TEMECULA, Calif., Feb. 5, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Nicholas Investment Company, Inc. (Pink Sheets:NIVM) today announced that its subsidiary, SINO UJE, Ltd., has entered into a Letter of Intent with Inter Medical GmbH, a medical software and hardware company based in Germany, to form a joint venture company to expand the market and availability of Inter Medical's imaging products in China.
Terms of the initial agreement include the intent form a Wholly-Owned Foreign Enterprise (WOFE), which will immediately sell and service Inter Medical's imaging products for the medical industry. The new enterprise plans to expand the operation to assembly and manufacturing within a 1-3 year timeframe. SINO UJE is currently the exclusive distributor of Inter Medical's products and services in China, including Inter Medical's unique upgrade packages for existing gamma cameras.
Chris Bickel, President of SINO UJE, commented, "SINO UJE and Inter Medical are forming this partnership to work together to address the second largest medical imaging market in the world. Inter Medical's upgrade packages for existing gamma cameras are unique and not offered by GE, Siemens, or Philips. This upgrade product differentiates Inter Medical in the marketplace but requires a great deal of 'hands on' service and technical work that is done in the field and at the Inter Medical facility. By setting up a WOFE in the Shanghai area, we can facilitate all of the upgrades directly in China.
"Additionally, the classification as a WOFE in China avails the new company to accepting local currency for products and services. Essentially, it opens every hospital in China to the service packages and technical service long offered by Inter Medical in Europe, which is not true for most other foreign companies that operate within China and can only do business directly with large hospitals that are licensed to deal in foreign currencies," added Mr. Bickel.
Nicholas Investment Company, Inc. (www.nicholasinvestments.com) is a business development company that has acquired 100% of Javelin Holdings, Inc., a small business consulting firm, and 95% of SINO UJE, a non-stocking distributor that sells and services western manufactured high-tech products to markets throughout China.
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All statements included in this release, including statements regarding potential future plans and objectives of Nicholas Investment Company, Inc. are forward-looking statements. Such statements are necessarily subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which are significant in scope and nature beyond Nicholas Investment Company, Inc.'s control. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Actual results may differ materially depending on many factors. Nicholas Investment Company, Inc cautions that historical results are not necessarily indicative of the future performance.