iClick - MSCI China Index Inclusion Warrants Share Purchases by Index Funds

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iClick Interactive Asia Group Limited

Nov 16, 2020, 16:00 ET

NEW YORK, Nov. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The company's leveraging its vast amount of consumer data to expand into the high-growth SaaS Enterprise Solutions market has proved successful. Following the announcement of strategic collaboration with Tencent on smart solutions co-developments, and being named Tencent IBG's Platinum Partner as one of the core SaaS Mini-Program providers, market demand for ICLK's enterprise solutions has been enjoying strong momentum, as the company continues to ramp its high-margin enterprise business.

Meanwhile, there are additional positive developments and progresses made since August, including the inclusion by the world's largest index operator MSCI, and the acquisition of CMRS.

Investment Highlights

New MSCI China Small-Cap Index Inclusion Effective Nov 30, 2020.

Upward price trend warranted by index-tracking ETF's anticipated share purchase. This upward trend was evidenced by the stunning stock performance of Weimob Inc. (2013.HK), which appreciated near 90% since May 12, 2020 when the news of its inclusion by MSCI China Small-Cap Index was announced.

Further Enhanced Product Offerings through Acquisition of CMRS Group.

Investment Details

Basing on the results of the semi-annual review of MSCI Global Standard Index Constituents announced on November 11, 2020 - 36 new companies will be added to, while 18 existing constituent companies will be removed from the MSCI China Small-Cap Index. iClick Interactive Asia Group Limit is among those 36 new companies selected to be added to MSCI China Small-Cap Index, effective after market close of November 30, 2020, when MSCI China Small-Cap index is slated for rebalance.

Immediately following the completion of MSCI index rebalance on November 30, ETFs tracking MSCI China Small-Cap Index are subject to make up shares of those newly included names not already held by the ETFs. On that premise, ETFs collectively would be required to buy an estimate of around 800,000 shares of iClick Interactive Asia Group Limited, in order to track the index properly. With the anticipated share purchases by the ETFs tracking MSCI China Index, ICLK's shares are likely to positively impacted as a result of this index inclusion and rebalance.

MSCI China Small-Cap Index is designed to measure the performance of China's small-cap stocks, and is widely referenced and adopted by global institutional investors as an important guidance for optimizing and improving the investment portfolios. Tencent strategic collaboration for SaaS-based smart applications co-developments - ICLK and Tencent International Business Group (TIBG) join hands to co-develop SaaS-based "Smart Retail" and "Smart Travel" solutions, as well as promote "Smart Conference" via Tencent Cloud conference solutions. putting the company on path to embrace abundant long-term opportunities ahead.

iClick announced on November 11, 2020 that it has recently entered into an agreement to acquire the entire issued share capital of CMRS Group Holding Limited ("CMRS"), in a consideration comprised of cash and certain number of the Company's American Depositary Shares, subject to customary conditions for closing.

Based in Hong Kong, CMRS is a leading marketing automation solution provider, focused on adding value to Greater China region-based customers in data-driven consumer journey management, cross-channel marketing automation, and inbound marketing services.

With expertise in leveraging strategies and content over social media and KOLs to generate inbound leads and sales for companies, CMRS applies its proprietary technology to aggregate data from multiple sources, targeting to help companies better serve and manage customer relationship.

With CMRS's marketing automation capabilities, the acquisition will empower iClick to further enhance its product offerings, especially for cross-border customers marketing into China. On top of enhancing iClick's product offerings, iClick's management is confident in CMRS's resources, demonstrated profitability and potential to cross-sell the company's products, allowing it to contribute to the bottom line of iClick's Enterprise Solutions in the near to medium term.

This acquisition will bring together two of the region's leading innovative marketing solution providers. Combining CMRS's digital marketing, social media, Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) and smart content generation expertise with ICLK's omni-channel marketing capability, the acquisition is expected to enrich ICLK's Consumer Experience Management and Social Commerce Platform initiatives. CMRS's strengths in CRM and cross-channel marketing automation will enable iClick to expand the scope and effectiveness of its integrated enterprise and marketing solutions product offering on its proprietary platform, which empowers clients to boost sales from different combinations of product lines.

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SOURCE iClick Interactive Asia Group Limited