Media / ASX Announcement 13 April 2006 Bill Express completes...

Media / ASX Announcement 13 April 2006


Bill Express completes AUD$80 million trade finance facility


Melbourne, 13 April 2006 - The directors of Bill Express Limited (ASX; BXP) are
pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement with CCH International Plc
("CCH"), a trade finance group, listed on the London AIM market. The agreement is to
implement an A$80 million five-year Sharia-compliant trade finance facility. This
facility has been co-arranged with the Sydney based investment bankers
Convergence Capital who are establishing a Sharia-compliant investment bank and
fund in Dubai.

Bill Express owns and operates one of Australia's largest "Receivables Services" via
electronic retail distribution networks, supplying the electronic distribution of products
and payment services. The total network currently comprises in excess of 14,000
electronic transaction points in retail locations throughout Australia. Bill Express'
sales and distribution system is an advanced and modern transactional receivables
system currently managing receivables in excess of $1 Billion on an annualised
basis.

This CCH facility has the potential to increase the amount of receivables purchased
by Bill Express by more than A$800 million per year for the next four years,
significantly contributing to its profitability. CCH and Bill Express believe that this
facility represents the first Sharia-compliant trade finance facility of this size provided
to a listed Australian company. The facility is fully hedged from an international
currency risk viewpoint and has an insurance wrap (against bad debt risk by the third
party obligor) with the facility. The facility utilises the services of a top tier accounting
firm to check daily reconciliation and disbursement values, which applies the doctrine
of independence. As a consequence the Directors of Bill Express are of the view that
the facility design is robust and suitable for further expansion if and when this is
warranted. For clarity Bill Express advises that it is only required to pay for that
portion of the facility principle that it uses. The intent is to use the entire facility in due
course as the business expands and in fact to use the model created as a template
for growth.

Bill Express Chief Executive Ian Christiansen said: "We are pleased to have entered
into an agreement with CCH International Plc; and it is a win for both companies and
has potential for further expansion." (Further background explanation may be found
on the company's web site www.billexpressltd.com.au and below)

Yours faithfully




Marc Lichtenstein
Company Secretary

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Background:

Bill Express Limited (BXP) in effect operates a "Receivables Management System" where
products are electronically distributed and sold to Merchants on a B2B basis. The resulting
invoices are managed on credit terms with each Merchant. Payments are collected and
receipted electronically using the Bill EXPRESS bill payment methodologies. Risk is
`business profile risk' with many rated retail clients of low risk and also diversified across
many sites. All BXP growth revolves around BXP's ability to extend the "Receivables
Management System" which is at the core of Bill Express' business. The opportunities for
extension of BXP's business are numerous and the limitation to extension invariably resolves
to be the ability of the company to manage and deliver `receivables growth funding'.

Consequently the Directors have pleasure in explaining in high level terms a number of
projects which are in negotiation or planning stages which will be given enhanced status as
result of the additional CCH facility outlined above.

7 PROJECT 1: Faster settlement of bill payments
The prime benefit to BXP is to win more business and to give Biller's reasons to
convert more bill pay business to BXP in return for additional fees to BXP.
The prime benefit to Biller's (Clients of BXP) is to give them faster payment collections
with lower effective cost of collection.
The prime `opportunity gap' is the delay in moving cash paid at remote locations to the
End Billers bank account (e.g., cash received on a Thursday evening may not hit the
Billers account until the following Tuesday).
Where the risks are low and diversified, the CCH facility will give BXP the ability to
advance cash (for a fee) to Billers to produce a faster bill pay cycle.

7 PROJECT 2: Expansion of the DialTime (Sales) service to new products
The prime benefit to BXP is to grow its business.
The prime benefit to new Suppliers is to give them a `one stop shop' enabling them to
expand their business `safely'.
As described above, BXP's risk is managed and BXP's experience in this space is
multiple year experience with broadly the same retail Client base.
New Suppliers generally do not enjoy this `length or depth of experience'.
Therefore the fastest and most lucrative deals may be struck with these Suppliers
where BXP is able and willing to manage growth funding requirements internally
which may in a traditional transport distribution system have been the responsibility of
the Supplier (in years gone by).

7 PROJECT 3: bopo Card Expansion Program
The prime benefit to BXP is to grow its business and offer a service that is almost
unrivalled at this time.
Unrivalled amongst the un-banked demographic, which BXP estimates to be at least
40% of the consumer community including consumers themselves, and when they are
club members, and as employees, and as bill payers on the web, mobile phone or
kiosk, and as prepaid users, and as internet site product buyers, etc.
The prime benefit to both Suppliers (being paid by bopo Consumers) and the
Consumers themselves is the efficiency and speed of bopo payments combined with
the certainty of the payment method.

7 PROJECT 4: Mobile Logistics division
This project is under developmental review and more will be announced in due
course.

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7 PROJECT 5: In-store Media Division
7 This project is about POPS (Point of Purchase Screens) and POD TV (Point of
Decision TV) - a network that promotes products on screens by remote control,
electronically
7 The benefit to Suppliers, Retailers and Non Retail Businesses (such as Plumbers,
electricians etc) is that they can advertise relatively inexpensively
7 The benefit to BXP is to enable it to expand its business and to manage the
receivables arising
7 The receivables are forecast to be in the order of $50M per year as this division now
commences to ramp up its activity on a base of screens which will be between 5,000
screens and 15,000 screens in 06/07 year (depending on projects in negotiation)
7 BXP will thereby become the next biggest TV station in Australia against the
current TV stations
7 This project fits `hand in glove' with BXP's drive toward selling more products
electronically.
7 The key to selling is `promotion'.
7 Suppliers will pay to put their products on a network which has all of the features
described above, including promotions capability

7 PROJECT 6: Specialised Projects
7 One such project is in the medical insurance payments area where risk profiles are
low and the potential volume is very large.
7 Other projects will be considered in more earnest as the above projects are resolved,
completed or shelved.

The CCH facility should be considered to be a `tool'. A tool needs a Specialist to utilise it
which in this case is BXP. The value that can be unleashed will be derived by the application
of BXP methodologies through project examples of the style and form of those outlined
above. These will continue to be further shaped by the Bill Express team. Some of these are
well advanced and some are in early stages. In all cases shareholders should read this
announcement as an explanation of management's intent and not a statement of readiness
to deploy all of these projects (yet). A foundation requirement and a substantial step forward
however is the attainment of this CCH facility outlined.


Further information can be found at www.billexpressltd.com