E-Games targets 1,000 Internet cafes in next 2-3 years

MANILA, Philippines – IP E-Game Ventures Inc. (E-Games), online gaming subsidiary of publicly listed technology firm IPVG Corp., is targeting 1,000 internet cafes in the next 2 to 3 years.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), E-Games said it expects to complete several acquisitions in the second half of the year, including CyBr and I.T. Log, two of the largest Internet cafe brands in the country, that would push its expansion plans.

Shares of the comapny have rise dramatically by 95.7% from P15.84 per share on July 21 to P31 per share on Aug. 24. Average daily values traded last July reached P15.56 million and last week, it averagde P9.46 million.

E-Games is also finalizing a major content acquisition deal for the Philippines and Southeast Asia. “E-Games believes that this content will change the landscape of Philippine gaming,” it said.

“The company intends to become the leading Internet consumer platform. This will be accomplished through its command of both the content distribution and retail segments of the industry. E-Games is targeting 1,000 Internet cafe outlets in the next 2-3 years, which will generate an estimated P5 billion per year,” the company said.

Internet use in the Philippines has grown significantly with 70% of Filipinos using Internet cafe. Studies have shown that nearly half of the country’s population will be online by 2013.

The company acquired the Netopia chain of Internet cafes earlier this year, giving E-Games a network of over 160 internet cafes. Around 70 percent of users of online games published by E-Games play in Internet cafes.

There are over two million customers every month at the company’s Internet cafes, while its online game business has around 3.5 million active users a month. E-Games holds popular online role playing games such as RAN Online, CABAL Online and Granado Espada.

“With the expansion of its network, E-Games looks to be able to sustain its rapid growth,” the company said.

E-Games also reported P36.32 million in net income for the first half of the year, a 8,480% increase from P0.42 million during the same period in 2010. –abs-cbnNEWS.com