Halter USX China Index Adds China Automotive Systems and Shanda Interactive Entertainment

DALLAS--Oct. 1, 20042, 2004--The Halter USX China Index (AMEX:HXC) is pleased to announce the inclusion of China Automotive Systems, Inc and Shanda Interactive Entertainment Ltd to its existing index of China-focused, U.S. listed companies.

China Automotive is engaged in the production of power-steering components and systems for cars and light- and heavy-duty vehicles. The Company has long-term contracts with more than 40 vehicle manufacturers and is a leader within this automotive manufacturing niche.

Shanda Interactive Entertainment is an operator of online games in China. It offers a portfolio of online games that users play over the Internet. The company has reported that its commercially launched games have approximately 1.4 million peak concurrent users and 931,570 average concurrent users.

It was also announced that Chindex International, Inc. and Zindart Ltd. were removed from the index because they failed to meet the ongoing Index criteria requiring constituents to maintain an average market cap of over $50 million for the preceding 40 trading days.

About the Halter USX China Index

The Index is comprised of companies whose common stock is publicly traded in the United States and the majority of whose business is conducted within the People's Republic of China. The Halter USX China Index was created in response to the unique economic opportunities taking place in China, as well as the current dynamics in the United States capital markets. While there is strong demand for Chinese equity, U.S. investors still seek and prefer the transparency offered with a U.S. listing. For a company to be included in the Halter USX China Index it must conduct a majority of its business in China, maintain an average market cap of over $50 million for the preceding 40 trading days, trade on the NYSE, AMEX or NASDAQ and be approved by USX Selection Committee. For more information please visit www.usxchinaindex.com.

The following 38 public companies currently comprise the Halter USX China Index:

Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd.

ASAT Holdings Ltd.

AsiaInfo Holdings, Inc.

Beijing Yanhua Petrochemical Co. Ltd.

Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd.

China Automotive Systems Inc

China Eastern Airlines Corporation Ltd.

China Mobile Hong Kong Ltd.

China National Offshore Oil Corp.

China Petroleum and Chemical Corp (Sinopec)

China Southern Airlines Company Ltd.

China Telecom Corporation Ltd

China Unicom Ltd

Ctrip.com

China Yuchai International Ltd.

Chinadotcom Corporation

Deswell Industries Inc

Guangshen Railway Co Ltd

HuaNeng Power International, Inc.

INTAC International

Jilin Chemical Industrial Co. Ltd.

China Life Insurance Co Ltd

Linktone Ltd

Nam Tai Electronics Inc

Netease.com, Inc.

Peak Intl Ltd

PetroChina Co. Ltd.

Qiao Xing Universal Telephone, Inc.

Radica Games Ltd

Shanda Interactive Entertainment Ltd

Sina Corporation

Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemcial Co. Ltd.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp

Sohu.com, Inc.

Tom Online Inc

UTStarcom Inc

Webzen Inc

Yanzhou Coal Mining Co. Ltd.

For further information, please contact: Carl Thompson, Principal, carl@ctapr.com, of CTA Public Relations, +1-303-665-4200, for Halter USX China Index.

The information in this news release includes certain forward looking statements that are based upon assumptions that in the future may prove not to have been accurate and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, including statements to the future financial performance of the Company. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in its forward looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations or any of its forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Factors that could cause results to differ include, but are not limited to, successful performance of internal plans, product development and acceptance, the impact of competitive services and pricing, or general economic risks and uncertainties.