China-focused mobile phone retailer EBT Mobile China has raised £7.4 millon at 22p to finance planned expansion.

Broker Panmure Gordon handled the placing, pitched at a 12 per cent discount to yesterday’s closing price and representing 15.9 per cent of Shanghai-based EBT’s capital. Zhang Ge, chief executive officer of the AIM-quoted concern, plans to put the proceeds to various uses, including the extension of EBT’s existing relationship with China Mobile, the People’s Republic’s leading mobile network, and the acquisition of a mobile phone retailer in eastern China.

EBT also wants to sign a co-operation deal with a leading handset maker for well-placed sales kiosks in the same region and open stores within hypermarkets around China with a ‘leading international retailer’ as partner. Zhang Ge proclaims: ‘The opportunities being pursued are key steps towards positioning EBT Mobile as one of the top mobile retailers in China in 2008.’

Shares in EBT - which lost the equivalent of £200,000 in the year to June, were floated on AIM by a reversal at 17p in 2005 and at one point climbed to nearly 40p - now stand at 25.25p, up 0.25p this morning. The appeal is speculative.

EBT Mobile China	AIM	£6.41m	2.88p	0.00p
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EBT funds China strategy			04/01/2007
EBT Mobile China			07/09/2006
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