Spirit of Hong Kong Bounds for Buenos Aires to Extend Across Continents Investment Opportunities in Hong Kong.

Business Editors

HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 13, 2000

Invest Hong Kong's (InvestHK) entry to the BT Global Challenge International yacht race, Spirit of Hong Kong, will set sail on October 15 from Boston for Buenos Aires, the second port-of-call in the World's Toughest Yacht Race.

The yacht has been in port in Boston since September 28.

While in Boston, Spirit of Hong Kong team received the Isle of Man Award during an awards ceremony hosted by Challenge Business, the race organizer. The marble trophy, given for the fastest 24-hour segment during Leg 1, was awarded to Spirit of Hong Kong for clocking 255.27 miles on September 27.

Leg 2 of the race began after a full week of crew and public events in Boston including several corporate hospitality sails on Spirit of Hong Kong during which time Boston's business leaders learned of investment opportunities in Hong Kong. The sails were hosted by Mr. Stephen Ng, Associate Director-General for InvestHK and accompanied by Mr. Lawrence Tang, Investment Relations Officer for InvestHK.

In addition, Miss Jacqueline Willis, Hong Kong Commissioner, USA, hosted a cocktail reception on October 12 for members of Boston's prominent business community. Attending guests included Sir Chay Blyth, CBE BEM, Founder and Executive Chairman of Challenge Business, with his wife, Lady Blyth, and representatives from Advent International, Bloomberg News, Genuity, Micro Touch Systems, State Street Global Investor Services, Wellington Management and Zoom Telephonics.

Finally, on October 13, the Hong Kong Tourist Association hosted a Water Blessing Ceremony at Rowes Wharf. The ceremony, conducted by a Taoist monk, was to wish the yacht a safe journey as it heads to Buenos Aires.

Mr. Stephen Ng, Associate Director-General of InvestHK, said, "We're thrilled Spirit of Hong Kong clocked the fastest 24-hours segment during the first leg of the race. The Spirit of Hong Kong crew has once again demonstrated its commitment to strive and excel. Their endurance and persistence truly reflects the spirit of the people of Hong Kong and their enthusiasm to succeed. These are just some of the qualities of Hong Kong that InvestHK is communicating to companies it meets throughout its participation in the BT Global Challenge."

Throughout the race, InvestHK, the government agency responsible for attracting foreign investment to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, will be hosting corporate-focused events in order to spread the message that Hong Kong is an ideal location for Asia-Pacific operations or investments.

Mr. Ng added, "Throughout our visit to Boston, InvestHK has met with executives from leading companies in their field, such as Wellington Management and Sapient to discuss the business advantages Hong Kong offers for foreign investors. Hong Kong's economy is now growing at an annual rate that is in excess of 6%. Hong Kong has a population of nearly seven million and is the world's highest throughput container port and air-freight port. Densities of fibre optic network, mobile telephone and Internet users in Hong Kong are also amongst the highest in the Asia Pacific region. Hong Kong's tax system is the most business-friendly in the world, where firms pay only 16% profits tax, while individuals pay no more that 15% in salaries tax, and often effectively less. These are just some of the reasons why Hong Kong is an ideal location for Asia-Pacific investment."

For more information on InvestHK and for photos of Spirit of Hong Kong, please go to http://mdwyer.com/investhk/. Photo of Spirit of Hong Kong in Boston will be sent to you.

About BT Global Challenge

The BT Global Challenge, the world's toughest yacht race, starts from Ocean Village Southampton on September 10, 2000. It is the only round-the-world yacht race to circumnavigate the globe against prevailing winds and currents. The race will involve 12 yachts, over 300 international crew volunteers and will take approximately ten months to complete.

The yacht sponsors are - BP, CGNU, Compaq, Isle of Man, LG FLATRON, Logica, Olympic Group, Quadstone, Save the Children, InvestHK, TeamSpirIT and Veritas.

         The Route  From           To            Miles   Days  Yachts Depart Yachts Arrive  Southampton    Boston         3,200    18    10/9/00        28/09/00 Boston         Buenos Aires   5,840    35    15/10/00       19/11/00 Buenos Aires   Wellington     6,020    31    10/12/00       10/01/01 Wellington     Sydney         1,230    7     18/02/01       25/02/01 Sydney         Cape Town      6,200    37    11/03/01       17/04/01 Cape Town      La Rochelle    5,820    30    13/05/01       12/06/01 La Rochelle    Southampton    300      3     20/06/01       23/06/01