Bank of China makes fast track entry to FTSE Xinhua Index Series

Bank of China makes fast track entry to FTSE Xinhua Index Series

June 01, 2006

       

    HONG KONG and BEIJING, June 1 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
FTSE Xinhua Index (FXI), the joint venture index company
set up by global index provider FTSE Group, and China
market specialist Xinhua Finance announces that following
today's listing of the Bank of China (BoC) on the Hong Kong
Exchange, the company becomes eligible for inclusion within
the FTSE Xinhua Index Series. Because of the large market
capitalization size of the BoC, fast track rules are
applied and thus the bank will be added at the close of
business today to FTSE Xinhua China 25 and FTSE Xinhua Hong
Kong Index. 

    Zhu Shan, Managing Director, FTSE Xinhua Index
commented: "FTSE Xinhua indices are designed to
reflect market conditions - by adding Bank of China to the
index series under fast track rules means that both
international and domestic investors can capture the
performance of an important stock straight away."

    BoC becomes a member of the FTSE Xinhua China 25 Index
with 243,510,368,009 shares in issue and a free float of
10%. BoC's weighting within the index will be confirmed
based on its closing price on the 1st June and is
classified under the Subsector Banks (8355) of the Industry
Classification Benchmark. Zhejiang Expressway (H share,
0576) is removed from the index to rebalance. 

    The FTSE Xinhua China 25 Index consists of the largest
and most liquid Chinese companies classified as `H' Shares
and `Red Chip' shares. The index has been adopted by a
number of organizations as the basis for ETFs and
derivatives, with products listed in New York, Europe and
Hong Kong. At the end of May 2006, total assets under
management against the FTSE Xinhua China 25 was USD 3.5
billion. 

    The BoC will also make a fast track entry to the FTSE
Xinhua Hong Kong Index. This index was recently chosen by
the National Social Security Fund of China as the benchmark
of its Hong Kong equity holdings following the changes in
regulations which allow domestic Chinese institutional
investors to invest overseas. 

    More information on the FTSE Xinhua Index Series,
including constituent lists, is available at
http://www.ftsexinhua.com . 

    About FTSE Xinhua Index 

    Established in late 2000, FTSE Xinhua Index (FXI), a
joint venture between Xinhua Finance Limited and FTSE, came
into being to facilitate the creation of real-time indices
for the Chinese market. The indices can be used as a basis
for the trading of derivatives, index-tracking funds,
Exchange Traded Funds and as performance benchmarks. The
combination of FTSE's expertise in international indexing
with Xinhua Finance's strong presence and capabilities in
China creates a level of expertise in the Chinese market
that is unprecedented. Providing the combined coverage for
the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges, all of the FTSE Xinhua
indices are designed according to internationally proven
index methodology to ensure products are transparent, clear
and consistent. For daily data and further information,
please visit http://www.ftsexinhua.com .

    About FTSE Group

    FTSE Group is a world-leader in the creation and
management of indices. With offices in London, Frankfurt,
Hong Kong, Madrid, Paris, New York, San Francisco, and
Tokyo, FTSE Group services clients in 77 countries
worldwide.  It calculates and manages the FTSE Global
Equity Index series, which includes world-recognised
indices ranging from the FTSE All-World Index, the
FTSE4Good series and the FTSEurofirst Index series, as well
as domestic indices such as the prestigious FTSE 100. The
company has collaborative arrangements with the Athens,
AMEX, Cyprus, Euronext, Johannesburg London, Madrid, NASDAQ
and Taiwan exchanges, as well as Nomura Securities, Hang
Seng and Xinhua Finance of China, FTSE recently signed an
agreement with Dow Jones Indexes to develop a single sector
classification system for global investors.

    FTSE indices are used extensively by investors
world-wide for investment analysis, performance
measurement, asset allocation, portfolio hedging and for
creating a wide range of index tracking funds. Independent
committees of senior fund managers, derivatives experts,
actuaries and other experienced practitioners review all
changes to the indices to ensure that they are made
objectively and without bias.  Real-time FTSE indices are
calculated on systems managed by Reuters. Prices and FX
rates used are supplied by Reuters.  

    About Xinhua Finance Limited 

    Xinhua Finance Limited is China's unchallenged leader
in financial information and media, and is listed on the
Mothers board of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (symbol: 9399)
(OTC ADRs: XHFNY). Bridging China's financial markets and
the world, Xinhua Finance serves financial institutions,
corporations and re-distributors through four focused and
complementary service lines: Indices, Ratings, Financial
News and Investor Relations.  Founded in November 1999, the
Company is headquartered in Shanghai with 21 news bureaus
and offices in 18 locations across Asia, Australia, North
America and Europe. For more information, please visit
http://www.xinhuafinance.com. 

    For more information, please contact:  

    Hong Kong

     Joy Tsang
     Xinhua Finance
     Tel:   [phone]
            [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

     Tim Nicholls
     FTSE Asia Pacific
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

    Beijing

     Catherine Song
     FTSE Xinhua Beijing office 
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

SOURCE  FTSE Xinhua Index