Xtep International ("Xtep" or "the Company", together with its subsidiary "Group"; stock code: 1368), a leading fashion and sports goods company in China , announced that the Group has been appointed as the Standard Chartered Marathon 2012 Apparel partners, the second is the Standard Chartered Marathon 16 years ago, the first introduction of the mainland sports brand as its apparel partners. In February next year, Xtep will provide competition clothing to 70,000 athletes from all over the world. Through this spectacular event, Xtep will promote the brand spirit of "Love Running, Love Special Steps" to Hong Kong. Xtep (HK: 01368) Latest Price: 2.76 0.08 2.82% Market Trends Company News Dah Chong Ratings The 16th Standard Chartered Marathon is Hong Kong's largest marathon and was recognized by the Hong Kong SAR Government's Major Sports Events Committee as " Sports activities "(" M "brand activities), is the annual Asia's most prominent sports event. Since 1997, the number of participants and the scale of the competition have been continuously increasing. Last year's event attracted an increasing number of international runners from over 70 countries and regions including China, Chinese Taipei, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, New Zealand, Ethiopia, Kenya, the Netherlands, Russia, Ukraine and Poland, the number of applicants is more than full within two weeks. The conference also increased the number of entries for this year to 70,000 and broke the record. The number of participants in the 16th session totaled more than 500,000. The total prize money for this year's race has also been raised to 227,000 U.S. dollars. Hong Kong organized marathon race to the world. This is the first time that Xtep has entered into a cooperation agreement with the General Assembly to appoint apparel partners for the competition to provide competitions for all runners to help them perform best on the runway. The event also attracted the participation of quite a few celebrities and well-known artists. It has also become a big event that the media in China, Hong Kong and overseas are competing for. The Group is confident that sponsorship is Asia's premier sports event and will greatly enhance the visibility and credibility of the Xtep brand.