BEIJING, November 8, 2011 — Charm Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: CHRM) (”Charm” or the “Company”), a leading advertising agency in China, today announced that for the ninth consecutive year and the tenth time in eleven years, the Company secured the number one position in successful bidding volume at the annual CCTV Prime-time Auction, which was held November 8, 2011.

The CCTV Prime-time Auction is the most important event in China’s advertising industry. The results are considered a barometer for growth prospects in China’s advertising industry and a key indicator of business confidence across the whole economy. This year the total value of auctioned and pre-sold advertising resources for CCTV hit a record high of RMB14.26 billion, an increase of 12.54% compared to last year.

“The result demonstrates the strong confidence Chinese companies have in the domestic economy as well as their continued recognition of CCTV’s value in building brands targeting China’s fast growing consumer market,” commented He Dang, founder, chairman and CEO of Charm. “Our success further solidifies Charm’s leading position in the Chinese advertising market, where we are leveraging our expertise in television to expand our integrated advertising capabilities into digital offerings such as search and online video. We are confident that more and more companies will appreciate our full-service integrated capabilities to both build strong brands and provide more targeted marketing services, thereby offering the best return on their investment.”

About Charm
Charm Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CHRM) is a leading advertising agency in China. Charm operates its business under four brands: Charm Advertising, Charm Interactive, Charm Click and Shangxing Media. Under the Charm Advertising and Charm Interactive brands, Charm offers integrated advertising agency services from planning and managing advertising campaigns to creating and placing advertisements, and under Charm Click, Charm offers specialized search engine marketing services. Under the Shangxing Media brand, Charm has established a portfolio of television advertising media resources through its exclusive arrangements with premium national television channels, which include not only advertising time but also opportunities for placing branded content. Charm’s clients include well-recognized brand names in China across many industries, as well as emerging domestic leading brands. In January 2010, Charm formed a consolidated joint venture with international 4A advertising group Aegis Media, its strategic investor, to operate its brand “Vizeum” in China. In October 2010, Charm also entered into agreement to establish a joint venture with Wasu Digital Group to operate all advertising-related businesses across Wasu’s IPTV, 3G mobile TV and broadband TV network platforms. For more information please go to http://ir.charmgroup.cn.

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SINGAPORE – 9 November 2011 – Tat Hong Holdings Ltd (“Tat Hong” or “the Group”), Asia’s largest crane company and the world’s top crane company (in terms of number of crawler cranes)1, today reported a net profit after tax and minority interest of S$12.6 million on the back of revenue totalling S$183.3 million for the second quarter ended 30 September 2011 (“2QFY2012”).

Revenue growth was seen across all business divisions, resulting in an overall increase of 26% in gross profit from S$53.9 million to S$67.9 million in the latest quarter. Gross profit margin remained at a respectable 37.1%.

On a quarter-on-quarter comparison, the Group’s total operating expenses increased by approximately 9% in 2QFY2012 to S$45.3 million. This was mainly due to increased staff costs and costs in the upkeep of machinery as a result of a higher level of rental activities. The quarter under review also saw a lower write-back of doubtful debt allowance compared to the previous corresponding quarter. Net foreign exchange loss in 2QFY2012 was significantly lower at S$0.3 million as compared with S$1.7 million in the previous corresponding quarter.

The Group’s earnings per share on a fully diluted basis was 2.22 cents for 2QFY2012 against 1.24 cents for the previous corresponding quarter. Net asset value per ordinary share as at 30 September 2011 was S$0.94.

Tat Hong has proposed an interim dividend of one Singapore cent per ordinary and convertible redeemable preference share, to be payable on 2 December 2011.

Link to the press release

Link to financial statement

Link to presentation

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Telecom passive infrastructure provider Bharti Infratel has won Green Mobile Award for its P7 GreenTowers project. The initiative is energy management programme and is a combination of seven energy efficiency sub-projects.

It aims at reducing dependence on conventional sources of energy by adopting cleaner technologies for power generation and energy efficiency to mitigate green house gas emissions, while providing connectivity uptime service to telecom operators’ tower sites.

“It is a matter of great pride for us to be recognised for our efforts in adopting cleaner technologies and increasing efficiency for our tower operations. This award is testimony to our focus on innovation, uncompromising standards and business excellence,” said Devender Singh Rawat, chief executive officer, Bharti Infratel.

Another award that came in to Bharti’s account was for Airtel card. This virtual card was launched by the company for Airtel Africa subscribers in association with Standard Chartered and MasterCard. The card allows Airtel Africa customers to make online purchases from MasterCard merchants. Airtel card won GSMA award for Best Mobile Money Product or Solution in Best Mobile Business and Enterprise category of the award.

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Charm Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: CHRM) (”Charm” or the “Company”), a leading advertising agency in China, today announced that for the 9th time in ten years the Company’s advertising business unit, Charm Advertising, contracted more sales than any other agency at the annual CCTV 2011 Prime-time Auction, which was closed on November 8, 2010.

The CCTV Prime-time Auction is the most important event in China’s advertising industry. The auction’s result is viewed as a leading indicator of growth prospects in China’s advertising industry over the next year and an important measure of business confidence across the whole economy. This year the value of total auctioned resources exceed RMB12.7 billion, an increase of 15.52% over the previous year.

“This year’s record CCTV auction demonstrates the strong confidence Chinese companies have in the domestic economy as well as the increasing understanding of the value of communications and branding,” commented He Dang, founder, chairman and CEO of Charm.

“Today’s success further solidifies Charm’s leadership in China’s advertising industry. We are confident that more Chinese and international companies will leverage our full offering platform covering satellite TV, Internet and new media to build leading brands targeting China’s fast growing consumer market.”

Separately, Vizeum China, Charm’s 60% owned joint venture with Aegis Media, also represented its clients, participating in the auction for the first time.

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Indus Towers, an affiliate company of Bharti Infratel, bagged the prestigious ‘Telecom Infrastructure Company of the Year’ award for rolling out 24,000 tower sites over a period of 18 months.

The Essar Steel Infrastructure Excellence Awards in association with CNBC TV 18, are one of the biggest Infrastructure Awards in the country. The felicitation of the award was done on March 19, 2010, by the Honourable Union Cabinet Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Shri Kamal Nath, at a ceremony in New Delhi. The high profile awards panel comprised of distinguished names from the world of Infrastructure Finance and Planning – Mr. Deepak Parekh, Non-executive Chairman – HDFC ltd & IDFC ltd, Mr. SS Kohli, CMD – IIFCL, Dr. Kirit Parekh, Chairman – IRAD, Mr. Rajeeva Ratna Shah, Former Member Secretary – Planning Commission, Govt of India

In 2009, Infratel had bagged the ‘Telecom Infrastructure Company of the Year’ award. This year, it got shortlisted in 2 award categories and for the ‘Innovative Infrastructure Company of the Year’ category, it competed with some of the biggest infrastructure players having presence across sectors like Power, Roads & Highways, and Water.

Awards Website: http://infrastructureexcellenceawards.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=110:winners-list-2010&catid=36

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6th July 2010 – VerticalNews.com - Charm Communications Inc. (”Charm” or “the Company”) (NASDAQ:CHRM), a leading domestic advertising agency in China, announced that several of its marketing campaigns have been honored at the Chinese Classics Communication Awards.

The Chinese Classics Communication Awards are one of China’s leading creative advertising awards with participants including both domestic and international 4A advertising agencies. Charm was one of the top performing domestic advertising agencies at the awards, which took into account targeted marketing strategies, execution and the effectiveness of the ads in improving brand awareness and sales for the advertiser.

The awards were hosted by Advertising Panorama Magazine, a top advertising trade periodical in China, and sponsored by the Chinese Advertising Association and the School of Journalism and Communications of Peking University. They are given to selected companies chosen from among both domestic and international 4A advertisers. Charm won a silver award for an advertising campaign for Yunnan Baiyao (pharmaceutical) and two bronze awards for campaigns for Huaxia Bank (financial) and Midea’s soy milk maker (home appliance). Yunnan Baiyao’s ad for its herbal cream links the advertiser’s 100 year history with the importance of friends and family in present day society, bringing traditional Chinese medicine into modernity. The “Dragon Boat” campaign for Huaxia Bank’s business solution for small-medium enterprises (”SMEs”) featured Liu Guoliang, the coach of the Chinese national ping-pong team. The advertisements effectively linked the “smooth, small and fast” nature of ping-pong with the same characteristics of Huaxia Bank’s SME solutions: fast, convenient and reliable. The “New Generation” campaign for Midea’s soy milk maker, which came out after in depth industry and consumer studies, was able to ingrain “change to a new generation of soy milk makers” into the consumer, thus effectively promoting its soy milk maker’s secondary brand status ahead of the industry leader in the minds of the consumer and changing the dynamic of the industry. Charm’s vice president Xiao Kun, who is also part of the creative team for Yunnan Baiyao and Huaxia Bank, will be present to receive the award at the ceremony on June 22, 2010 at Peking University. The award winning TV commercials can be found on Charm’s website at http://ir.charmgroup.cn

“We are very pleased to hear that marketing campaigns we developed for three of our largest advertisers, which have successfully built brands and driven product sales, have been chosen for these leading industry awards,” commented He Dang, Charm’s founder, chairman and CEO. “Our ability to combine established in-house creative talent with strategic advice, planning and media purchasing to create winning marketing campaigns provides our customers with a one-stop solution and gives us a strong competitive advantage in China’s advertising market.

This article was prepared by China Weekly News editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2010, China Weekly News via VerticalNews.com.

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11th May 2010 – Singapore Business Times - TAT Hong took a long time to get where it is today. But now, it looks set to conquer the world. It is Asia’s third biggest crane owner – and one of the world’s largest crawler crane lessors.

Mainboard-listed Tat Hong started as an earth-moving equipment trading company back in the early 70s. On the way, it identified lucrative opportunities for crane and equipment rental, especially during downturns, when companies preferred to rent rather than buy equipment.

With the acquisition of Tutt Bryant Group in 1996, Tat Hong became a multi-brand distributor. The acquisition also helped the crane lessor grow its general equipment rental division.

In 1997, during the Asian financial crisis, Tat Hong aggressively expanded its rental fleet by buying fire-sale cranes and equipment. By not trimming costs and capitalising on expanding its assets at low prices, the company was primed to capture growth opportunities when the market eventually recovered.

Tat Hong’s president and chief executive officer Roland Ng says: ‘We also took the opportunity during such crises to streamline our operations and fine-tune our business model.’

A crisis is the best opportunity to grow a company’s talent pool, he reckons. In addition, Tat Hong stayed focused on its core business, keeping a close watch on cashflow and strengthening its balance sheet.

The crane giant gradually shifted its focus to crane rental while at the same time maintaining its equipment sales operations. And when sales and crane and equipment rentals stabilised, the company set its sights on a new market – renting tower cranes in China. Tat Hong established a beachhead in this market in 2005 – and since then has grown its tower crane rental fleet from an initial 50 to 400 today.

Mr Ng is also being recognised for his efforts at the Singapore Corporate Awards this year, clinching the Gold award for Best CEO under the mid-cap category.

Now, the company is a one-stop shop for crane and equipment requirements. It also provides maintenance, spare parts and training facilities and courses.

Tat Hong’s management now includes plenty of professionals, unlike in the past where half of its employees were family members. Mr Ng says recruitment and career advancement are based on merit, and advocates equal opportunities across the board.

He feels that for a workforce to be successful, good leaders must motivate their staff to work hand-in-hand with them, aligning their mindset with the company’s goal.

‘Every employee contributes to a company’s success and a good leader must be able to let employees know their worth,’ says Mr Ng. ‘Only through this can a good leader motivate his team to work together for the company’s future.’

Foresight, coupled with savvy cash management, helped Tat Hong weather the recent recession. With the market showing subtle signs of recovery, the company is starting to receive more enquiries for cranes and equipment. ‘We are confident of positive prospects,’ says Mr Ng. ‘It’s still early days in terms of recovery and we need a few more months to obtain a clearer outlook.’

In the meantime, Tat Hong will remain focused as a rental company, while maintaining equipment sales. It plans to remain prudent with capital and risk undertakings and manage inventory effectively.

As for overseas expansion plans, Tat Hong is on the lookout for merger and acquisition opportunities in China. It also wants to focus on organic growth to support such M&As. Also in the pipeline are plans to explore new markets with strong potential, such as India, Hong Kong, Thailand and Vietnam.

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Famy Care is a family owned, pharmaceutical manufacturer based in Mumbai, India. The company specializes in the women’s healthcare market, specifically contraceptive formulations and devices. Famy Care is reportedly the largest generic manufacturer of oral contraceptives globally. It sells in emerging markets through both its own distribution channel and institutional contracts with leading global family care / population management organizations.

As part of its plan to launch its products into the lucrative US oral contraceptives market, Famy has entered into a strategic alliance with Mylan Inc., the 3rd largest generics company globally. Famy is also pursuing expansion plans in Europe. Famy Care has its headquarters and R&D facility in Mumbai, two manufacturing facilities in Gujarat and one each in Daman and Maharashtra.

“We are pleased to become a partner with Famy Care and its highly experienced management team. We look forward to supporting this well-established business in its expansion into developed markets” said Peter Amour, AIF Capital’s Chief Executive Officer. “This investment reflects our belief in the Indian pharmaceutical industry which has a proven track record of producing high quality drugs through low cost business models enabling it to capture larger market shares globally.”

“Having served the unregulated markets for the last twenty years, we are now at an inflexion point as we have built the necessary technical and manufacturing capabilities along with strong marketing relationships required to make a successful entry into developed markets. We are delighted to have AIF Capital on board with us at such a critical stage of our growth plans and look forward to their guidance in realizing the same.” said J P Taparia, Founder Chairman, Famy Care.

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About AIF Capital
AIF Capital (www.aifcapital.com) is one of the largest Asia-based independent private equity firms. Since its establishment in 1994, AIF Capital has received investor commitments for its funds in excess of US$1.7 billion and invested in 33 companies in nine countries across Asia.

The firm, with 23 investment professionals across Hong Kong, China and India, oversees a diversified, pan-Asian portfolio of investments, providing capital for expansion, buy-outs and recapitalization. Its portfolio includes investments in sectors ranging from supply chain management, financial services, manufacturing, specialty steels and engineering services, to power generation, telecom and transportation. AIF Capital’s investors in its funds include major corporate and government pension and investment funds, insurance companies and financial institutions from North America, Australia, Asia and the Middle East and Europe, as well as multilateral agencies.

For further questions, please contact Peter Amour at +852-2912-7888 or email inquiries to info@aifcapital.com

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Most Transparent Company Award
Securities Investors Association (Singapore) launched the ‘Most Transparent Company Award’ in 2000 to encourage public listed companies to be more transparent so as to help investors make informed decisions on their investments.

Corporate transparency in turn helps companies to attract investors. This annual Award, which is one in a series of SIAS Investors’ Choice Awards, have various industry categories and an open category award, the Golden Circle Award.

The Award is based on key criteria such as timeliness of news release, substantiality of news release, clarity of news release, degree of media access, frequency of corporate results, availability of segmental information and communication channels (e.g. company website, webcasting).

The Management Committee of SIAS appointed a Selection Committee comprising members from the mass media, investors, investment analysts, equity sales and asset management firm. The Selection Committee selected the winners from nominations received from investment analysts, heads of research, fund managers and members of the mass media.

Site to SIAS – http://www.sias.org.sg/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=83&Itemid=45

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At the same time, Oceanus was informed that it will be a new constituent of MSCI Singapore Small Cap Index. This new addition will take place as of the close of May 29, 2009.

About Oceanus Group
Oceanus Group is the largest land-based abalone producer in the world. Its principal activities are the research and development, breeding, production and sale of premium quality Japanese breed abalones.

Oceanus’ abalone is farmed inland in tanks ideally located along the coastal lines of Fujian and Guangdong provinces in the People’s Republic of China. Using well-devised production system and processes, Oceanus’ premium abalones are bred under carefully controlled environment to encourage their growth, survival and propagation. Through large-scale production and stringent quality control measures, Oceanus delivers a consistent supply of high quality Japanese breed abalones throughout the year.

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Charm is a leading integrated television advertising services provider and a pioneer in the securing of media resources on nationwide television stations and multiple regional/satellite channels in China. The company provides one-stop advertising solutions, which include market research, branding strategies and creative design, and acts as a media consultant to its exclusive television channels.

Charm, whose long-term and successful relationship with China’s single largest national television network China Central Television (CCTV) makes it the advertising service provider of choice, also stands to benefit from the nation’s enormous and fast-growing advertising industry.

Besides CCTV, Charm also has exclusive agreements for the securing of all advertising slots on Shanghai Dragon Television, which is poised to emerge as an influential satellite television channel in China, and Hubei Satellite Television.

“Our investment in Charm reflects AIF Capital’s confidence in China’s economy and advertising industry,” said Peter Amour, “AIF Capital’s Chief Executive Officer. reputation and market position is expected to propel the company to greater heights and we are excited to be working closely with the company to achieve greater success.”

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