ChinaNet Online Partners with Dark Horse Club to Service the Fast Growing Restaurant Industry

BEIJING, Aug. 01, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ChinaNet Online Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: CNET) ("ChinaNet" or the "Company") announced today it has partnered with the restaurant division of Dark Horse Club to provide data-driven marketing services for the fast growing restaurant industry in China. 

Established in 2008, Dark Horse Club is an entrepreneurs network connecting industry veterans with newcomers in China. The restaurant division of Dark Horse Club was co-founded by leading restaurant entrepreneurs in China including Zhang Yong, the founder of HaiDiLao Hotpot, Zhang Xuhao, the founder of Ele.me, and Gong Zhenbing, the founder of Baidu Takeout. The restaurant division leverages the expertise and connection of industry veterans to help new entrepreneurs grow their restaurant franchise.

Mr. Cheng Handong, Chairman and CEO of ChinaNet commented, “The restaurant industry in China has regained its growth momentum, achieving annual sales of over 3 trillion Yuan in 2015 and year-over-year growth rate of 12%. An upbeat business prospect is attracting the entry and expansion of many SMEs, which are ideal customers for our Intelligent Marketing Data Services. We are partnering with a leading industry network to help entrepreneurs grow their restaurant businesses.”

At the center of the ChinaNet-Dark Horse Club Partnership is the Super Harbor app, which interfaces the Company’s CloudX ecosystem with consumers. Super Harbor is a membership and point system invested in and technologically supported by ChinaNet. The app constitutes a key component of the Company’s strategic expansion from B2B to the new and differentiated B2B2C business model.

Customers receive points upon dining at restaurants that have signed up to the CloudX system. These points are centrally managed by ChinaNet, and can be used on the Super Harbor online store for products provided by ChinaNet clients. Alternatively, the points can be redeemed at restaurants. The new model generates cross-selling opportunities for restaurants by providing additional benefits to consumers on a unified bonus platform.

“Through this partnership, we look forward to gaining access to members of the Dark Horse Club Restaurant Division including nationwide popular restaurant chains such as HaiDiLao Hotpot, New Spicy Way, Ajisen Ramen and Meizhou Dongpo. We believe the partnership will also help promote the strengths of the CloudX platform and demonstrate the scalability of our new data services,” said Mr. Cheng.

About ChinaNet Online Holdings, Inc.

The Company, a parent company of ChinaNet Online Media Group Ltd., incorporated in the BVI ("ChinaNet"), is a leading digital B2B (business to business) Internet technology company focusing on providing O2O sales channel expansion service for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurial management and networking service for entrepreneurs in China. The Company, through certain contractual arrangements with operating companies in the PRC, provides Internet advertising and other services for Chinese SMEs via its portal websites, 28.com, Liansuo.com and Chuangye.com. Website: http://www.chinanet-online.com.

Safe Harbor

This release contains certain "forward-looking statements" relating to the business of ChinaNet Online Holdings, Inc., which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates" or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including business uncertainties relating to government regulation of our industry, market demand, reliance on key personnel, future capital requirements, competition in general and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from those described herein as anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Certain of these risks and uncertainties are or will be described in greater detail in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements are based on ChinaNet's current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on the Company. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting ChinaNet will be those anticipated by ChinaNet. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond the control of the Company) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. ChinaNet undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

Contact:
MZ North America
Ted Haberfield, President
Direct: +1-760-755-2716
Email:  [email protected]
Web:    www.mzgroup.us

Source: ChinaNet Online Holdings, Inc.

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