e1000.com not shutting down

The company, which started life as a coupon redeemer Web site replete with a lifestyle portal, is now "busy" servicing six solutions contracts, he sain in an interview Monday.

"It is fair to say that we are not going under ... but it is difficult to dispel market perception that we are still a lifestyle portal," Chung said, dismissing rumors that the company was on the verge of shutting down.

He added the company's 20-man workforce is focusing on enhancing customer relationship management (CRM) tools as well as infusing other "customer-friendly" mechanisms in the Web sites of its clients, which remained unnamed.

"The six contracts in hand are worth RM1 million which can sustain our operations for the whole of this year," Chung said.

"We are out of the old business model but still maintaining our lifestyle portal at minimum cost," he said adding that E-One Thousand Dot Com is working on strategies to reposition itself in the IT market.

Another bright spot Chung pointed out is the fact that more financial institutions may revert to setting up portals as a delivery channel for its financial services and products especially after the release of the central bank's masterplan for the country's financial infrastructure.

"We've been studying the masterplan and think there are niche markets that we can set our targets," he said adding the company could still achieve its projected RM3 million in revenue for this year if they could clinch a few deals involving the setting up of such portals for financial institutions.

"We've got eight more months to before the year is out and we will be concentrating on this sector," Chung said.

The dot-com fallout has forced the company to trim operations and keep costs down, including laying off staff.

E-One Thousand Dot Com now hopes to keep itself afloat in an increasing tough market by pinning its hopes on its experience in managing customer-centric transactions over the Web by which it hopes to generate substantial revenue.