DBS is First Foreign Bank to Open an Office in Dongguan

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New representative office strengthens DBS' position in fast-growing city in the Pearl River Delta region

Hong Kong and Singapore, December 1, 2004 - DBS Bank today announces the official opening of its Representative Office in Dongguan, making it the first foreign bank to establish a presence in the fast-growing southern city of China.

The move is part of DBS' overall strategy of growing its presence and business in China, specifically in the Pearl River Delta, Yangtze River Delta and the Beijing-Tianjin corridor.

Fully operational since November 1 and located in the key commercial district, the Dongguan Representative Office acts as a liaison office and communication hub for DBS' enterprise and corporate banking customers, especially those from southern China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan.

Chairman of DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Frank Wong said: "The rapidly developing Pearl River Delta is an important part of our China strategy. And Dongguan is a key city and a major exporter in the region. Dongguan city is also fully committed to the nurturing of enterprises, both from overseas and domestic market, which DBS' Enterprise Banking Group seeks to serve."

"We are excited by the business opportunities that will flow from regional arrangements such as the Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and the Pan-Pearl River Delta Regional Co-operation. Our customers are well placed to tap those opportunities and we at DBS are committed to serving them with a wider range of products and services delivered through our expanded network in southern China."

According to the Chinese Cities' Competitiveness Study 2003 released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Dongguan ranks ninth in the country in terms of city growth competitiveness. The city’s total foreign trade reached US$52.1 billon in 2003, of which US$28 billion was from foreign export. For seven consecutive years, Dongguan city was the third largest contributor to China's exports from 1996 to 2002.

As at end December 2003, the city's registered individually- and privately-owned enterprises numbered 216,000, up 18.6% year-on-year, while their registered capital stood at RMB35.26 billion, up 39.3%.

Dongguan is also popular with foreign invested enterprises that want to set up factories and offices in China. According to government figures, it attracted foreign investments of about US$18 billion from more than 14,000 foreign invested enterprises including over 120 multi-national corporations.

Mr Wong added: "In the last 20 over years, many Hong Kong manufacturers, including DBS’ customers, moved their operations into the Pearl River Delta. It is DBS' strategy to grow with our customers, and to be where they are and where they want to be. We have branches in Shenzhen and Guangzhou, and with the new Dongguan Representative Office, we will have presence in the three most developed cities in the Pearl River Delta region."

DBS established its first office in China more than 10 years ago with the opening of its then Beijing Representative Office in 1993. It set up DBS Shanghai two years later. Today, it has four full service branches in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, and three representative offices in Tianjin, Fuzhou and Dongguan.

DBS was among the first batch of 10 foreign banks to receive a Renminbi (RMB) licence in 1998 when the Chinese government introduced limited liberalisation in the city of Shanghai. In 2003, it became the first Singapore bank to have received approval from China Banking Regulatory Commission for its Shanghai and Shenzhen branches to provide RMB products and services to Chinese corporations, in addition to foreign companies, in China. The licence allows foreign banks to conduct RMB business in 13 cities that include Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and the provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

With its dominant presence in Asia's two key financial centres, Hong Kong and Singapore, DBS has helped many Chinese companies launched their IPOs in the stock exchanges in these two locations, including Tianjin Zhong Xin Pharm Group and most recently, Li Ning Company Ltd.

In November this year, DBS partnered Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Bank of Communications to arrange a 10-year RMB1.037 billion project financing for Vopak Shanghai Logistics. This is the first long-term RMB project financing deal arranged and funded by an international bank.

DBS was ranked third in Basispoint's China loans' league table for January - September 2004. The Bank also won the "Asia Pacific Industrial Deal of the Year 2003" by Euromoney Project Finance for arranging Hebei Pan Asia Long-Teng Paper Co. Ltd.'s 8-year US$215 million USD and RMB syndicated loan facilities.

About DBS

Headquartered in Singapore, DBS is one of the largest financial services groups in Asia. The largest bank in Singapore and the fifth largest banking group in Hong Kong as measured by assets, DBS has dominant positions in consumer banking, treasury and markets, asset management, 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, Malaysia, Indonesia, India and The Philippines. In China, the bank has branches and representative offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Fuzhou, Tianjin and Dongguan. 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.