DBS To Officially Align Its Legal Name With Its Brand Name In Third Quarter 2003

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Chinese name will be changed to better reflect the Group's pan-Asian aspirations

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Legally merged Hong Kong Entity To be re-named DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Ltd

SINGAPORE, May 5 2003 - DBS Group Holdings Ltd (DBSH) announced today a change in the legal name of its banking entity from "The Development Bank of Singapore Ltd" to "DBS Bank Ltd". The alignment of its legal name with its brand name will take effect in the third quarter of 2003.

DBS' Chinese name "新加坡发展银行"will also be changed to "星展银行" to better reflect the Group's pan-Asian aspirations.

In Hong Kong, the Group will adopt the new legal name "DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Ltd" and the new Chinese name "星展银行" for its Hong Kong merged operations. This follows the recent executive and legislative approval for the merger of the banking licenses of its wholly-owned operations, Dao Heng Bank, DBS Kwong On Bank and Overseas Trust Bank. The new names will be effective on the legal merger date, which is expected to be in the third quarter of 2003.

DBS Group's subsidiaries, including selected Dao Heng subsidiaries with banking operations, will also adopt "DBS", "星展" into their existing legal names.

There will be no change to the POSB brand name in Singapore.

The change of the existing legal name harmonises the widely-used brand name "DBS" in all the markets DBS operates in. The new legal name also better reflects DBS' current scope of business and pan-Asian aspirations.

DBS Group Holdings' Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Jackson Tai, said, "DBS has been transformed, over the years, from a development financing institution in Singapore to one of the largest universal banking groups in Asia today. The Group's network and operations now extend beyond Singapore and its activities encompass a broad range of consumer, corporate and institutional banking, asset management, brokerage, advisory, capital markets and treasury services. Changing from "The Development Bank of Singapore Ltd" to "DBS Bank Ltd" will better align our legal name with our well-recognised brand name, DBS Bank. The new names support the broad range and pan-Asian scope of our operations."

In conjunction with the change in legal name, DBS Group's current Chinese name "新加坡发展银行" which literally means "The Development Bank of Singapore" will also be changed to "星展银行" (pronounced "Xing Zhan Yin Hang"). The new name "星展" is inspired by the "four-rayed star" symbol of DBS which customers have come to be so familiar with. The character "星" denotes the DBS' "star" symbol while the character "展" retains DBS' existing Chinese name which means "growth" and "reaching out". Together "星展" encapsulates DBS' heritage while underscoring DBS' aspiration as a pan-Asian bank.

On the adoption of the "DBS" name and "星展银行" in Hong Kong, DBS Hong Kong Chairman, Frank Wong said, "DBS' re-naming exercise is the perfect opportunity to unify the branding of our three banking subsidiaries in Hong Kong. The upcoming legal merger this summer is an ideal time to implement our group-wide brand in Hong Kong and Greater China, while at the same time building upon the strong heritage of each of the three banks. This initiative will add greater breadth and depth to the DBS brand throughout the region, and over time will help us take full advantage of the strong brand recognition that DBS already has developed in Singapore and Asia. Moreover, the re-naming signifies the complete integration of our Hong Kong entities into DBS."

In Singapore, the re-naming exercise will not affect our customers' banking and financial transactions as their existing contracts will not be affected. The collaterals they currently hold, including ATM cards, credit cards, passbooks, or chequebooks, will continue to be used.

About DBS

DBS Bank is the largest bank in Singapore as measured by assets, with dominant positions in consumer banking, treasury and markets, securities brokerage, Singapore dollar loans, deposits, and equity and debt fund raising. With the executive and legislative approval for the merger of its wholly-owned Dao Heng Bank and DBS Kwong On Bank operations in Hong Kong, DBS Bank is now the fourth largest banking group in Hong Kong. Beyond the anchor markets of Singapore and Hong Kong, DBS Bank serves corporate, institutional and retail customers through its operations in Thailand, The Philippines, and Indonesia. The bank's credit ratings are amongst the highest in the Asia-Pacific region. More information about DBS Group Holdings and DBS Bank can be obtained from our website www.dbs.com.