(Hong Kong, 4 June 2000) Shui On Construction and Materials Limited ("SOCAM"), a publicly listed subsidiary of the Shui On Group, today announces its plans to launch e-commerce websites for trading of construction materials. The websites, AsiaMaterials.com and SOCAM.com will supply materials for construction companies worldwide and cater for the internal procurement and project management control needs of Shui On respectively.

AsiaMaterials.com is unique in Asia as it offers a platform for buyers around the world to source for the best quality construction materials at the most competitive price among a broad spectrum of suppliers in Asia, in particular, China.

Speaking at a news conference today, Mr Vincent Hong Sui Lo, Chairman of SOCAM, said that with the establishment of these websites, the Company is taking a major step forward into the Internet era. "Shui On has about 30 years of construction experience in Hong Kong and around the region. In order for us to deliver premier quality projects, we are constantly looking for the best suppliers in the region. Our online trading websites will leverage on our expertise and experience and bring together some of the best suppliers and manufacturers in the construction materials industry to deliver products and services with AsiaMaterials.com's quality assurance programme to meet the needs of our customers in the construction and contracting industry."

According to Forrester Research, the worldwide construction market is estimated to be US$3.2 trillion. However, online trading has captured less than 1% of the market.

China is already one of the major players in the worldwide construction materials market. With the competitive pricing of most Chinese construction materials, the potential for capturing a larger share of the world market is huge. In 1999, the construction related materials exports from China totalled US$11 billion, among which the exports to the US alone accounted for US$4 billion.

"We believe the Chinese and Asian construction materials market has the potential of tremendous growth through B2B online trading," Mr Vincent Lo explains. "By lining up some of the best suppliers in China and Asia, we are confident that AsiaMaterials.com will become one of the major B2B construction materials websites in the world."

AsiaMaterials.com will be launched in the fourth quarter of 2000.

Mr Lawrence Choi, Managing Director of SOCAM, explains the operation of SOCAM.com, "This website will focus on serving Shui On's needs in construction materials and project control. The overall procurement of construction materials is in excess of HK$2 billion per year. After the launch of SOCAM.com, we will conduct our materials purchases online as much as possible, which will in turn tremendously reduce our costs through direct access to the suppliers in Asia."

Shui On Construction and Materials Limited, a member of the Shui On Group, was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1997. Apart from SOCAM, the Shui On Group has a separate, non-listed property arm with investments in Hong Kong, the United States, Beijing, Guangzhou and, in particular, Shanghai where it has a land bank of 3.5 million square metres of buildable space in very centrally located sites.