NEWBORNTOWN: The situation in the Middle East has no impact on the company, focusing on merger and acquisition opportunities in Japan and Europe

NEWBORNTOWN (9911.HK) Senior Vice President Song Pengliang stated that the company's business in the Middle East currently accounts for about 60%, but the tense situation in the Middle East has not affected the company's operations, as the business is mainly concentrated in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, where the local people's lives have not changed significantly. He believes that the macro environment has little impact on the company's operations; rather, with the improvement in social work efficiency, people have more leisure time and a greater demand for emotional value products.

Last year, the company's social business continued to grow, especially performing well in the Latin American, Japanese, and European markets. Song Pengliang expects this trend to continue into this year, as last year's performance has validated the certainty of these businesses. As for the gaming business, there are currently about six new projects in the pipeline ready to be launched, covering the European, American, and Chinese mainland markets. Song Pengliang also mentioned that AI continues to empower the company's business, involving different aspects such as programming, operations, and customer review, with Token usage increasing 30 times year-on-year last year.

Regarding mergers and acquisitions, Song Pengliang stated that the company is continuously looking for suitable targets, mainly focusing on the European and Japanese markets, hoping that the target acquisition projects' businesses align with the company's core philosophy of caring for users' emotional value. Mergers and acquisitions will also use the company's own funds, and Song Pengliang expressed caution regarding loans.

The company recently announced plans to use HKD 300 million for share buybacks. Song Pengliang revealed that last year, the buyback involved about HKD 200 million, and since the beginning of this year, approximately HKD 100 million has been spent on buybacks. As the company continues to develop its business and requires financial support, it will carefully consider future dividend distributions, primarily focusing on buybacks to reward shareholders.

Last year, the company established its headquarters in Hong Kong, mainly involving settlement and R&D work, with about 20 staff members in the Hong Kong office. Song Pengliang believes that Hong Kong can attract high-end talent and has advantages in international communication