FOURTH ANNUAL ASIA SOCIETY CONFERENCE IN NEW YORK TO EXAMINE CHINA’S FINANCIAL MARKETS

Wednesday, September 28, 2005, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Asia Society will host its fourth annual daylong conference on China’s financial markets, on Wednesday, September 28, 2005, at Asia Society, 725 Park Avenue (at 70 th Street), in New York City. Co-organized with O’Melveny & Myers LLP and HSBC, the conference will bring together financial services executives and leading economics scholars, including several speakers from China, to examine recent developments in China’s financial markets. China’s Financial Markets IV will evaluate progress in reforms of the Chinese banking system, the development of Chinese domestic capital markets, private equity/venture capital investing in China and factors driving Chinese issuers into international capital markets.

Confirmed speakers include Howard Chao, Partner and Head of Asia Practice, O’Melveny and Myers LLP, Yan Qingmin, Director General, Banking Supervision Department I, China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), Yang Changbo, Managing Director, China International Capital Corporation Ltd. (CICC), Zhao Qian, Partner, Haiwen & Partners and Zheng Wanchun, Executive Vice President, Huarong AMC.

Chairman Vincent Cheng of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation will deliver the luncheon keynote address entitled, “China’s Financial Markets: Understanding the Misunderstandings.”There will be an afternoon keynote address by Catherine Kinney, President and Co-Chief Operating Officer, New York Stock Exchange.

The latest information on program speakers, agenda and registration is available on the web at: http://www.asiasociety.org/policy_business/china_financial4.html.

Tickets are $150 for nonmembers, $125 for members and collaborating organizations and $50 for students/faculty with ID. Members of the public interested in registering for this event may contact the Asia Society Box Office at (212) 517-ASIA. Credentialed members of the media interested in attending should contact Elaine Merguerian in the Asia Society’s Public Relations Department at elainem@asiasoc.org or (212) 327-9313.

RR Donnelley is a Corporate Sponsor of the conference. Outreach partners include: Committee of 100, The Hong Kong Association of New York, KWR International, Inc. and the National Committee on US-China Relations.

Asia Society is an international education organization dedicated to deepening understanding between and among the peoples of Asia and the United States. The Society presents a wide variety of educational programs on Asian contemporary affairs and cultures for professional audiences, including business executives, foreign affairs specialists, the media and the general public. The Asia Society's Business Programs provide a leading forum for executives to meet the policy makers and business leaders who shape the Asia Pacific business environment. Asia Society is headquartered in New York, with regional centers in Washington, D.C., Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Manila, Melbourne and Shanghai. Asia Society is on the web at www.asiasociety.org.

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