Local Company Strikes Deal to Provide $30 million Dollars of Trade Credit Financing to South Africa
EMBARGOED UNTIL 19th DECEMBER 2005
New Zealand, 19th December 2005
Auckland-based XO Limited (www.barter-software.com), the worlds- largest developer of solutions for the barter and
counter-trade industry, announced today that it had formed a strategic alliance with Access Capacity Traders of South
Africa. Under the agreement XO will provide a forecast $30 million dollars in cash equivalent trade credits for the 2006
year with the funds earmarked to be used in reducing the cash purchasing requirements of businesses in the region.
As part of the deal, due to come into effect at the end of January, Access Capacity Traders will take on XO's "Ozone"
brand name and begin offering interest free lines of credit to businesses to help reduce cash their borrowing. The
agreement allows the users of these trade credit facilities to acquire a range of goods and services from Africa, Asia
and Australasia without the need for cash, and have the loans repaid through additional business that will be brought to
them by XO and its international franchisees.
"As the cost to generate additional business is significantly less than repaying the initial loan (plus accrued
interest) it makes sense for these businesses to use trade credits for funding rather than cash" says Ken Prentice,
Managing Director of Access Capacity Traders.
"By offering them trade credit overdraft facilities combined with the ability to sell their excess inventory or
capacity, businesses can increase their overall revenue streams whilst reducing their cash costs" says My Prentice. "It
is especially useful during periods where cash is tight but production or service capacity is under- utilised as it
allows them to spend trade credits on items (that they would usually purchase using cash) and then repay this facility
through new business which other members of the network will bring to them." Once a business becomes a member of Ozone
and is extended a line trade credits. These credits can be used to purchase goods or services from any member of the
network of users of the XO system internationally (currently numbering around 6,000 businesses). The business then
repays these trade credits through other members of the Ozone network spending trade credits with them. Typically a
business will offer up its surplus product or services to earn trade credits, allowing them to keep their cash for goods
or services that are not available through the Ozone network. There are is no interest attracted from the use of trade
credits and there is only a nominal fee to use the facility (between 2.5% and 4.5% of the transaction value).
XO operates a sophisticated computerized trade credit and barter network which it began developing in 2002. The company
has a team of 18 development staff making it the largest developer of solutions for the barter industry world-wide.
In New Zealand XO assists the local Ozone franchise operators to manage a network of over 2,000 businesses. The company
has also recently signed a second trade deal with Terry Thng of the newly incorporated "Ozone Singapore" which is due to
launch next week.
"Our rapid expansion internationally is really a testament to our great team of developers and systems designers" says
Tatiana Soubbotina of XO Limited. "In many ways our systems exceed those of standard banking solution providers as we
offer a range of financial tools backed by intelligent software systems incorporating e-commerce market places, EFTPOS
services, SMS, Phone and Internet Banking."
The company sees that it has a rosy future and is looking to start providing financial and systems development services
to Poland, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States in the coming months.
According to the North American Barter Association approximately $30 billion dollars in transactions were conducted in
2005 in the United States alone. The US Department of Commerce estimates that between 20% to 25% of all commerce
world-wide is barter.
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About XO Limited Founded in 2002, XO is the worlds premier barter and counter-trade systems developer. It offers a
neutral Internet based platform that enables traders to trade with one another using a "virtual" currency through
electronic and traditional means. XO's systems are designed to enable barter exchange operators to reduce their costs
whilst increasing their overall trade volumes. Some of the key functionalities of their trading platform includes: a
universal currency, Internet banking, TXT/SMS banking, internet trading, IVR (telephone) banking, EFTPOS (electronic
point of sale) cards and direct interfaces with traditional banking methods. Additionally, the XO software systems are
written to enable the barter exchange operator direct access to their customer base via the Internet, with data able to
be accessed and downloaded into common Microsoft and third party applications. It is understood that the company
operates the largest team of software developers specializing in barter exchange systems anywhere in the world.
About Access Capacity Traders Access Capacity Traders was formed in 2005 by Ken and Tracy Prentice with the aim to
provide trade credit facilities to reduce the need for cash in an environment where financial restrictions make
borrowing and international trade cumbersome and costly. After completing his articles at Ernst & Young in Johannesburg Ken has worked in numerous industries and has recently resigned as Financial Director of a medium
sized import/export company to start a Access Capacity Traders in South Africa. Both Ken and Tracy have a goal of
growing the Ozone brand and financial service offerings throughout South Africa and neighboring countries.
About Ozone Barter Ozone Barter is New Zealands fastest growing barter exchange. The brand also operates in Australia
where it has just launched, with well over 3,000 business members in the country. Ozone is also the only barter exchange
in both Australia and New Zealand to operate a 24 hour/7 day a week trading call-centre for its members. Within New
Zealand the exchange works in conjunction with Westpac Banking Corporation (www.westpac.co.nz) - the second largest
commercial bank in the region - and Provenco (www.provenco.com) to provide EFTPOS services to its members.
Established in December 2003 by XO Limited, Ozone has experienced rapid growth with a membership base exceeding 4,000
businesses across Australia and New Zealand. Both Australian and New Zealand operations are independent businesses
utilising the Ozone Brand and trading software under license from XO Limited. Ozone's home page address on the World
Wide Web is http://www.ozonebarter.com