HATCHER GROUP (08365) signs partnership agreement with EF HongKong and EF Commodities and may make equity investments in Esperanza.

HATCHER GROUP (08365) announced that on August 18, 2025, the company entered into a partnership agreement with EF Hong Kong and EF Commodities, whereby (i) EF Commodities granted the company exclusive and non-transferable rights to introduce clients in Hong Kong to trade digital gold-backed instruments on behalf of EF Commodities; and (ii) EF Hong Kong agreed to have its affiliated companies (who have regulatory and technological infrastructure to establish and trade security tokens) appoint the company as their partner to promote, market, and assist in the sale and promotion of security tokens in Hong Kong. The partnership agreement is initially for one year but may be extended by mutual agreement of the contracting parties. In order to diversify its business operations and sources of revenue, the company has been actively seeking opportunities in the emerging financial sector. The board of directors believes that the partnership with Esperanza is a strategic move to leverage the Group's expertise in financial services and expand its business into Hong Kong's growing digital asset market. Through this exclusive partnership, the Group has gained the rights to distribute regulated digital gold-backed instruments and security tokens, establishing its position as a pioneer in the institutional-grade digital asset distribution field. Given the significant interest in security tokens among global institutional investors, this partnership comes at an opportune time. This strategic move not only diversifies the Group's service offerings but also provides a first-mover advantage in the rapidly developing tokenized asset market within Asia's leading financial center. On the same day, the company entered into a memorandum of understanding with EF Hong Kong regarding a potential equity investment in Esperanza. Under the memorandum of understanding, the company intends to explore an investment opportunity to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the contracting parties and involve the Group in Esperanza's growing digital asset platform. The proposed investment aligns with the Group's strategy to establish a deeper foothold in Hong Kong's rapidly evolving digital asset ecosystem. By potentially acquiring equity in Esperanza, the Group will gain preferential access to innovative tokenization technology and exclusive product offerings, as well as increase cross-selling opportunities between the Group's existing client base and Esperanza's digital asset products. This investment will also enable the Group to benefit from the growth of the Esperanza platform in the Asian market. The board of directors believes that this opportunity will accelerate the Group's digital transformation and create additional high-profit revenue streams through platform synergies. The memorandum of understanding is non-binding and allows flexibility to negotiate terms that are in the best interest of the company and shareholders. It is noted that EF Hong Kong specializes in providing solutions for security token issuance, utilizing its affiliated company's potential regulatory licensing infrastructure to tokenize investment opportunities (including real estate assets) under the framework of Hong Kong securities regulations. EF Commodities issues digital gold-backed instruments, where holders can redeem 100,000 units of digital certificates from EF Commodities for a 1 kg 999.9 physical gold bar stored in a Hong Kong vault managed by Brink (Hong Kong) Limited and facilitate trading through their platform. Both entities operate within Esperanza's proprietary "Espetopia" platform, which combines institutional-grade compliance with blockchain technology. Esperanza is supported by a team and advisors with extensive professional knowledge in financial regulation, including government advisors and professionals holding licenses from the Securities and Futures Commission for digital asset management. Their track record includes establishing Hong Kong's first regulator-approved tokenized real estate fund, demonstrating their ability to combine traditional finance with innovative tokenization models while adhering to strict regulatory standards.