eWarna receives additional investment

The Star, Feb 2004

MALACCA-based eWarna (www.ewarna.com), which provides online colour management solutions for the apparel and other "colour-critical" industries, said it has received additional investment from its existing shareholders.   The exercise, led by Hong Kong-based Nan Fung Investments Limited (NFIL), resulted in it emerging as the largest as well as the longest standing eWarna shareholder.

NFIL is a direct investment holding compa­ny of the Nan Fung Group, a leading conglom­erate in Hong Kong with a background in tex­tiles, property development, finance and investment holding, eWarna said in a state­ment;

"Our strategy is to invest in high-growth technology companies that have a highly experienced management team with a suc­cessful track record and customer base," said Alex Mong, a director at the Nan Fung Group: "We believe strongly in the huge potential of eWarna's technology and business model, and we are extremely happy with its progress since our initial investment in 2000," he added.

NFIL will appoint a director to eWarna's board following this announcement.

Other participating shareholders include original investors Mayban Venture, MSC Venture, Trans-Econ Ventures, Commerce Technology Ventures and some individual investors.

The additional funding - the sum of which was not disclosed - will be used to further strengthen and expand eWarna's efforts in a number of key areas, including product research and development, global sales and marketing, and customer services.

"Our greatest accomplishment over the past three years has been a strong focus on execution of our business model, which has enabled eWarna to attract global customers and maintain shareholders support in a chal­lenging environment," said Shiew Man Hon, eWarna chief operating officer.

In addition to its new funding, eWarna also announced that it had closed a few major deals in the fourth quarter of last year, includ­ing Liz Claiborne, Milliken & Company, Under Armour, American & Effird and Oriental Giant Dyes 8 Ind. Corp.

eWarna, a Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) status company, also has offices in the United States, Britain, Hong Kong, China, India, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Thailand.

Its Internet-based "colorimetric" engine allows industries such as textiles, apparel, dyestuffs, paints, inks and plastics to accu­rately share colour information. Among its list of clients are Toys'R'Us, Disney, Isaco international Corp and Li & Fung.