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CIT,
BANK SINOPAC AND C-ME JOIN FOR TRI-PARTY FINANCE AGREEMENT
– Innovative Financing Pact Eliminates Letters of Credit, Facilitates
Global Trading Transactions –
NEW YORK, January
30, 2001 – CIT (NYSE: CIT; TSE: CIT.U), the leading global source for
financing and leasing capital, announced today the establishment with Bank SinoPac of Taiwan and Cyber Merchants
Exchange (C-Me) (OTCBB: CMEE) of a tri-party financial platform. The agreement
will eliminate the need for Letters of Credit by allowing exporters in Taiwan to
ship merchandise to pre-approved retailers in the United States. Letters of
Credit have historically been the predominant means of payment for cross border
trading, but are rapidly being supplanted by more creative and flexible
financing mechanisms such as tri-party agreements that assure less risk for both
exporters and retailers.
Through this arrangement,
each party will make an essential contribution to expedite transactions between
an exporter and retailer while guaranteeing that the terms of the contract are
fulfilled. Each of the tri-party agreement participants play an integral role.
CIT’s Commercial Services unit will guarantee the credit worthiness of the
U.S. retailers while Bank SinoPac will provide potential working capital
financing and will act as the conduit for foreign manufacturers to receive
payment for goods that are shipped to U.S. retailers. It is through C-Me's
innovative international factoring agreement that exporters, retailers,
international banks and CIT will be linked to the platform, which provides rapid
access to global purchasing.
John F. Daly, president of
CIT Commercial Services, outlined the enormous potential of this unique
financing arrangement. "This agreement underscores our commitment to
international trade as well as our confidence in the tremendous growth
opportunities between our U.S. clients and the Pacific Rim businesses. The huge
global trading trend that is unfolding will create immediate cost and
administrative efficiencies and our partnership is a step towards the
globalization of factoring service for U.S. retailers."
Paul C. Lo, president of Bank
SinoPac, highlighted the many factors that contributed to forging this creative
agreement for the rapidly evolving global trading community. "Studies we
have conducted show that only 30 percent of Taiwan exports rely on Letters for
Credit for their financing. We have also found that computer technology has
significantly changed the international purchasing payment terms to net 30 or
even longer and we foresee that more and more buyers will request these same
payment terms. This agreement will provide each party with a level of comfort
and financial security - retailers won't be burdened with Letters of Credit and
vendors can have their cash in advance," added Lo.
Frank Yuan, Chairman and CEO
of C-Me commented, "Our B2B platform provides Pacific Rim
manufacturers the ability to bring their goods to the desk tops of U.S.
retailers through the Internet. This tri-party agreement will enable our retail
partners to purchase merchandise abroad without having to issue Letters of
Credit. In addition, foreign manufacturers are providing financing alternatives
to improve their cash flow. C-Me will continue to accelerate the growth of our
international sourcing offices to provide a more efficient and cost effective
means for our retail partners to purchase globally."
About: Bank SinoPac
Bank SinoPac
is one of the new banks established following the passage of the banking
regulation amendment in 1989 by the Taiwan government. After almost two years of
preparation, the business officially commenced on January 28, 1992. Equipped
with years of working experience at foreign banks, the management of Bank
SinoPac is renowned for its international vision, banking expertise, innovative
managerial philosophy, and effective development strategies.
Presently, Bank
SinoPac possesses nearly 40 branches in Taiwan and three overseas offices,
excluding SinoPac Capital Ltd. (HK), and the thirteen branches of Far East
National Bank (USA). Besides general commercial banking services, it also
provides special banking services such as fund raising, asset management,
securities trading, financial derivatives, and factoring. For more information,
visit the company's website at
www.banksinopac.com.tw.
About
C-ME.com:
The mission of CYBER MERCHANTS EXCHANGE, INC. d.b.a. C-ME.com
(www.C-ME.com) is to use its
proprietary Web-based software to create a global
business-to-business e-commerce solution that streamlines the way retailers
locate viable merchandise sources. C-ME.com’s
current retail partners include Factory 2-U Stores (NASDAQ: FTUS) and Burlington
Coat Factory (NYSE: BCF). Other
retailers include: McWhorter’s,
Sacks SFO and Susie’s Deals which are based in California and L & L Wings
which is based in New York. The company is also forming joint ventures in the
Pacific Rim to facilitate direct international merchandise sourcing for its U.S.
retail partners. C-Me has
operations in North America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
About CIT
CIT Commercial Services is the nation’s largest provider of factoring, accounts receivable management and lending services. It is a business unit of CIT Commercial Finance, one of six operating groups of The CIT Group, Inc. (NYSE: CIT; TSE: CIT.U).
CIT is a leading, global source of financing and leasing capital for companies in more than 30 industries. Managing more than $50 billion in assets across a diversified portfolio, CIT is the trusted financial engine empowering many of today’s industry leaders and emerging businesses, offering vendor, equipment, commercial, factoring, consumer and structured financing capabilities. Founded in 1908, CIT operates extensively in the United States and Canada with strategic locations in Europe, Latin and South America, and the Pacific Rim. For more information on CIT, visit the Web site at www.cit.com.
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Certain of the statements
made herein constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and
uncertainties. In such instances, actual results could differ materially as a
result of a variety of factors including the risks associated with the effect of
changing economic conditions at home
and abroad, variations in
cash flow, reliance on collaborative retail customers, reliance on intellectual
property legislation, use of proprietary un-patented technology, dependence on
the Internet and on new product development, variations in new product and
service development, risks associated with rapid technological change, and
potential of introduced or undetected flaws and defects in products and services
and other risk factors detailed in forms filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission from time to time.
Contact:
Webmaster 02-586-9333
CIT
C-ME.com
(212) 536-9310
(626)793-5000
ann.crater@cit.com
ir@c-me.com
Naya Kolarova (For CIT)
Lisa Lindberg (For
C-ME)
Stanton-Crenshaw
The
Investor Relations Group
(203) 359-8772
(212) 736-2650
naya@stanton-crenshaw.com
TheProTeam@aol.com