09:43     BEAUFORTE INV<00021> - Announcement (3)                             

                                                                              
                                            For the             For the       
                                            year                eleven        
                                            ended 31            months        
                                            December            ended 30      
                                                                November      
                        2002                2003                2004          
              RMB       HK$       RMB       HK$       RMB       HK$           
              million   million   million   million   million   million       
                                                                              
    Profit/(l 3.6       3.4       (0.7)     (0.7)     (0.5)     (0.5)         
    oss)                                                                      
    before                                                                    
    taxation                                                                  
    and                                                                       
    extraordi                                                                 
    nary                                                                      
    items                                                                     
    Net       3.6       3.4       (0.7)     (0.7)     (0.5)     (0.5)         
    profit/(l                                                                 
    oss)                                                                      
    (after                                                                    
    taxation                                                                  
    and                                                                       
    extraordi                                                                 
    nary                                                                      
    items)                                                                    
    Total     103.7     98.8      103.1     98.2      142.1     135.3         
    assets                                                                    
    Net       103.6     97.7      102.8     98.0      102.3     97.4          
    assets                                                                    
                                                                              
    After completion of the Investment, the Group's equity interests in       
    Century Energy will be booked as investment in the books of the Group     
    for accounting purpose.                                                   
                                                                              
    3. REASONS FOR AND BENEFIT OF ENTERING INTO THE JV AGREEMENT              
                                                                              
    The Group is mainly engaged in treasury and investment and                
    investment in property to generate rental income.                         
                                                                              
    The Directors have been actively seeking investment opportunities so      
    as to increase the return from the Group's investment portfolio. The      
    Directors see that recently, investment in natural resources has          
    provided a promising return to the investors due to increasing demand     
    in the market based on market observations. Coal is one of the scare      
    natural resources with limited supply but huge demand.                    
                                                                              
    The Directors believe that the investment in Century Energy which is      
    principally engaged in coal mining projects would provide a promising     
    return to the Group and hence benefit the shareholders of the             
    Company.                                                                  
                                                                              
    The Directors believe that the terms of the JV Agreement are fair         
    and reasonable and in the interest of the shareholders of the Company     
    as a whole.                                                               
                                                                              
    4. GENERAL                                                                
                                                                              
    The Investment constitutes a discloseble transaction for the Company      
    under Chapter 14 of the Listing Rules. A circular containing further      
    information on the Investment in Century Energy and the Group will be     
    despatched to the shareholders of the Company as soon as practicable.     
                                                                              
    DEFINITIONS                                                               
                                                                              
    In this announcement, the following expressions shall, unless the         
    context requires otherwise, have the following meanings:                  
                                                                              
    `Century Energy'                (Heze Century Energy                      
                                   CoalChem Industry Company                  
                                   Limited), a company                        
                                   incorporated in the PRC and                
                                   will be converted into a                   
                                   Sino-foreign equity joint                  
                                   venture upon completion of                 
                                   the Investment                             
    `Chinese Parties'              Shandong Risen, Shenyang                   
                                   Tianqin and Shenzhen Tianqin,              
                                   the parties entered into the               
                                   JV Agreement with Eastern                  
                                   Energy                                     
    `Company'                      Beauforte Investors                        
                                   Corporation Limited, a                     
                                   company incorporated in Hong               
                                   Kong with limited liability,               
                                   the shares of which are                    
                                   listed on the Stock Exchange               
    `Directors'                    the directors of the Company               
    `Eastern Energy'               China Eastern Energy Holdings              
                                   Limited, a company                         
                                   incorporated in Samoa and a                
                                   wholly owned subsidiary of                 
                                   the Company