NEXT Biometrics creates jointly owned company with Chinese partner Wiser

12 Jun 2024 08:00 CEST

Oslo, June 12, 2024 - NEXT Biometrics, NEXT, and its go-to-market partner in
China, Wiser, have reached an agreement to establish a jointly owned company to
further drive and support NEXT’s sales and marketing operations in China.

The new company is intended to be 50/50 jointly owned and to be headquartered in
Shanghai, China and as it will simplify NEXT’s participation in the tier 1
tenders, increased profitability is expected to follow this strategic step of
the expansion. The agreement is currently subject to approval from the
respective authorities.

NEXT and Wiser share the ambition of providing enhanced, biometric security
through state-of-the-art Active thermal biometric solutions for the banking and
healthcare sector. Since the signing of their partnership in February 2023, the
Parties have continuously increased their collaboration.

Ulf Ritsvall, Chief Executive Officer at NEXT, comments:
“The Asian region is strategically important to us and a key geography in our
growth plans. We have been very pleased with our partnership with Wiser and I
look forward to continuing it through this jointly owned company. Our new
agreement will provide an excellent foundation to develop our operations in
China and put us in a highly competitive position to secure new business.”

The partnership with Wiser has already brought tangible results, such as several
MoUs, Memorandum of Understandings, and customer agreements. Wiser’s
relationships with the banks and financial industry also make an ideal match, as
it will help accelerate NEXT’s business development in China and secure direct
access to such tenders.

Kevin Chen, Chief Executive Officer at WISER, comments:
“We are glad to join the growth journey with NEXT in China. NEXT has a unique
technology for biometric security, which will be an integral part of the growing
digital economy. Furthermore, Chinese OEMs also play an important role in the
global market. We have accumulated vast experience of assisting Nordic
technology companies with their growth in China. We believe our expertise and
experience in local biometrics industry will be a good complement to NEXT in
China.”

Going forward, all NEXT’s sales in China will be conducted through the jointly
owned company. NEXT and Wiser will be partners in the company, which will
operate as an independent entity in China. The jointly owned company will
function as a dedicated sales and marketing organization in China, aimed at
accelerating sales. NEXT’s operations in its other geographical regions and
business areas will remain unaffected. The agreement covers a 36-month period,
during which Wiser shall support NEXT’s growth ambitions in the Chinese market.

For more information, please contact:
Ulf Ritsvall, Chief Executive Officer
ulf.ritsvall@nextbiometrics.com

Eirik Underthun, Chief Financial Officer
eirik.underthun@nextbiometrics.com

About NEXT
NEXT provides advanced fingerprint sensor technology that delivers uncompromised
security and accuracy for the best possible user experience in the payment and
fintech, government ID, access control and office and notebook markets. The
company’s patented NEXT Active Thermal ® principle allows the development of
large, high-quality fingerprint sensors with superior security level. NEXT
Biometrics Group ASA is headquartered in Oslo, with sales, support, and
development operations in Seattle, Taipei, Tokyo, New Delhi, and Shanghai.

This information is considered to be inside information pursuant to the EU
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) and is subject to the disclosure requirements
pursuant to MAR article 17 and section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading
Act.

This stock exchange announcement was published by Eirik Underthun, CFO, on
behalf of the Company, at the time and date stated above in this announcement.

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