Sidley Austin Elevates Jason Elder to Partnership in Hong Kong, 37 Throughout Firm

Sidley Austin Elevates Jason Elder to Partnership in Hong Kong, 37 Throughout Firm

July 14, 2006

New Partner in Hong Kong Practices U.S. Corporate Law

    HONG KONG, July 14 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Jason T.
Elder, a lawyer in the Hong Kong office of Sidley Austin is
among the 37 associates and counsel elevated to partnership
in the firm, which now has 575 partners in offices in the
United States, Europe and Asia.  Mr. Elder became a
partner, practicing in Sidley's U.S. Corporate Group,
effective July 1.

    "Jason is an exceptional lawyer, and we are proud
to have him represent the firm," said Thomas A. Cole,
chair of the firm's Executive Committee.  "Jason
embodies our exacting standards of quality and
collegiality."

    "Jason has contributed to our continued growth in
Hong Kong, specifically, handling complex securities
transactions," said William O. Fifield, Sidley's
Managing Partner in the Greater China Region and a member
of the firm's Executive Committee.  "We congratulate
him on his new role as a firm partner."

    Jason T. Elder, 33, has extensive experience with a
variety of corporate finance transactions, particularly
global offerings of equity securities and a range of
high-yield, hybrid and structured debt products.  In
addition, Mr. Elder has experience with early-round private
equity financing and cross-border mergers and acquisitions
gained from transactions in the United States and Asia.  He
advises clients throughout the Asia-Pacific region,
including mainland China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia,
South Korea and Taiwan.

    Mr. Elder has worked on numerous corporate finance
transactions, including several award-winning deals,
throughout the region:

    - AA Investments Company Limited, a special-purpose
vehicle for the 
      acquiror management team, in connection with its
issuance of 
      US$535,000,000 Senior PIK Notes due 2012 and warrants
in connection with 
      a "going private" transaction involving
Asia Aluminum Holdings Limited, 
      a company formerly listed on The Stock Exchange of
Hong Kong Limited and 
      the largest manufacturer of aluminum extrusion
products in the PRC, as 
      well as Asia Aluminum in connection with its
high-yield debt issue of 
      US$450,000,000 8.00% Senior Notes due 2011; 

    - Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith
Incorporated and PT Danatama 
      Makmur in connection with the issuance of
US$600,000,000 7.134% Series 
      2005-1 Notes due 2012 by IndoCoal Exports (Cayman)
Limited as structured 
      export notes backed by receivables generated by PT
Kaltim Prima Coal and 
      PT Arutmin Indonesia, which was named "Best
International Securitization 
      and Most Innovative Deal 2005" by FinanceAsia
and "Securitization Deal 
      of the Year and Indonesian Capital Markets Deal of
the Year 2005" by 
      International Financing Review Asia; and
"Securitization Deal of the 
      Year 2005" by International Financial Law
Review;

    - PT Indosat Tbk, one of Indonesia's leading
telecommunications providers 
      and second-largest cellular operator, in connection
with two separate 
      high-yield debt offerings by its finance subsidiaries
of US$250,000,000 
      7.125% Guaranteed Notes due 2012 and US$300,000,000
7.75% Notes due 
      2010, which issue marked PT Indosat Tbk's first
international debt 
      offering and received Asiamoney's "Deal of the
Year 2003 - Best Sub-
      Investment Grade Bond";

    - China International Capital Corporation and Merrill
Lynch Far East 
      Limited, as joint global coordinators, in connection
with the initial 
      public offering of Air China Limited, the national
flag carrier of the 
      People's Republic of China, raising approximately
US$1,237,000,000 with 
      a dual listing on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong
Limited and the London 
      Stock Exchange; and

    - The Government of the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region in 
      connection with its initial sovereign debt issuance
of US$1,250,000,000 
      5.125% Notes due 2014 as part of a US$2.5 billion
offering involving 
      Hong Kong institutional and retail tranches.

    Mr. Elder, who had been an associate, received his J.D.
from the University of Oregon School of Law.  He received
his B.A. from Northwestern University.  Mr. Elder is
admitted to practice in New York and has been based in
Sidley's Hong Kong office since 2001.

    Further strengthening  Sidley's Asia regional practice,
Mr. Elder's election brings the number of partners in Asia
to 16,  11 of whom are based in Hong Kong. The firm now has
over 80 lawyers based in its five offices in the region:
Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo. 

    Sidley also named the following to partnership in our
other offices: Chicago - David B. Barlow, Donald B.
Bingham, Paul S. Caruso, Marc A. Cavan, Matthew A.
Clemente, Kurt R. Gearhart, David A. Gordon, Eric H. Grush,
Bradley D. Howard, Mark R. Kirsons, Kevin R. Pryor, Courtney
A. Rosen and Scott D. Stein; Los Angeles- Jeffrey E. Bjork,
Max C. Fischer, Brian C. Flavell, Jonathan M. Kaplan and
Amy P. Lally; New York - Jacob J. Amato III, R. J. Carlson,
Nicholas P. Crowell, Angelica Kwan, Prabhat K. Mehta, James
C. Munsell and Gabriel Saltarelli; Washington, D.C. -
Steven T. Cottreau, Coleen Klasmeier, Colleen M. Lauerman,
Jennifer Haworth McCandless, Stephen M. Nickelsburg,
Christopher T. Shenk, Leslie A. Shubert, David A. Steffes
and Rebecca K. Wood; and London - Leonard W. Ng and
Jonathan Wallace.

    Notes to Editors

    Sidley Austin LLP is one of the world's largest
full-service law firms, with more than 1,600 lawyers
practicing in 15 cities including Beijing, Brussels,
Frankfurt, Geneva, Hong Kong, London, Shanghai, Singapore
and Tokyo. Sidley was named the Number One-Ranked U.S. Law
Firm for Overall Client Service in 2002 and 2004 in surveys
of Fortune 1000 executives by BTI, a Boston-based consulting
and research firm.  In 2005, BTI named Sidley to their
Client Service Hall of Fame as one of only two law firms to
rank in the Client Service Top 10 for five years in a row. 
Sidley was also ranked Number One in the 2006 BTI Client
Relationship Scorecard, which also noted Sidley's
"growing prominence in the global arena."  Sidley
received the 2005 Catalyst Award in recognition of the
firm's initiative to recruit, retain and advance diverse
talent.

    In Asia, lawyers in the Corporate Finance team advise
clients on U.S., Hong Kong and English law in connection
with all types of equity, debt and equity-linked
transactions, including SEC-registered offerings in the
United States, international securities offerings pursuant
to Rule 144A and Regulation S governed by U.S. and English
law, The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Main Board and Growth
Enterprise Market (GEM) listings, and issuances involving
the creation of ADR or GDR programs. The team also advises
on private equity transactions, leveraged financing,
mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures.

    In 2005, Sidley ranked first in relation to the number
of transactions advising issuers and first (tied) in
relation to the number of transactions advising
underwriters for listings on The Stock Exchange of Hong
Kong Mainboard. (Asian Legal Business).

    Sidley Austin LLP, a Delaware limited liability
partnership, operates in affiliation with other
partnerships, including Sidley Austin LLP, an Illinois
limited liability partnership, Sidley Austin, an English
general partnership (through which the London office
operates) and Sidley Austin, a New York general partnership
(through which the Hong Kong office operates). The
affiliated partnerships are referred to herein collectively
as Sidley Austin, Sidley or the firm.

    For more information, please contact:

     Janet Zagorin 
     Sidley Austin
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

     Adam Isserlis  
     Rubenstein Associates
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

SOURCE  Sidley Austin