HLS Systems International Commences Shipment of Its Automation and Control Products to Zhengzhou-Xian High-Speed Railway Project Under a New $15 Million Contract
BEIJING, May 21, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HLS Systems International, Ltd. (NasdaqGS:HOLI - News) (``HLS'' or the ``Company''), a leading automation and control systems and products provider in China, announced today that it commenced shipping its Train Control Center products (TCC) to the Zhengzhou-Xian High-Speed Railway project, pursuant to a contract with the China Railway Electrification Bureau Group, valued at RMB 103 million, or approximately USD$15 million. This is a new contract in addition to HLS' contract won in September 2008 for the same high-speed railway line.
HLS' TCC product will ensure centralized train control of the 459 km Zhengzhou-Xian railway line connecting Zhengzhou, the capital city of Henan province, with an approximate population of over 7 million, with Xian, the capital city of Shaanxi province, with a population of approximately 8.3 million. The line is designed for a traveling speed of up to 350 kilometers per hour.
HLS' TCCs will be located at each station along the railway line and will generate train control information through logic calculation of on-ground collected data, and transmit the information to on-board devices by a track circuit and switchable balise. The TCCs will work together with HLS' Automatic Train Protection (ATP), which is an on-board device of the train control system that provides real-time train monitoring and control.
Dr. Changli Wang, CEO of HLS, commented, ``We believe that the follow-on contract win of the Zhengzhou-Xian high-speed railway automation works is a testament to the high quality of HLS products and our successful project implementation in the high-speed railway automation and control segment. The win also signals the recognition of our product and work quality by China's Ministry of Railways and our partners in the industry. As China is experiencing an accelerating railway build-out boosted by the government's RMB 4 trillion stimulus plan, we expect that HLS will benefit from an increasing number of market opportunities in the high-speed railway segment.''
Dr. Wang continued, ``We were pleased to read the comments from China's Ministry of Railways' chief spokesman Mr. Wang Yongping in an article published in The Wall Street Journal on April 17, 2009, where he noted that China will invest an additional $2 billion this year into the railway sector as part of its stimulus plan to bolster domestic transportation network. In the article, Mr. Wang was quoted as saying, 'China wants to create an internationally competitive railway industry and to do that it will spend most of the money on domestic companies rather than buying from abroad.' As one of the five automation product providers in the 200km to 250 km per hour segment, and one of the only two automation product providers in 300km to 350km per hour segment in China, we believe that HLS is well-positioned to take its fair share in this unprecedented railway build-out.'' (Source: The Wall Street Journal, ``China's Railways to Spend Stimulus Funds at Home'' by Ian Johnson.)
About China Railway Electrification Bureau Co. Ltd.
China Railway Electrification Bureau Co., Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of China Railway Engineering Group Co. Ltd. (CREC), a state-owned Chinese conglomerate with a multi-disciplinary group of corporations covering a broad business scope. Over the past century, CREC has successively taken part in the construction of more than 100 major railway lines in China, and has completed the design and construction of thousands of key state projects, including airports, wharfs, water and electricity facilities, power plants, and communication and signaling projects. As one of China's major state-owned backbone enterprises, CREC is also playing a critical role in China's recent economic development. Subordinated to CREC, the China Railway Electrification Group Co., Ltd. is mainly engaged in providing electrification projects for railways, roads, urban facilities and urban mass transit, as well as construction projects. In a recent credit rating report issued by Dagong Global Credit Rating Co., Ltd, China Railway Electrification Bureau Group Co., Ltd. was noted as stable and given a AA-rating, reflecting its great market opportunities and high-quality assets.
About HLS Systems International
HLS Systems International is a leading automation and control systems and products provider in China. Founded in 1993, HLS has approximately 2,100 employees with 9 sales centers and 13 service centers in 21 cities in China with over 1700 customers in industrial, railway & nuclear industries. Its product lines include Distributed Control Systems (DCS) and Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC), high-speed railway Train Control Centers (TCC) and Automatic Train Protection (ATP), and safety controls for nuclear power plants. HLS is the only certified domestic automation control systems provider to the nuclear industry in China. HLS is also one of only five automation control systems and products providers approved by China's Ministry of Railways in the 200km to 250km high-speed rail segment, and is one of only two automation control systems and products providers approved in the 300km to 350km high-speed rail segment.
The HLS Systems International logo is available at http://www.sec.gov). All forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these factors. Other than as required under the securities laws, the Company does not assume a duty to update these forward-looking statements.
Contact:
HLS Systems International, Ltd.
Jennifer Zhang, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
8610-5898-1386
investors@hollysys.com
www.hollysys.com
The Equity Group Inc.
Investor Relations Counsel
Adam Prior
212-836-9606
aprior@equityny.com
