09:27 KC-HWL @EC0506B<03561> - Announcement (2) An application will be made to the Stock Exchange for the listing of, and permission to deal in, the New Warrants on the Stock Exchange. The date of commencement of dealings in the New Warrants is expected to be 21st February, 2005. All necessary arrangements will be made to enable the New Warrants to be admitted to the Central Clearing and Settlement System. Other than the Guarantor being a licensed bank in Hong Kong regulated by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, neither the Issuer nor the Guarantor is regulated by any of the bodies referred to in Rule 15A.13(2) or (3) of the Rules. The Guarantor is supervised by the Belgian Banking and Finance Commission. The implied volatility, gearing, effective gearing and premium of the New Warrants are 22 per cent., 15.6x, 9.4x, and 2.1 per cent. respectively. These values may not be comparable to similar information provided by other issuers of derivative warrants as each issuer may use different pricing models. The Warrants will constitute general unsecured contractual obligations of the Issuer and the Guarantor and no other person. Investors are relying upon the creditworthiness of the Issuer and the Guarantor and have no rights under the Warrants against the Company. The Guarantor's long term credit ratings are A+ by Standard and Poor's Ratings Group, AA- by Fitch IBCA Ltd, and Aa3 by Moody's Investors Service. The Issuer and Guarantor have undertaken until the Expiry Date to make documents containing details of the New Warrants and financial and other information on the Issuer and Guarantor available for inspection by holders of the New Warrants. The documents available for inspection are a copy of the Base Listing Document dated 28th April, 2004, together with any addenda or successor document to the Base Listing Document (both the English version and the Chinese translation), the Supplemental Listing Document dated 25th November, 2004 (both the English version and the Chinese translation), the Further Supplemental Listing Document dated 24th January, 2005 (both the English version and the Chinese translation), and the Second Further Supplemental Listing Document to be dated on or about 18th February, 2005 (both the English version and the Chinese translation). These documents will be available for inspection at the office of KBC Financial Products Hong Kong Limited, which is presently at Suite 806-814, 8/F, Two International Finance Centre, 8 Finance Street, Central, Hong Kong. Information on the KBC Financial Products Group and the Guarantor can also be found on website www.kbcfp.com and www.kbc.be respectively. Before purchasing the Warrants you should ensure that you fully understand its potential risks and rewards and independently determine that they are appropriate for you given your objectives, experience, financial and operational resources, and other relevant circumstances. You should consult with such advisers as you deem necessary to assist you in making these determinations. Investors are warned that the price of the Warrants may fall in value as rapidly as it may rise and holders may sustain a total loss of their investment. Prospective purchasers should therefore ensure that they understand the nature of the Warrants and carefully study the risk factors set out in the Base Listing Document and the relevant Supplemental Listing Document and, where necessary, seek professional advice, before they invest in the Warrants. The Issuer and its appointed liquidity provider may be the only purchasers of the Warrants and the secondary market for the Warrants may be limited. The Issuer has appointed KBC Financial Products Trading Hong Kong Limited as its liquidity provider for the Warrants (Broker ID Number: 9523; Tel: 2238 6133; Address: Suite 806-814, 8/F, Two International Finance Centre, 8 Finance Street, Central, Hong Kong). The liquidity provider will provide liquidity by responding to requests for bid and offer quotes. A quote may be obtained by calling its telephone number. Neither the Issuer nor the Guarantor are the ultimate holding company of the group to which the Issuer and the Guarantor belong and with which the Issuer's and the Guarantor's names are identified. The ultimate holding company of the group to which the Issuer and the Guarantor belong is KBC Bank and Insurance Holding Company NV. In the primary market, the Issuer normally pays a selling commission to the brokers who place the Warrants. In the secondary market, the Issuer or any of its affiliates may from time to time implement commission promotional programmes with a selected number of brokers, on a selected