(Hong Kong, 5 September 2000) Shui On Construction and Materials Limited (“SOCAM”) has announced on 4 June 2000 its plan to launch e-commerce websites for the trading of construction materials and project management in the fourth quarter of 2000. The websites, AsiaMaterials.com and SOCAM.com, will supply materials for construction companies worldwide and cater to the internal procurement and project management control needs of Shui On, respectively.

SOCAM has appointed Mr Wilfred Wong as Vice Chairman and President of AsiaMaterials.com Limited. Mr Wong will lead the establishment of AsiaMaterials.com, develop and implement strategies that can capitalize on opportunities arising from developments in the New Economy.

“We are pleased to have Wilfred joined us to lead our AsiaMaterials.com business. He has been an independent non-executive director of SOCAM since 1997. Wilfred will bring to the Company a wide international perspective as well as knowledge and experience in the Chinese Mainland market. He will be a valuable addition to our senior management team,” said Mr Vincent H S Lo, Chairman of SOCAM.

“Mr Wilfred Wong is also appointed Managing Director of Shui On Holdings Limited (SOH). As Managing Director of SOH, Mr Wong will work closely with myself and other directors to formulate and implement strategies for the Shui On Group to exploit business opportunities arising from the New Economy and the further opening up of the Mainland market,” said Mr Lo.

Aged 47, Mr Wilfred Wong has served in many distinguished positions in both the public and private sectors. Mr Wong joined the Administrative Service of the Hong Kong Government in 1975. Some of the positions he held in the Government include: Deputy Director – General of Industry, Deputy Secretary for the Civil Service and Principal Assistant Secretary for Economic Services.

Mr Wilfred Wong was the founder of China Investment Group Limited and has been its President and Chief Executive Officer since 1994. Mr Wong is a Deputy to The Ninth National People’s Congress, Chairman of the Business and Professionals Federation of Hong Kong, President of The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, a non-executive director of Henderson China Holdings Limited, and a council member of the Hong Kong Former Senior Civil Servants’ Association, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and the Hong Kong Institute of Directors. Mr Wong holds a Bachelor of Social Science degree from the University of Hong Kong, a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Harvard University, and was also educated at Oxford University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

“Shui On has been working in the construction industry in Hong Kong and the region for almost 30 years, we are constantly looking for good quality materials from suppliers in the Chinese Mainland and the region. Our online trading websites will leverage 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 quality assurance programme provided by AsiaMaterials to meet the needs of our customers in the construction industry,” Mr Lo concluded.

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.