E-Malt.com News article: Hong Kong: China Resources Enterprise ranked top in the corporate governance survey of Euromoney

China Resources Enterprise, Limited strives to uphold a high standard of corporate governance practice and its efforts have been well received by the investment community. The Company was recently ranked overall number one in the 2006 Euromoney ‘Best Corporate Governance’ survey on global emerging markets, the company released October 10.

Euromoney, a highly reputable international financial publisher, conducts annual survey with companies from emerging markets to evaluate their corporate governance performance. Invitations were sent to the largest companies as measured by market capitalization according to the MSCI Emerging Markets Index and equity indices of key emerging markets worldwide. A total of 146 companies were surveyed in this year’s poll.

Assessment was made based on responses to questions on five different criteria: ownership transparency and rights, financial transparency, board structure and process, stakeholder relations and alignment of managerial interests. The Company attained a score of 76.59, significantly above the overall average of 53.26.

The Company has always placed strong emphasis on the development and maintenance of a good and solid framework of corporate governance. Management of the Company sternly believes that sensible corporate governance practice contributes to a vibrant and consistent growth of the Company. The survey results acknowledge the Company’s efforts and we shall continue our dedication for the pursuance of excellence in corporate governance performance.

For the firs six months of 2006 ended June 30, the company reported that its beverage business continued its rapid growth and earnings contribution rose by 26% to HK$75 million. Beer sales volume increased by 31%, of which 28% was organic, to 244,000 hl and market share grew to 15% from 13% in the prior period. The national brand, SNOW reported an 85% sales volume growth, the highest increase since its national branding program was launched, and for the first time, it accounted for more than half of our beer sales. In H1 2006, six new breweries were added including Qinhuangdao (9,000 hl), Quanzhou (11,800 hl), Tianmen (8,000 hl), Changzhou (20,000 hl), Xiling (10,000 hl) and Dongguan (15,000 hl).

About China Resources Enterprise, Limited
China Resources Enterprise, Limited is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and is also traded on SEAQ International of the London Stock Exchange. It is also one of the constituent stocks of the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong and Hang Seng London Reference Index. The Group focuses on the consumer businesses in both the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong, with core activities being retail, beverage, food processing and distribution, textile and property investment.


11 October, 2006