A&C systems recently acquired a Chinese company, with help from KBC Corporate Banking.
What is A&C systems?
A&C systems in Hoegaarden imports mobile telecommunications products including smartphones, electronics and accessories from Asia and is market leader among distributors to retail and telecom operators in the Benelux. A&C system was originally a product supplier but has now undergone an immense transformation due to the constantly changing market. The company has now grown into a supplier of services and added-value solutions, including logistics services to telecom operators for example, programming and dispatching SIM cards to users.
A&C systems has grown into to a solid SME company with a team of more than 100 people and an annual turnover exceeding 200 million euro. For the past 7 years the company has been among the Trends Gazellen, a prize for the fastest growing companies in Flanders. As a Belgian mid-cap with growth ambitions, A&C systems is a typical example of a company that KBC Corporate Banking is happy to support in Belgium and abroad. As such, the company has been a satisfied client at KBC Corporate Banking in Leuven for many years.
Their international story
CEO and founder, Bruno Lisen, explains.
“At the start of 2018 we invested in TeleQare, a logistics service provider in China, Hong Kong and the Netherlands. This company sources telecom accessories in the Hong Kong - Shenzhen - Guangzhou region and conducts quality controls for companies from all over the world. A&C had been a TeleQare client for many years, and this is our first acquisition outside Europe.”
How did KBC support A&C systems?
“KBC Belgium arranged an introduction to KBC Hong Kong in Guangzhou. And that was incredibly valuable. Thanks to the presence of Dutch-language KBC colleagues in Asia, we were quickly able to initiate the joint venture. What's more, KBC had helped finance the acquisition from Belgium, and is working on issuing operational capital financing from KBC Hong Kong. All our KBC contacts have worked together smoothly and shared the information, so that everything went quickly and efficiently. Thanks to KBC Reach, KBC's international e-Banking platform, we can manage the TeleQare accounts at KBC Hong Kong, KBC China and KBC Netherlands from our offices in Hoegaarden and even do this on the smartphone. In other words, KBC was there for us every step of the way, and that has strengthened our excellent relationship even more.”
