PRESS RELEASE

Chongqing Hutchison Optel Telecom Technology Co., Ltd. ("OPTEL"), a joint venture among a unit of China Putian Industrial Corporation ("PTIC", the original China Post & Telecom Industrial Corporation), OPTEL's management, and Hutchison Whampoa (China) Ltd. ("Hutchison China") announced its establishment today. The total initial investment of OPTEL is RMB143 million (US$17.3 million). The newly established joint venture focuses on optical transmission technology. It is a hi-tech company which emphasizes research and development. Its scope of business includes product development, production, marketing and sales, and customer services.

The formal opening ceremony was held on June 9 in Chongqing City.

The newly established joint venture combines the advantages of advanced technology, plentiful capital resources and a strong market network. It will focus on developing advanced optical transmission equipment, building up a national sales and customer services network and establishing a world-class optical transmission technology company.

"OPTEL has been a leader in China in R&D of optical transmission equipment and network management systems," said Mr. Gao Quanbin, President of OPTEL. "Our partnership with Hutchison China will permit OPTEL to continue to be at the forefront of these technologies, for the benefit of the country. We are delighted to have Hutchison as our partner, because they are a world-class player in the telecom field."

Simon To, Managing Director of Hutchison China, explained the company's strategy. "Hutchison China has significant venture capital funds to invest. We are actively looking for good investments in Greater China, and in companies outside China with products and technologies appropriate to China, emphasizing three investment sectors: 1) IT Infrastructure and Enabling Technology; 2) Health Care; and 3) Supply Chain Management. We welcome good investment proposals." Mr. To said, "This investment in OPTEL is solid evidence of our continuing commitment to support young enterprises in China with significant growth and market leadership potential. OPTEL has a well-proven track record since its start 3 years ago, and has developed competitive products, sustainable revenues and growing profits during that time. They are continuously developing new technologies. We like OPTEL's business model. There is huge demand for bandwidth, continuous upgrading of the telecommunications infrastructure, and government support to encourage domestic manufacturers. OPTEL's future is bright."

About PTIC

PTIC is the biggest telecom equipment manufacturer in China. It was established about 20 years ago, and at present it has 16 holding companies, 18 wholly-owned subsidiaries, 18 factories and more than 10 companies with equity investment. Total assets amount to RMB14.9 billion. It ranked 20th among the Global Strongest Telecom Enterprises in 1998 by "Telecom Weekly" magazine in UK.

About Optel

Prior to the establishment of the joint venture, OPTEL already had strong technical resources. More than 50 of its employees had participated in the national hi-tech projects in the "8th 5-year plan", "9th 5-year plan" and "863 initiatives". Many of them had obtained 1st honor prize from the original Ministry of Post & Telecommunications ("MPT"). It has the technology of a full range of SDH (synchronous digital hierarchy), from 155Mb/s to 2.5Gb/s. MPT had endorsed the first network management system for the national PDH (plesiosynchronous digital hierarchy) backbone, installed and developed by OPTEL. This PDH network management system is the first of its kind in China's DDD backbone transmission network. It has upgraded its management to a new era.

About Hutchison China

Hutchison China, a subsidiary of Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. (a Hong Kong - based multinational conglomerate with a market capitalization of over US$50 billion), has been actively trading and investing in the China market for more than 20 years. Hutchison China has made numerous successful investments in China over the years, in a variety of industries, including consumer products, supply chain management, aviation and tourism. Among its notable China investments is its 1988 joint venture with Procter & Gamble (U.S.) for consumer products, which is now the largest consumer products company in all of China.