Transcription of Finance News Network Interview with TTG Mobile Coupon Services Limited (ASX:TUP) Chairman, Chris RyanLelde Smits: Hello I’m Lelde Smits for the Finance News Network and joining me today from TTG Mobile Coupon Services
(ASX:TUP) is Chairman, Chris Ryan. Chris welcome to FNN.
Chris Ryan: It’s my pleasure to be here Lelde, thank you for your time.
Lelde Smits: TTG is just about to put a proposed name change to a shareholder vote. Now, could you explain why the name change and what it represents?
Chris Ryan: Lelde the current name is TTG Mobile Coupon Services Limited. It sounds to the Board, that it sticks to the types of services that would only provide discount coupons, to potential consumers. Together with China UnionPay who is our major partner, we’re expanding those services to include loyalty programs, cash rebates, data mining, customer behaviour tracking. And putting all those together means that the new name, which will be TTG FinTech Limited and which is to be put to the AGM on the 16
th August in Shenzhen, will better explain the broader nature of the Company.
Lelde Smits: OK and could you recap TTG’s core product offering for us?
Chris Ryan: TTG is an information technology services company. It provides a bridge between China UnionPay’s bank card settlement network and the internet. So specifically what it does, it brings together merchants who want to provide goods and services in China. It brings it then together with consumers, offerings through major financial institutions and also social network groups, such as QQ and Sina.
Lelde Smits: TTG has only traded on the ASX for about nine months. What do you believe have been the biggest milestones in that time?
Chris Ryan: I think, by far in a way, it’s the evolution of the R&D behind the business and the expansion of the infrastructure.
Lelde Smits: Looking at your milestones in more detail, you’ve recently inked a deal with Shenzhen Intelligence Preferential Pay Company. What are the main points of the agreement?
Chris Ryan: Yes, that represents actually an investment. So IPP, as it’s known, is a subsidiary once again of China UnionPay. So by investing in that data encryption and intelligence arm of China UnionPay, it means that not only brings TTG closer to the Governmental Organisation, which is China UnionPay, but also it means that we can then provide to merchants, things like data mining, customer behaviour tracking and also the authenticity of the transactions themselves. So for example, it means settling T+1 on transactions.
Lelde Smits: TTG scored approval to establish a new subsidiary in May. Why choose Qianhai as the location, and how will the new company work within your current framework?
Chris Ryan: The investment in IPP improves the data encryption and transaction authentication. It also means that we can bring more merchants in Lelde, because those merchants sometimes have high barriers to entry, when you go inside their systems for payments.
Lelde Smits: You also inked a deal to expand the ULPOS system in May. How is the rollout progressing?
Chris Ryan: Extremely well. ULPOS is our main platform it, as I said before, links China UnionPay’s bank settlement network through to the internet. The infrastructure is now not being built on city by city basis, but covering all of China. That is, first and second tier cities of which there are 336 and as I said before, 1.3 million merchants. So our reach will be extensive.
Lelde Smits: Finally Chris looking ahead, what is TTG’s 12 month strategy for expansion?
Chris Ryan: Finishing off our infrastructure firstly, which we consider will be complete by Q3 this year. In Q4, then increase in the number of registered users we have on the platform, and then offering products and services of merchants on an extensive basis.
Lelde Smits: And finally, how would you like to position TTG heading into 2014?
Chris Ryan: Further establishing TTG’s credibility in a global sense, because I think that inside of China TTG is being very well covered. It’s become respected even though it’s early days. But we would like to see that globally, people looking at the way we do business in China will become a standard worldwide.
Lelde Smits: Chris Ryan, thank you for the update to TTG.
Chris Ryan: My pleasure Lelde.
Ends
