Year Ended December 31, 2 0 0 0 1 9 9 9 1 9 9 8 (in thousands) Net cash used in operating activities (note 21) $(16,357)  $(20,371) $(22,768) Cash flows from investing activities: Fixed asset purc h a s e s ( 3 , 4 2 8 ) ( 8 , 6 8 5 ) ( 9 , 7 4 0 ) P roceeds from sale of fixed assets 7 0 6. 3 , 7 4 2. 5 43 P u rchase of investment securities —. ( 5 , 3 7 3 ) ( 2 9 , 7 7 8 ) P roceeds from maturity of investment securities —. 7 , 7 7 2. 5 8 , 7 8 9 Investment in subsidiaries, net of cash acquire d —. (7,316) (17,338) Net incre a s e / ( d e c rease) in loan re c e i v a b l e ( 1 3 ) 28. ( 8 ) Net cash (used in)/provided by investing activities ( 2 , 7 3 5 ) ( 9 , 8 3 2 ) 2 , 4 68. Cash flows from financing activities: P roceeds from the sale and leaseback of fixed assets —. 8 27. —. P roceeds from issuance of shares and other capital contributions 1 3 , 8 8 9. 6 10. 1 78. P roceeds from issuance of notes payable and warr a n t s 3 7 8. —. 8 3 , 1 0 0. Costs to obtain loans —. ( 2 2 ) ( 3 , 2 9 4 ) R e p u rchase of notes payable and warr a n t s —. ( 5 , 2 0 2 ) ( 5 , 4 7 3 ) Repayment of obligations under capital leases ( 3 , 6 7 7 ) ( 5 , 6 6 0 ) ( 7 , 3 2 3 ) I n c re a s e / ( d e c rease) in short - t e rm bank borro w i n g s 1 9 2. ( 3 0 0 ) 1 4 2. ( I n c re a s e ) / d e c rease in subscriptions re c e i v a b l e ( 9 ) —. 2 0 3. Cash loaned to employees for purchase of common stock 2 3 3. ( 7 9 4 ) —. Net cash provided by/(used in) financing activities  ( 1 1 , 0 0 6 ) ( 1 0 , 5 4 1 ) 6 7 , 5 33. E ffect of exchange diff e rences on cash 2 0 0. 1 67. 8 65. Net (decre a s e ) / i n c rease in cash and cash equivalents ( 7 , 8 8 6 ) ( 4 0 , 5 7 7 ) 4 8 , 0 98. Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 1 5 , 0 3 7. 5 5 , 6 14. 7 , 5 16. Cash and cash equivalents at end of period $ 7 , 1 5 1. $ 1 5 , 0 3 7. $ 5 5 , 6 1 4. Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information (note 22): I n t e rest paid during year $ 2 , 0 7 6. $ 1 , 1 33. $ 1 , 9 07. Income taxes refunded during year $ —. $ 8 39. $ —. Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows EU R O N E T SE RV I C E S IN C. A N D SU B S I D I A R I E S See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements. ( 1 ) O r g a n i z a t i o n NO T E S T O TH E CO N S O L I D AT E D FI N A N C I A L STAT E M E N T S FO R TH E YE A R S EN D E D DE C E M B E R 31, 2000, 1999 A N D 1 9 9 8 E u ronet Services Inc. was established as a Delaware corporation on December 13, 1997 and capitalized on March 6, 1998. Euronet Serv i c e s Inc. succeeded Euronet Holding N.V. as the group holding company.  E u ronet Services Inc. and its subsidiaries (the “Company” or “Euronet”) is a provider of electronic financial solutions and transaction p rocessing services to banks, financial institutions, and other companies. Euronet operates an automated teller machine (“ATM”) network in E u rope and the U.S., which serves banks and retail companies by accepting most international bankcards and pro p r i e t a ry cards issued by member banks. Some of the ATMs also perf o rm certain deposit, sales or advertising functions. Euronet also provides ATM network management outsourcing services to banks or companies with their own networks. Euronet sells integrated software solutions for electro n i c payment and financial transaction delivery systems worldwide. Its software comprises a suite of products including a core system, Integrated Transaction Management (“ITM”), and compatible modular software for ATM and POS network processing, electronic funds transfer i n t e rfaces, electronic funds transfer switch control, credit/debit card management and processing, and corporate cash management and personal financial management access products.  2 8