SAN CARLOS, Calif., June 14, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sinobiomed Inc., an e-commerce facilitator d/b/a Sitoa Global Inc., (OTCQB:STOA) (the "Company"), today announced that it will enter the Philippine consumer market with the launch of ShopShipUSA, a social e-commerce site focused on Filipino online shoppers looking to purchase branded U.S. or European luxury items. ShopShipUSA will partner with LBC, one of the largest freight carriers in the Philippines, to market the site which will allow Filipino retail customers to purchase branded, U.S. or European made premium goods and have those items shipped to them directly via LBC's balikbayan service.
A balikbayan is a low cost shipping method. Interestingly, the Balikbayan box started in the Philippines with a law enacted by former Philippine President, Ferdinand Marcos, during the 1980s when there was a resurgence of Filipinos working overseas who often needed to ship things back home. Against this backdrop, the balikbayan was established and today, the Philippine Bureau of Customs Circular still allows the entry of personal goods into the Philippines from Filipinos overseas, tax free. There are an estimated 10 million Filipinos living overseas or about 11% of the total population of the Philippines. The largest overseas group of Filipino nationals of 2.8 million live in the United States, while the size of the Filipino American community, including U.S. citizens, is estimated to be 4 million by the U.S. State Department.
"With ShopShipUSA's online balikbayan, consumers in the Philippines and abroad can now shop online and ship items directly to an address in the Philippines, making branded, U.S. or European luxury items just a click away," advised Cal Lai, the Company's President and CEO. He continued, "ShopShipUSA is designed to give Filipino customers great access to the products they desire, as typically, these branded luxury items are available in the Philippines only at much higher prices than in the United States. For U.S. retailers, we believe ShopShipUSA offers immediate access to an underserved international market by allowing U.S. sellers to gain easy exposure to a new and enthusiastic customer base seeking quality products at favorable prices. It's a win-win situation that we think will demonstrate great results in the months to come as the Company rolls out its ShopShipUSA e-commerce solution to international retailing."
To make ShopShipUSA as affordable as possible for consumers, shipments will even be consolidated into a balikbayan box, whether single or multiple items are purchased, with LBC ready to ship and deliver to any Philippine address. For U.S. retailers, no change to their current fulfillment operations is needed as they will ship to ShopShipUSA's domestic U.S. address where all packages will be inspected, re-labeled with the Philippines addresses and consolidated into large, wholesale balikbayan boxes for delivery to the Philippines.
ShopShipUSA will be promoted on LBC's corporate website as well as in its storefronts. The Company expects that its ShopShipUSA service will be available in the summer of 2011.
About Sinobiomed Inc. (d/b/a Sitoa Global Inc.)
The Company is an e-commerce facilitator that seeks to enable the next big thing in e-commerce by building and managing leading online marketplaces that integrate online retailers with targeted customers groups interested in their product offerings. The Company's efforts target the growth of e-commerce, media and social networking through strategic transactions. The Company's goal is to provide infrastructure that builds online "e-malls" for retailers designed to attract focused customer communities as part of a social marketplace that expands retail sales channels without the risks of focus dilution and increased capital and operating costs. As part of its revenue model, the Company shares in revenues generated by the marketplace sites in addition to charging one-time integration and hosting fees.
About LBC
Luzon Brokerage Corporation was founded in the 1950's as a brokerage and air cargo agent. Eventually, the company operated as an air cargo forwarding service provider and was the first to introduce the 24-hour air cargo delivery service. LBC soon became a respected leader, offering fast and reliable Express Courier and Money Remittance services throughout the Philippines. Today, LBC offers the widest coverage and network with over 800 strategically located branches nationwide and over 90 branches abroad.
Safe Harbor Statement
This release contains certain "forward-looking statements" relating to the business of the Company and its subsidiary companies. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included herein are "forward-looking statements" including statements regarding: the ability of the Company to successfully provide the integration and hosting services to ShopShipUSA, and share in the revenues generated by the site; the ability of ShopShipUSA and LBC to successfully market the site to Filipino nationals; the business strategy, plans, and objectives of the Company and its subsidiaries; and any other statements of non-historical information. These forward-looking statements are often identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believes," "expects" or similar expressions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they do involve assumptions, risks, and uncertainties, and these expectations may prove to be incorrect. Investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this news release. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including those discussed in the Company's periodic reports that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on its website ( http://www.sec.gov ). All forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these factors. Other than as required under the securities laws, the Company does not assume any duty to update these forward-looking statements.
CONTACT: Christian Kirsebom Tel (925) 927-6666