfo-Linkage's operating results and business prospects that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. You can identify these statements by the fact that they use words such as "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "project," "intend," "plan," "believe," "will" and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial performance. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are the following: government telecommunications infrastructure and budgetary policy in China; our ability to maintain our concentrated customer base; the long and variable billing cycles for our products and services that can cause our revenues and operating results to vary significantly from period to period; our ability to meet our working capital requirements; our ability to retain our executive officers; our ability to attract and retain skilled personnel; potential liabilities we are exposed to because we extend warranties to our customers; risks associated with cost overruns and delays; our ability to develop or acquire new products or enhancements to our software products that are marketable on a timely and cost-effective basis; our ability to adequately protect our proprietary rights; the competitive nature of the markets we operate in; political and economic policies of the Chinese government; and the outcome of the Special Committee's evaluation of strategic alternatives, including the privatization proposal announced on January 20, 2012. A further list and description of these risks, uncertainties, and other matters can be found in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011, and in our reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and available at www.sec.gov.
For more information about AsiaInfo-Linkage, please visit www.asiainfo-linkage.com.
For investor and media inquiries, please contact:
In China:
Mr. Jimmy Xia
AsiaInfo-Linkage, Inc.
Tel: +86-10-8216-6039
Email: ir@asiainfo-linkage.com
Mr. Justin Knapp
Ogilvy Financial, Beijing
Tel: +86-10-8520-6556
Email: asia@ogilvy.com
In the United States:
Ms. Jessica Barist Cohen
Ogilvy Financial, New York
Tel: +1-646-460-9989
Email: asia@ogilvy.com
