Xinhua Finance/Milken Institute Chinese IPO Indicator Update: Chinese Equity Market Dip and Rebound Reflected in IPO Indicator

Xinhua Finance/Milken Institute Chinese IPO Indicator Update: Chinese Equity Market Dip and Rebound Reflected in IPO Indicator

March 23, 2007

    SHANGHAI, China, March 23 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- 

    Indicator Value Change 

     February 2007:          232.0
     January 2007:           231.5
     Month-to-month change:  0.2%
     February 2006:          181.2
     Year-to-year change:    28.0%

    (Logo: http://www.xprn.com.cn/xprn/sa/200611140926.gif
)

    Click
http://www.xinhuafinance.com/en/charts/ipo_rpi/0703/ipo_chart1_b.jpg
to download the chart. 

    Highlights

    The IPO indicator increased slightly in February 2007,
from 231.5 the previous month to 232.0.  Seven new equities
were added to the indicator, of which five are small and
medium-sized enterprises listed on Shenzhen Stock Exchange
and two are listed on Shanghai Stock Exchange. 

    Industrial Bank Co. Ltd. (A share, 601166) raised $2.1
billion in its February 5 IPO, the largest so far this
year. 

    The equities included in February's IPO Indicator
showed a drop of 5 percent in market cap on Feb. 27, while
the combined Shenzhen and Shanghai Stock Exchanges and Hong
Kong Stock Exchange lost approximately 9 percent and 2
percent of their market cap, respectively.

    Analysis 

    Of the eighty-seven stocks included in indicator,
fifteen saw a decline in price, while seventy-two saw an
increase.  The A and H share prices of the Industrial and
Commercial Bank of China (ICBC; A share, 601398; H share,
1398) and the Bank of China (BOC; A share, 601988; H share,
3988) continued to drop as the Chinese stock markets
experienced downward adjustments.  ICBC contributed to 69
percent of the decrease in the indicator's free-float
market capitalization, while BOC contributed another 27
percent.  Meanwhile, energy and infrastructure equities,
including China Coal (H share, 1898), Daqin Railway (A
share, 601006), and Hunan Nonferrous Metal (H share, 2626),
showed strong performance. Three companies were deleted from
the indicator after twelve months, and seven were added. 

    Methodology A stock's float-adjusted market
capitalization over time forms the basis for indicator
calculations. Stock dividends, stock splits, special
dividends, share consolidations, repurchases, spin-offs,
and combination stock distributions may trigger adjustments
to the indicator values.  Only companies incorporated and
domiciled in mainland China that go public on the Shanghai,
Shenzhen, and Hong Kong stock exchanges are included. 

    Xinhua Finance/Milken Institute China Indicators 

    The Xinhua Finance/Milken Institute China Indicators
are aimed at providing investors, analysts, and financial
professionals deeper insight into China's money and capital
markets.  Three of the eight indicators were launched in
November 2006: the Renminbi Pressure Indicator, the Chinese
IPO Indicator, and the Market Adjusted Debt (MAD) Indicator.
The remaining indicators will be launched in 2007. 

    Time Period Coverage and Frequency New companies are
added to the indicator as soon as they are listed, while
current companies are removed after twelve months.  The IPO
Indicator has a base date of December 31, 1997, when the
indicator's value was set equal to 100, and covers the
period from December 31, 1991, to the present. Values are
calculated on a monthly basis. The indicator for each month
is released in the third week of the following month. 

    Sources of Data The real-time and historical trading
data used in the construction of this indicator are
provided by Bloomberg and Xinhua Finance; underlying
information used to calculate the float ratio is obtained
from a variety of sources, including Xinhua Finance's
subsidiary Mergent, stock exchanges, regulators, and the
companies themselves. Corporate actions are sourced from
Xinhua Finance, regulatory filings, and news services.

    To view additional information, visit
http://www.xinhuafinance.com/indicators and
http://www.milkeninstitute.org/chinaindicators . 

    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 20 news bureaus
and offices in 19 locations across Asia, Australia, North
America and Europe.  For more information, please visit
http://www.xinhuafinance.com . 

    The Milken Institute is a nonprofit, independent
economic think tank whose mission is to improve the lives
and economic conditions of diverse populations around the
world by helping business and public policy leaders
identify and implement innovative ideas for creating
broad-based prosperity.  The Milken Institute has extensive
expertise in China and conducts ongoing research on China's
banking and capital markets.  It is based in Santa Monica,
Calif. For more information, please visit
http://www.milkeninstitute.org .



    For more information, please contact:

    Xinhua Finance
    China
     Ms. Joy Tsang
     Tel:   [phone] or [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

     Mr. Scott Zhang
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

    Japan
      Mr. Jiong Sun
      Tel:   [phone]
      Email: [e-mail]

    Taylor Rafferty (Media contact for Xinhua Finance)
    Japan 
     Mr. James Hawrylak
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

    United States
     Ms. Ishviene Arora
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

    Europe
     Mr. John Dudzinsky
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

    Milken Institute
     Ms. Jennifer Manfr¨¨, 
     Associate Director of Communications
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]