mobile payservices now on markets radar, page-14

The Sunday times, Perth


LEEDERVILLE company SmartTrans is on the cusp of a transformational deal that could expose it to more than 500 million mobile phone users in China.

Nearly a year after the company said it had struck a deal with the world's largest mobile network, China Mobile, SmartTrans announced it had edged closer towards completing the contract, following settlement of the terms of the arrangement.

The deal will see SmartTrans take advantage of China's expanding 3G network with the provision of a software platform that will be loaded on to mobile phones.
The platform will distribute applications according to the way a person uses their mobile phone.

``For example, if you like playing a game at 7:30 to 8:30, we know that you're most likely a commuter on a train or bus on the way to work,'' SmartTrans director Bryan Carr said.
``You're a captive audience at that stage for us to promote a similar game to you. Likewise if you're a business user and you're using stock market applications at certain times of the day, it will promote other business tools.''
The platform initially will be loaded on to new mobile phones provided by China Mobile subsidiary, China Mobile Shanxi Group, which has about 19 million users.
Under the agreement, the platform will also be available to existing Shanxi mobile phone users, and eventually to China Mobile's 522 million customers.

The potential exposure to the large customer base will be a game changer for the company, which provides logistical software in China.
Mr Carr said the company had yet to reach a final sign-off stage, with some Chinese administrative legal hoops to jump through first.
``We're hopeful of concluding the arrangements and the contract shortly,'' he said.
The contract value has not been disclosed because of confidentiality contract clauses.

The announcement that SmartTrans had settled the terms of the arrangement with China Mobile sent its share price up 50 per cent on Friday, a fraction of the more than 600 per cent share price surge the company experienced when it announced the deal in January.

Anticipation of the deal has been building over the past week, with the volume of shares traded in SmartTrans jumping from an average of about two million a day to an average of 15 million shares a day.