"its all go"

Chairman’s Address, 31 October 2005
Today marks the start of a new beginning for SSI.
The company’s activities will in the near future be expanded to
capitalize on the gaming licenses that have been issued to China
Entertainment Holdings (now a wholly owned SSI subsidiary) and to
maximize other opportunities in, particularly, the PRC, Hong Kong
and Australia for selected investments.
I would like to briefly discuss my vision for SSI.
Gaming in the PRC is effectively a national pastime.
Gaming has existed in China since early in the 2nd century B.C. when
the earliest version of the Keno game was invented.
The Keno game was originally called White Pigeon because carrier
pigeons were used to pick up numbers and transmit the results to
remote areas.
In the Han Dynasty, the construction of the Great Wall of China was
urgently needed for the country’s defence. Imposing an additional tax
on the people for the construction of the Great Wall was not an
acceptable option, so the Keno game was invented to raise the
required funds.
It has grown in popularity ever since.
In recent years, the PRC has allowed welfare agencies to issue gaming
permits in order to raise money for welfare causes in China. Between
1987 and 1999 welfare lotteries raised about AUD$2 billion for social
welfare causes. Over the next ten years, growth in PRC gaming is
forecast to double every two years – to around 30 times its current
size by 2015.
Technology is changing the industry rapidly. No longer are carrier
pigeons involved in transmitting the results, which are, or will soon
be, instantly available via up to 200 million mobile phones, or at point
of sale terminals, or via interactive gaming television channels.
Already our Keno Point of Sale (“POS”) franchising operations in
Shanghai are underway and a similar Keno Bar franchising operation
in alliance with mass transportation operators is almost ready to start.
A natural consequence of this rollout program will be the creation of
long term sustainable revenue for SSI and its shareholders, while
providing the funding that supports welfare agencies in the PRC as
well.
It’s a win-win situation for all involved and the technology that Go-
Connect has developed over the years will be of value. In particularly
GoConnect’s mobile gaming application will be of critical importance
to the SSI Group as the mobile phone market is huge in China.
We will provide more detailed information on our gaming business
rollout program as and when appropriate.
In closing, I welcome you on board our exciting SSI Group and to
share with you the many opportunities that we have secured in the
PRC and also, via GoConnect, in other parts of the world.
Teddy Cheng