Australian Business Research Pty Ltd (ABR) Is an Australian Owned Business Information

COMPANY PROFILE OF

AUSTRALIAN FOR ASSESSING BUSINESS RISK

Australian Business Research Pty Ltd (ABR) is an Australian owned business information services company, which specialises in delivering a wide range of, on-line credit information, financial risk assessment services and general on-line searching facilities of both government and private databases to assist in commercial decision making at both a private and government level. ABR’s head office is located in Brisbane with branch locations in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide. ABR was started in 1989 and now employs over 30 full and part-time staff consisting of Customer Service, Research, Operations and Administration, a further 7 staff are involved in our Information Technology Division. ABR utilises the very latest in IT equipment and resources to enable it to fulfil its commitment to being the leader in the innovation and delivery of on-line credit and related business information services in Australia.

· ABR is the largest credit reporting organisation in Queensland and one of the largest in Australia.

· ABR provides on-line access to perhaps the most comprehensive range of government and private business databases in Australia

· ABR provides an extensive range of on-line credit management services from basic litigation searches on individuals and companies to detailed Credit Risk and Financial Assessment Reports.

· ABR has a large customer base of more than 3000 clients throughout Australia and Internationally consisting of major private and public companies and both state and federal government departments.

ABR’S MISSION STATEMENT

ABR IS COMMITTED TO THE ONGOING DEVELOPMENT OF ITS PRODUCTS AND SERVICES SO AS TO DELIVER TO ITS CLIENTS THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE AND COMPLETE LIVETIME BUSINESS INFORMATION SERVICE AVAILABLE IN AUSTRALIA VIA THE INTERNET.

THE ABR SERVICE IS: -

· EASY TO USE

· COST EFFECTIVE

· EXTENSIVE & COMPLETE

· A FAST AND RELIABLE SOURCE FOR ALL INFORMATIONAL NEEDS

LIVE SEARCHES & BUSINESS SERVICES AVAILABLE FROM ABR

· ABR is an official broker to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) and was the first broker to provide ‘live time access’ to the ASIC database via the Internet in Australia. This service was launched in May 1997. ABR offers the full range of ASIC company and directors searches including: - Free National Name Browse facilities, Free Document Listings, Current and Historical Extracts, Relational Searches, Sundry Registers, Personal Name Extracts, ASIC Alert and Business Name searches via the Internet. The ABR ASIC service has the most sophisticated hypertext linking facilities available, making this service simple and easy to use, faster and more efficient than any other service.

· ABR is also able to deliver Land Titles searches via the Internet. ABR are official brokers to the Queensland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Automated Titles System and the New South Wales Land Titles Office (LTO). All services including Titles, Certified Titles, Plans and Images are available, including Names Searching Facilities. ABR’s system allows for either single or multiple searches to be done.

· ABR is able to provide on-line Internet access to various Credit Reference Limited’s (formerly CRAA) services for credit checking purposes including Multipower, Company Name, Business Name and Sole Trader Score Reports. These services are available exclusively on the Internet via the ABR web site. This service coupled with ABR’s unique On Line Credit Reporting facilities and access to the Australian Stock Exchange means that ABR can deliver instant access to the widest range of business databases in Australia. Current information is available each and every time you need it.

· ABR can provide access to The National Register of Encumbered Vehicles (REVS) via the Queensland Department of Fair Trading LIVE from the ABR web site. All services are available including - Certificates, Registrations, Variations, Renewal and Release of Interests and Client Reference Searches. Downloading of batched information from other databases is also easily achieved.

· ABR can provide access to the full range of ASX (Australian Stock Exchange) information on all publicly listed companies from the ABR site. This information not only replaces the ASX Data Disk but infact has enchanced the information by giving users up-to-date information (updated weekly), allowing easy Downloading of financial data to excel spreadsheets, sophisticated search engines for comprehensive comparative analysis of various data sets including: Industry Class/Groups, Principal Activities, Listing Dates, Financial Information incorporating:- Revenue, Profit and Loss Data, Current Assets/Liabilities, Borrowing’s, and Shareholders’ Equity to name a few.

· ABR can provide live access to all ASX Announcements. The ABR system allows for free browses of announcements by a range of criteria including ASX code, announcement type and date, with all announcements Downloadable in TIFF format for quick and easy access.

· ABR is able to provide Internet access to the Electoral Roll (or API- Australian Population Index).

· ABR will be providing on-line Internet access to the National Bankruptcy Database early in 2000 via the ITSA database.

· ABR is able to provide on-line access to the unique National Insolvency Database, which provides instant on-line Internet access to all ASIC EXTERNAL ADMINISTRATION RECORDS updated every Tuesday for the prior Monday to Friday. This information includes - Applications to Wind Up, Receiver Manager Appointments, Controller Appointments, Provisional Liquidations, Deed of Administrator Appointments and Voluntary Administration Information. Like all ABR services this system has advanced searching mechanisms and hypertext linking to the ASIC making it Australia’s leading insolvency package.

· ABR is able to provide on-line Internet access to the National ABR Business Information Database. This database is one of Australia’s largest and most comprehensive databases on private businesses and is used regularly by corporations and government departments for detailed credit and financial risk analysis. The system provides for a free browse facility coupled with a report preview facility detailing the age and composition of the data available on each business. This feature allows users to customise and predetermine the cost of information before it is obtained. Full hypertext linking exists to the ASIC giving subscribers the ability to cross reference to subsidiaries, associate companies, directors, relational and other searches. The system also links to the ASX and Credit reference databases. The ABR system is also unique as discounts apply on all On-File information thus offering value for money to ABR clients.

· ABR maintains a commercial research division which specialises in compiling comprehensive ‘Due Diligence Reports’ to assist Government Departments and large corporations in the appraisal of Tender and Large contracts requiring thorough and sensitive analysis. The scope of the DDR is extensive and embraces all of the criteria by which a company can be measured in terms of a (credit or financial) risk assessment including fundamental financial and non-financial criteria. A key focus of the ABR’s DDR is the integrity of research including the appraisal of the subject company and the past performance of its’ principles.

· ABR maintains a property research division which is responsible for detailed property investigation in all states of Australia in the form of the Property Equity Report (PEQ). The PEQ is a detailed and comprehensive search of a specific property or investigation into land (asset holdings) by an individual or corporation. The research involves a search of all matters associated with the property or land in question. In includes a valuer general or index search, title search, in addition to a search of transfer and mortgage records and in some cases a rates search. The PEQ is a concise one (1) page data-based report (in most cases) summarising the following information:-

Lot and Plan Numbers, Physical Address (where available), volume/folio numbers, current and previous owner/s ,date of acquisition, details of any encumbrances, purchase price paid and the initial amount of any encumbrances – enabling an assessment of minimum equity.

· ABR is able to provide access to International Credit Reports through a large International network. Through this network, ABR is able to provide information on businesses anywhere in the world. ABR can currently deliver information on companies in over 130 countries.

DISCOVER THE ULTIMATE BUSINESS WEB AT:

http://www.abr.com.au

Call ABR’s Customer Service Hot Line on

1300 366 402

07 3236 3777