For Immediate Release

(Hong Kong, 9 November, 1999) Shui On Construction and Materials Limited ("SOCAM" or "Group") announced that for the six months ended 30 September 1999, profit attributable to shareholders increased 26% over the same period last year, to HK$230 million. The Group's turnover was HK$2,713 million, an increase of 32.9% over the corresponding period in 1998. Earnings per share were up 25.6% at HK$0.88.

The Directors have recommended the payment of an interim dividend of HK$0.55 per share to shareholders, an increase of 37.5% over last year.

"We expect the healthy profit growth to be sustained in the second half of the financial year led mainly by the satisfactory margins from our construction projects and the Tseung Kwan O Private Sector Participation Scheme (PSPS) project, coupled with steady performance of the Construction Materials Division," said Mr Vincent H S Lo, Chairman of SOCAM.

The Construction Division including the Tseung Kwan O PSPS project recorded strong profit growth for the period under review during which three contracts were completed. With the recent award of eight new contracts worth a total of HK$6.1 billion, the gross and outstanding values of contracts on hand at 31 October 1999 were at record levels of HK$16.2 billion and HK$10.5 billion respectively.

"The Construction Division has also played a significant role in leading the industry in terms of innovation," said Mr Lo. "This year, one of our sites was the first ever in Hong Kong to use a smart card for access control. And the jump lift system, installed at the Tseung Kwan O PSPS project site, replaces the traditional material and passenger hoists and represents a breakthrough in construction safety and efficiency in Hong Kong."

The performance of the Construction Materials Division remained steady during the period under review. With the expiry of the lease of the Lamma quarry in late 2001, planning is well underway to supply aggregates from SOCAM's two other quarries in Zhuhai and Xinhui instead.

SOCAM's cement projects on the Mainland are going forward satisfactorily.

"The second 300,000-tonne new rotary kiln at the cement joint venture in Chongqing is near completion and trial production will commence in December 1999, by which time total capacity will be increased to approximately one million tonnes per annum," added Mr Lo. "Production and sales of the Nanjing cement plant have remained steady."

Looking ahead, the Group sees good potential arising from continued housing developments and the acceleration of infrastructure projects such as KCRC's West Rail, MTRC's Junk Bay Extension, the Cyber Port and Disney World. SOCAM believes that these developments, coupled with the gradual recovery of the economy, should not only provide work for the construction sector, but also provide opportunity for the construction materials sector.

"The continued growth of the economy in the Chinese Mainland and the substantial investment in urban development, particularly in the central and western regions including Chongqing, should fuel the demand for high-grade cement, providing good prospects for rapid expansion of our cement business there," said Mr Lo.

SOCAM should, barring unforeseen circumstances, achieve continued healthy profit growth in the second half of the current financial year.

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.

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Media Enquiries:
Ronny Pang       2879 1860
Corporate Communications Department
Shui On Construction and Materials Limited