Following an announcement to form a joint venture on April 24, 2019, between iClick Interactive Asia Group Limited, (“iClick”) (NASDAQ: ICLK), an independent online marketing and enterprise data solutions provider in China, and VGI Global Media Plc (“VGI”) (VGI.BKK), Thailand’s number one online to offline (O2O) solutions provider across advertising, payment and logistics platforms, VGI made a strategic share purchase in iClick to expand the ongoing collaboration between the two companies.  This move shows the confidence of the two parties in the synergies that they can bring and the market opportunities that they are looking to take advantage of.

Sammy Hsieh, Co-founder and CEO of iClick said, “The potential for iClick and VGI has become more apparent as our strategic planning has continued. VGI provides market leading solutions and contacts and together we will be able to offer brands in Southeast Asia a new level of market access to the wealth of opportunities in China. The decision taken by VGI to make this investment on top of the recent establishment of the joint venture is a huge vote of its confidence in our model and approach as well as indicating the willing momentum behind our partnership.”

VGI is a unique market leader in Thailand providing fully integrated O2O solutions. VGI has built the largest and most captive out-of-home media platform with over THB 7,000 million (USD 225 million1) inventory on hand covering nationwide network. Its micro-payment platform, Rabbit Group, has more than 12 million users and has a number of major partners including VGI’s parent company BTS Group Holdings Plc (“BTSG”) (BTS.BKK).

BTSG is the main mass-transit services provider in Thailand and a constituent member of the SET50 “Blue-chip” Index. The average daily ridership of its mass-transit services is close to 700,000 trips. The company complements its transportation services with media, property and services businesses. VGI is granted the exclusive long-term contracts to manage advertising space on the BTS SkyTrain Network as well as future lines secured by BTSG.

The areas that the joint venture between iClick and VGI intend to work on are:

• Developing marketing SaaS solutions and AI-powered mobile applications that make use of the data resources held by VGI. This will help international brand owners to target customers in Thailand more effectively while also producing more opportunities to reach the lucrative Chinese travelers visiting the country.
• iClick’s core strength is in helping overseas brands target Chinese customers better and make more informed decisions. The joint venture will support brand owners in Thailand who wish to use marketing campaigns to reach out to this audience.

According to recent research2, internet users in Thailand spend more than five hours per day using the mobile internet, the highest of any country, demonstrating the need for marketers to have compelling mobile strategies in the country. Additionally, Thailand remains one of the most popular overseas destinations for Chinese tourists. According to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports in Thailand, in 2018 there were 10.5 million visitors from China, with a total expenditure of USD 18 billion. These deep pockets are obviously attractive to Thai brands who may want to increase awareness amongst those traveling. 

1 Based on an exchange rate of USD 1.00 = THB 31.16 as of June 11, 2019

2 Digital in 2019 Report, Hootsuite & we are social

About iClick Interactive Asia Group Limited

iClick Interactive Asia Group Limited (NASDAQ:ICLK) is an independent online marketing and enterprise data solutions provider that connects worldwide marketers with audiences in China. Built on cutting-edge technologies, our proprietary platform possesses omni-channel marketing capabilities and fulfills various marketing objectives in a data-driven and automated manner, helping both international and domestic marketers reach their target audiences in China. Headquartered in Hong Kong, iClick was established in 2009 and is currently operating in nine locations worldwide including Asia and Europe.

Safe Harbor Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements constitute “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "confident" and similar statements. Such statements are based upon management’s current expectations and current market and operating conditions, and relate to events that involve known or unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the Company’s control. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: the Company's fluctuations in growth; its success in implementing its mobile and new retail strategies; including extending its solutions beyond its core online marketing business; its success in structuring a CRM & Marketing Cloud platform; relative percentage of its gross billing recognized as revenue under the gross and net models; its ability to retain existing clients or attract new ones; its ability to retain content distribution channels and negotiate favourable contractual terms; market competition, including from independent online marketing technology platforms as well as large and well-established internet companies; market acceptance of online marketing technology solutions and enterprise solutions; effectiveness of its algorithms and data engines; its ability to collect and use data from various sources; ability to integrate and realize synergies from acquisitions, investments or strategic partnership; fluctuations in foreign exchange rates; and general economic conditions in China and other jurisdictions where the Company operates; and the regulatory landscape in China and other jurisdictions where the Company operates. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in the Company's annual report on Form 20-F and other filings with the SEC. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of this press release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.
For media inquiries:

iClick Interactive Asia Group Limited
Vivian Fu
Phone: (852) 3700 9110
Email: press@i-click.com

Paradigm Consulting
Helen Lam / Tim Nicholls
Phone: (852) 2251 9082 / (852) 2251 9081
Email: helen.lam@paradigmconsulting.com.hk/  
tim.nicholls@paradigmconsulting.com.hk

For investor inquiries:

In China:
iClick Interactive Asia Group Limited
Lisa Li
Phone: (852) 3700 9065
Email: ir@i-click.com

In the United States:
PondelWilkinson Inc.
Evan Pondel / Laurie Berman
Phone: (1) 310 279 5980
Email: iclk@pondel.com 

Source: iClick Interactive Asia Group Limited