FTSE/Xinhua Index Announces Annual Review Results; Chongqing Changan Automobile is Added Into the FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index

HONG KONG, July 16 -- FTSE/Xinhua Index (FXI), the independent China index provider, held its annual Index Committee meeting last Wednesday to review and approve constituent changes on the FTSE/Xinhua China Index Series. The changes will become effective after the close of business on Friday 18 July 2003.

The FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index and the FTSE/Xinhua China B 35 Index retain their stability with only 1 addition/deletion for each index.

Zhejiang Southeast Electric Power (900949) was deleted from the FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index, due to failing the liquidity screen, and Chonqing Changan Automobile (200625) was added to rebalance the index.

For the FTSE/Xinhua China B 35 Index, Shenzhen Chiwan Wharf Holdings (200022) was added as an automatic addition resulting in Hainan Airlines (900945) deletion.

For the domestic A share market, six companies were added into the FTSE/Xinhua China A 200 Index. These were Maanshan Iron & Steel (600808), Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (600004), Shenzhen Chiwan Wharf Holdings (000022), Gan Su Jiu Steel Group Hong Xing Iron & Steel (600307), Henan Shuanghui Investment & Development (000895) and Lucky Film (600135).

In summary, reflecting 95% of investible market cap, the constituents of the FTSE/Xinhua China B-All Share Index rose from 109 to 110 and from 918 to 946 for the FTSE/Xinhua China A-All Share Index.

The FTSE/Xinhua Index Committee manages the FTSE/Xinhua indices in accordance with the Ground Rules (please see www.ftsexinhua.com for details). These principles for inserting and deleting companies at the quarterly and annual reviews are designed to provide stability in constituent selection and ensure the continuous investibility and liquidity of the indices.

A brief view of changes is provided in the appendix. Full details of all additions and deletions can be found at www.ftsexinhua.com.

  Notes to Editors
  About FTSE/Xinhua Index

Established in the late 2000, FTSE/Xinhua Index (FXI), a joint venture between Xinhua Financial Network (XFN) and FTSE, came into being to facilitate the creation of real-time indices for the Chinese market. The indices can be used as a basis for the trading of derivatives, index-tracking funds, Exchange Traded Funds and as performance benchmarks. The combination of FTSE's knowledge in international indexing with XFN's strong presence and capabilities in China creates a level of expertise in the Chinese market that is unprecedented.

FXI is the sole independent index provider creating China indices with the unique combined coverage for the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges. All of the FTSE/Xinhua indices are designed according to internationally-proven index methodology to ensure products are transparent, clear and consistent. FXI's equity indices first came to the market in April 2001. They were composed of A share series, B share series and international series (covering B shares, H shares and red chips) with the design of various indices by market cap, broad- base benchmarks and 44 sector indices. Recently, FXI has expanded its product offering to bond and composite indices, enabling investors to track the entire China's capital market more effectively.

   For daily data and further information, please visit www.ftsexinhua.com

  About FTSE Group

FTSE Group is a world-leader in the creation and management of equity and bond indices. With offices in London, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Madrid, Paris, New York, San Francisco and Tokyo, FTSE Group services clients in 77 countries worldwide. It manages and develops globally recognized indexes ranging from the FTSE All-World Index to the FTSE 100, the FTSE4Good indexes and the recently launched FTSEurofirst Index Series. The company has collaborative arrangements with the American, Athens, Cyprus, Euronext, Johannesburg, London, Luxembourg, and Madrid stock exchanges, as well as with Nikkei of Japan (Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Inc) and Xinhua Financial Network of China.

Investors use FTSE indexes extensively world-wide for investment analysis, performance measurement, asset allocation, portfolio hedging and for creating a wide range of index tracking funds. Independent committees of senior fund managers, derivatives experts, actuaries and other experienced practitioners review all changes to the indexes to ensure they are made objectively and without bias. Real-time FTSE indexes are calculated on systems managed by Reuters. Prices and FX rates used are supplied by Reuters. For more information, see www.ftse.com.

About Xinhua Financial Network

Xinhua Financial Network (XFN) is an independent financial service company based in Hong Kong providing financial information and unique access to Chinese and Asian markets. XFN provides real-time coverage of the Chinese and Asian equity markets and the corporate and economic news that moves them, delivering an integrated platform of indices, financial news feeds, credit ratings and investor relations services to global financial institutions and re-distributors via leased line, Internet and satellite technology. Early this year, the company acquired AFX-Asia Pte Ltd. and became immediately one of the leading financial news services in Asia, providing information from twelve bureaus throughout Asia and Australasia, for the professional investment community and the investing public.

Found in 2000, XFN is backed by a select group of partner investors and is managed by a team of international business professionals recognized for their industry knowledge and proven leadership. The company is owned by a group of international shareholders including PR Newswire, informa, Xinhua News Agency, Nippon Venture Capital, REFCO and Funai Venture Capital. XFN is a Hong Kong corporation, with offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore and North America. For more information, see www.xfn.com. APPENDIX

   FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index
   Inclusion: 1
   Exclusion: 1
   Investibility weight changes: 1

   FTSE/Xinhua China B 35 Index
   Inclusion: 1
   Exclusion: 1
   Investibility weight changes: nil

   FTSE/Xinhua China B All-Share Index
   Inclusion: nil
   Exclusion: 1
   Investibility weight changes: nil

   FTSE/Xinhua China A 200 Index
   Inclusions: 6 - 4 companies are promoted from the FTSE/Xinhua China A 400
   Index.
   Exclusions: 6 - 6 companies are demoted to the FTSE/Xinhua China A 400
   Index
   Investibility weight changes: 2 companies

   FTSE/Xinhua China A 400 Index
   Inclusions: 19 - 6 companies are demoted from the FTSE/Xinhua China A 200
   Index
   9 companies are promoted from the FTSE/Xinhua China A Small Cap Index
   Exclusions: 19 - 4 companies are promoted to the FTSE/Xinhua China A 200
   Index
   15 companies are demoted to the FTSE/Xinhua China A Small Cap Index
   Investibility weight changes: 9 companies

   FTSE/Xinhua China A Small Cap Index
   Inclusions: 58 - 15 companies are demoted from the FTSE/Xinhua China A
   400 Index
   Exclusions: 29 - 9 companies are promoted to the FTSE/Xinhua China A 400
   Index
   Investibility weight changes: 2 companies