Asia Pay receives approval to open an office in Shenzhen

Asia Pay is a credit card processing services company that provides a growing network of credit card clearing services to merchants and financial institutions in China and other markets. The primary focus of Asia Pay's business development efforts is the rapidly growing Chinese credit card market. Asia Pay aims to become a leading China-wide provider of world-class third-party processing services to bankcard-accepting merchants and card issuers.

Matt Mecke, President & CEO of Asia Pay, announced, "We are very pleased to be able to announce today the approval of our Representative Office License by the Shenzhen Municipal Government. We feel this approval is an important step in Asia Pay's becoming the premier payment services company in China. We continue to cooperate with our China partners and related parties to develop China-wide processing systems and related applications and services. This Shenzhen Representative Office approval advances Asia Pay's plans to provide leading-edge payment processing applications and services to our customers in China and throughout the region. We are pleased to be part of the dynamic economic growth and modernisation for which Shenzhen is known worldwide."

Shenzhen is one of the most prosperous and modern cities in China. Shenzhen became China's first Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in 1980. In the past 25 years, Shenzhen has grown from a small border town to a modern manufacturing center and international port, with a permanent resident population of approximately 5 million. The city's GDP per capita reached US$5,604 in 2002, making Shenzhen one of the most prosperous cities in China. According to Shenzhen Government Online, the city is ranked fourth in GDP, third in revenue among China's large and medium-sized cities, second in container-handling capacity, and first for seven consecutive years in China's import and export volumes.