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The Financial Secretary, Mr Donald Tsang, announced the launch of the privatisation of MTR Corporation Limited by way of an Initial Share Offer.

"This is a red-letter day for Hong Kong. The partial privatisation of MTR Corporation Limited through a public offering is a first for Hong Kong.

"It is a milestone for the Government, the Company and the investment community. But, perhaps more important, it offers the people of Hong Kong, who make over two million trips a day on the MTR, the opportunity to become individual stakeholders in a successful corporation," Mr Tsang said.

The Government intends to sell an approximately 20% stake in MTR Corporation Limited through the Share Offer, which will be aimed at retail investors in Hong Kong, as well as domestic and international professional and institutional investors. The shares will be listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited.

The Financial Secretary described the MTR as a key component of Hong Kong's comprehensive transport infrastructure and one of the icons of Hong Kong's economic growth over the past 25 years.

The Chairman and Chief Executive of MTR Corporation Limited, Mr Jack CK So, said: "This is an exciting and important step forward for the MTR Corporation Limited and the Hong Kong public, many of whom have a personal affinity with the Company given that the MTR is a part of their daily lives. The Share Offer will give them the opportunity to participate in the Company's growth and prospects."

The MTR Privatisation Share Offer has been structured as a global offering, with the roadshow for professional and institutional investors beginning this week.

The Share Offer to public investors in Hong Kong is expected to open on Monday, September 25. Details of the Share Offer are scheduled to be made available to Hong Kong investors through a prospectus to be released on the same day, and summarised in leaflets available from tomorrow. Detailed information about the MTR Corporation Limited will not be contained in the leaflets but only in the prospectus. Information will also be available from the Government's dedicated website at <www.mtripo.com.hk> and from a call centre.

Prospectuses and application forms will be available from designated branches of five receiving banks, five major MTR stations, or any member of the Hong Kong Public Offer syndicate. For the first time in Hong Kong, the Share Offer aims to enable potential investors to apply for shares on-line.

The initial price range for the institutional offering has been set at HK$8.00 to HK$9.38 per share. The final issue price will be determined through an institutional bookbuilding process. Shares will be allocated in board lots of 500.

The maximum offer price to be paid by investors in the Hong Kong Public Offer is expected to be announced on Sunday, September 24. Individual retail investors will be eligible to receive incentives in the form of a discount to the institutional price and loyalty bonus shares equivalent to those for the Tracker Fund last year - a 5.25% discount to the final offer price and loyalty bonus shares in the ratio of 1:20 after one year and 1:15 after two years.

A syndicate will be responsible for the distribution of the MTR Corporation Limited's shares to both retail and institutional investors, led by the three Joint Global Co-ordinators - Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C., HSBC Investment Bank Asia Limited and UBS Warburg.

"Privatisation reinforces our commitment to a free market; underscores the reasons why Hong Kong is one of the world's freest economies; and sends a strong positive signal to the international community. This will be a global offering as befits our status as Asia's premier international city," Mr Tsang said.

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Note: This document is not an offer of securities for sale, or an invitation to purchase securities in Hong Kong, the United States or elsewhere. Securities of MTR Corporation Limited may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration, and any offering of securities to be made in the United States will be by means of a prospectus that may be obtained from the issuer or selling security holder and that will contain detailed information about the company and management, as well as financial statements.

End/Monday, September 11, 2000

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