DBS launches first-come-first-served tranche for all IPOs

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No balloting for hot issues; Early birds at ATMs assured of share allotments

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Move will increase number of shares reserved for retail investors

SINGAPORE, NOVEMBER 27, 2003 - Retail investors who apply for shares in all future IPOS and selective secondary market offerings managed by DBS Bank will soon have certainty of allotment under a first-come-first-served (FCFS) tranche to be made available through the Bank's ATMs in Singapore.

The Bank said today that having a FCFS tranche as a permanent feature in all future IPOs will guarantee retail investors a predetermined number of shares which will not go through balloting when an issue is oversubscribed.

As long as shares set aside for the FCFS tranche are still available, investors who subscribe through the ATMs will be automatically and instantly allotted the number of shares applied for, subject to a maximum amount. The latter varies depending on the size of the issue.

The FCFS tranche will boost the number of shares offered to the retail market as it will be in addition to those available under the normal public offer tranche. Shares under the FCFS tranche will come from the private placement tranche.

Applications under the public tranche will still be subject to balloting if demand for the issue exceeds supply. Investors who are allotted shares under the FCFS tranche will not be allowed to apply for more shares under the public tranche as the law does not permit multiple share applications.

Kan Shik Lum, managing director of DBS' Equity Capital Markets, said: "DBS is the largest manager of share offerings in Singapore. We fully understand the frustrations faced by retail investors who are unable to get their hands on some hot issues because they were unsuccessful in the balloting.

"With the first-come-first-served tranche, the early birds' among retail investors will be assured of getting some shares and will not feel that they have subscribed in vain."

Mr Kan added that DBS had previously offered shares on a FCFS basis for secondary issues. They included new shares for GP Batteries in 1997, Raffles Medical in 1998, and most recently, CapitaMall Trust in June this year.

From experience, DBS has found that hot issues are snapped up at DBS' and POSB's 800 ATMs across the island. For example, the public tranche of the CMT secondary offering in June was sold out within seven hours of them being made available at the ATMs.

Mr Kan said the latest move by DBS extends the FCFS feature for secondary offerings to all IPOs.

ATM share applications typically account for three-quarters of the total applications made for shares reserved for the public tranche of an IPO. Retail investors of DBS-managed shares can also apply for them at the Internet website of DBS TD Waterhouse at www.dbstdwaterhouse.com or by application forms.

Mr Kan said the first upcoming IPO expected to incorporate a FCFS tranche is that for Creative Master Bermuda Limited, a contract manufacturer of die-cast collectibles such as cars and trains. In that IPO likely to be launched next month, investors will be able to apply for up to 5,000 shares each under the FCFS tranche.

DBS managed nearly two-thirds of all IPOs in Singapore by size and has helped raise $1.02 billion of the $1.5 billion raised in the first nine months of this year. Among them were the $787 million from the IPO of Singapore Post and $234 million from Cheung Kong's Fortune Real Estate Investment Trust.

The Bank is no stranger to using technology to enhance the share offering process. In 1993, DBS was the first bank in Singapore to distribute shares through the ATM network for Vikay Industrial Ltd, and in 1997, it pioneered Internet banking services in Singapore. In 2001, DBS was the first to offer placement shares over the Internet website of DBS TD Waterhouse for WPG International Ltd.

About DBS

Headquartered in Singapore, DBS is one of the largest financial services groups in Asia. The largest bank in Singapore and one of the top five in Hong Kong as measured by assets, DBS has dominant positions in consumer banking, treasury and markets, securities brokerage, equity and debt fund raising. Beyond the anchor markets of Singapore and Hong Kong, DBS serves corporate, institutional and retail customers through its operations in Thailand, The Philippines, and Indonesia. In China, the bank has branches and representative offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Fuzhou and Tianjin. The Bank's credit ratings are among 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.