BEIJING, Jan. 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Recon Technology, Ltd. (NASDAQ: RCON) ("Recon" or the "Company"), a China-based independent solutions integrator in the oilfield service, environmental protection, electric power and coal chemical industries, today announced that the Company's 43%-owned subsidiary, Future Gas Station (Beijing) Technology, Ltd ("FGS"), has entered into a strategic cooperation agreement (the "Agreement") with Censtar Science & Technology Corp., Ltd. ("Censtar"), to add prepaid refueling functionality to FGS' improved DT Refuel application. This new refueling functionality offers convenience to customers and payment security to gas stations. Censtar is the leading enterprise providing complete equipment solutions and management systems to gas stations in China, with approximately 40% market share in the Chinese market. The Agreement is scheduled to run through January 9, 2021, and covers implementation of the protocols and software associated with the prepayment functionality and upgrading and retrofitting fuel pumps for compatibility.
FGS has updated the DT Refuel app to introduce the fuel prepayment option into China. Although fuel prepayment is common in the United States, it is a relatively uncommon phenomenon in China. The prepayment protocol allows customers to set a monetary amount to refuel in the DT Refuel app, which then generates a unique order number and authorizes and secures payment using the customer's chosen credit card or third-party mobile and online payment platform, such as Alipay. When the customer enters the order number at the fuel pump keyboard, he/she can begin refueling. Once the customer's monetary limit is reached, refueling stops and the authorized amount is automatically paid to the gas station. Because the majority of customers in China need to pay for the fuel inside the gas station, the DT Refuel app offers consumers the convenience of avoiding payment lines, and can reduce labor expenses for gas stations. Moreover, by securing payment prior to authorization of the pump, the DT Refuel app will help gas stations reduce incidents of non-payment by customers.
In addition to the updates to the DT Refuel app, existing fuel dispensers will be upgraded to be compatible with the fuel prepayment protocol. In some cases, the upgrade will be accomplished with a software update; other pumps may require physical upgrades. These upgrades will be at the gas stations' expense, and such fees will be largely payable to Censtar. Pursuant to the Agreement, FGS and Censtar agree to develop, optimize and promote the prepayment functionality based on FGS' DT Refuel app and gas dispensers produced by Censtar. FGS agrees to use its internet technology and market resources to provide Censtar with technology development support and marketing support. Censtar will provide FGS with the fuel dispenser upgrades while FGS will assist Censtar with receiving the upgrade fees from gas stations. Censtar agrees to promote the application of the fuel prepayment function in gas stations using its fuel dispensers.
Mr. Shenping Yin, CEO of Recon, stated, "We are pleased that FGS has entered this agreement with Censtar, China's leading provider of fuel dispensers. We believe this collaboration between Censtar and FGS has tremendous potential to promote technological innovation and introduce a more efficient and convenient payment protocol in the evolving gas station industry."
Mr. Yang Song, the founder of FGS, said, "In Zhejiang Province, the gross value of payments made through our initial version of the DT Refuel app was already over RMB 609 million for 2018. We are pleased with how our the DT Refuel app has been welcomed by car owners and gas stations in China. We're excited to introduce fuel prepayment in our DT Refuel app, which will greatly improve the efficiency and operation of gas stations and offer new convenience to consumers. We have started the trial operation of this prepayment functionality with Censtar at a few pilot stations in Zhejiang Province. Through this agreement with Censtar, we are aiming to expand the fuel prepayment option into more provinces throughout China. We are eager to share this technology with Censtar's client base as we bring this solution to more gas stations and clean energy industry refueling stations and to explore future markets for this technology."
About Future Gas Station (Beijing) Technology, Ltd.
Established in January 2016, FGS is a service company focusing on providing new technical applications and data operations to gas stations of oil companies such as PetroChina Co., Ltd. With its DT Refuel mobile application, FGS provides solutions to gas stations to improve their operations and their customers' experience. FGS aims to increase the overall income of gas stations through integration of internet technique and New Retail E-Commerce platform, and to help transform gas stations into comprehensive service providers.
About Censtar Science & Technology Corp., Ltd.
Established in 1992, Censtar is located in Zhengzhou Hi-New Tech Development Area in Zhengzhou, Henan, PRC. Censtar specializes in providing complete equipment solutions and management systems to gas stations. Censtar has held the top position in its industry in production and sales volume in the Chinese market for the last 24 consecutive years, with an average market share of approximately 40%. For additional information please visit: en.censtar.com.
About Recon Technology, Ltd.
Recon Technology, Ltd. (NASDAQ: RCON) is China's first listed non-state-owned oil and gas field service company on NASDAQ. Recon supplies China's largest oil exploration companies, Sinopec (NYSE: SNP) and CNPC, with advanced automated technologies, efficient gathering and transportation equipment and reservoir stimulation measure for increasing petroleum extraction levels, reducing impurities and lowering production costs. Through the years, RCON has taken leading positions on several segmented markets of the oil and gas filed service industry. RCON also has developed stable long-term cooperation relationship with its major clients, and its products and service are also well accepted by clients. For additional information please visit: www.recon.cn.
Forward Looking Statements
Forward-Looking Statements in this press release, which are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Our actual results, performance or achievements may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "may," "could," "expect," "intend," "plan," "seek," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "continue," "likely," "will," "would" and variations of these terms and similar expressions, or the negative of these terms or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by us and our management, are inherently uncertain. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, among others, levels of spending in our industry as well as consumer confidence generally; changes in the competitive environment in our industry and the markets where we operate; our ability to access the capital markets; the results of cooperation between parties to cooperation agreements; and other risks discussed in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 20-F, which filings are available from the SEC. We caution you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which are made as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to update publicly any of these forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, new information or future events, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking statements, except to the extent required by applicable laws. If we update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that we will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements.
For more information, please contact:
In China:
Ms. Jia Liu
Chief Financial Officer
Recon Technology, Ltd.
Phone: +86 (10) 8494-5799
Email: info@recon.cn
In the United States:
Ms. Tina Xiao
President
Ascent Investor Relations LLC
Phone: +1-917-609-0333
Email: tina.xiao@ascent-ir.com
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