SINGAMAS CONTAINER HOLDINGS LIMITED
(Incorporated in Hong Kong with limited liability)

1998 ANNUAL RESULTS ANNOUNCEMENT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER, 1998

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS Profit up by 137% to US$1,548,000 Strong balance sheet with cash on hand amounted to US$18,295,000 Gearing ratio was lowered by 36% Container manufacturing operations recorded steady performance Significant improvement in container depot and terminal operations in the 2nd half of the year Mid-stream operation managed to turn around from loss to profit

ANNUAL RESULTS

The Directors of Singamas Container Holdings Limited (the "Company") are pleased to announce the consolidated results of the Company and its subsidiary companies (together the "Group") for the year ended 31st December, 1998 together with the comparative figures for the year ended 31st December, 1997 as follows:

                                                        1998         1997
                                           Notes     US$'000      US$'000

Turnover                                     1       147,597      155,449
                                                   =========    =========
Profit from operations                                 2,394        2,263
Share of results of associated companies                 362          139
                                                   ---------    ---------
Profit before taxation                                 2,756        2,402
Taxation                                     2          (635)         (56)
                                                   ---------    ---------
Profit after taxation                                  2,121        2,346
Minority interests                                      (573)      (1,693)
                                                   ---------    ---------
Net profit for the year                                1,548          653
                                                   =========    =========
Earnings per share                           3     0.34 cent    0.14 cent
                                                   =========    =========

Notes:

1) Turnover

Turnover represents revenue from container manufacturing, container depot and terminal, and mid-stream operations.

2) Taxation

Hong Kong profits tax has been provided at the rate of 16% (1997:16.5%) on the estimated assessable profit for the year. Taxation on overseas profits has been calculated on the estimated assessable profit for the year at the rates of taxation prevailing in the countries in which the Group operates. The taxation charge is made up as follows:

                                                        1998         1997
                                                     US$'000      US$'000

Company and subsidiary companies
  Hong Kong profits tax                                    3           (3)
  Overseas taxation                                      639          278
  Deferred tax                                            (7)        (219)
                                                   ---------    ---------
                                                         635           56
                                                   =========    =========

3) Earnings per share

The calculation of earnings per share is based on earnings of US$1,548,000 (1997: US$653,000) and 456,001,760 ordinary shares in issue (1997: weighted average number of 456,001,374 ordinary shares) throughout the year. Diluted earnings per share is not presented as the exercise price of the Company's outstanding share options and warrants, if appropriate, is higher than the fair value per share.

BUSINESS REVIEW

Turnover for the year was US$147,597,000, representing a fall of 5 per cent from the previous year. Despite the decline in turnover , total consolidated net profit for the year reached US$1,548,000, which was 137 per cent higher than last year's US$653,000. The encouraging result was mainly attributable to:

• The prudent operating approach adopted by the management in keeping the Group's working capital and cash reserves at an optimal level to maintain a healthy financial position.

• The effective operating strategies including restructuring and streamlining of management and operations, enhancing production efficiency, adopting innovative and active marketing approach as well as implementing stringent cost controls.

Container Manufacturing Operations

Consolidated turnover of US$119,540,000 decreased by 3 per cent from 1997 resulting in a profit before taxation of US$1,346,000, representing a 59 per cent drop as compared to last year.

• The growth in demand for containers in the Asian region did not continue in the second half of the year as the imbalance of trade continued, empty containers were starting to build up at the ports of the U.S. and Europe. The high cost involved in repositioning these containers back to Asia has deterred container leasing companies to lease containers to shipping lines for these routes.

• Average selling price of dry freight containers has been declining for the past three years from US$1,900 per twenty-foot equivalent unit ("TEU") in 1996 to as low as US$1,450 in 1998, representing a drop of more than 24 per cent.

• The overall cost of raw materials for containers also decreased, enabling the Group to maintain its profit margins.

• Affected by the slow-down in container demand in the second half of the year, Shanghai Pacific International Container Co., Ltd. ("Shanghai Pacific") continued to operate on one production shift and produced 40,262 TEUs in 1998, a slight decrease of 6 per cent from 1997.

• Shanghai Pacific will restart its second shift in 1999 that was suspended in the second half of 1996 in order to achieve economies of scale and to increase its competitiveness. Production capacity will increase from an average of 3,500 TEUs a month in 1998 to approximately 6,500 TEUs in 1999.

• Since the Group took over management of Xiamen Pacific Container Manufacturing Co., Ltd. ("Xiamen Pacific") in January 1998, Xiamen Pacific managed to turn around and achieved a profit of US$1,092,000 in 1998, with its monthly production capacity growing from 1,000 TEUs to 2,500 TEUs at the present.

• Demand for collapsible flatrack continued to be strong and Singamas Container Industry Co., Ltd. produced 4,112 TEUs in the year, representing an increase of 41 per cent over 1997.

• Despite the social and political unrest in The Republic of Indonesia, P.T. Java Pacific Container Factory continued to operate on two production shifts and produced 16,082 TEUs in 1998 as compared to 14,366 TEUs last year.

• Shanghai Reeferco Container Co., Ltd. ("Shanghai Reeferco") produced 2,345 TEUs of environmentally friendly Chlorofluorocarbon free refrigerated containers during 1998, increased by 49 per cent from 1997. However, Shanghai Reeferco remained in losses as the Asian economic turmoil, which broke out in July 1997, has postponed the recovery of this operation.

Container Depot and Terminal Operations

During the year under review, container depot and terminal operations attained turnover of US$19,238,000, and registered a profit before taxation of US$836,000, as compared to 1997's US$964,000. Unfavorable results were mainly due to the Hong Kong depot operations.

• In the first half of the year, many empty containers in Hong Kong were repositioned to the PRC and other South East Asian countries to meet container demand in the region. This affected the performance of the Group's empty container storage business in Hong Kong.

• With management's successful corrective measures implemented in the second half of the year, the Hong Kong depots attained only a small loss before taxation of US$85,000 for the year as a whole, a significant improvement from the loss of US$467,000 recorded in the first half of the year.

• Performance of the Group's five container terminals located in Tianjin, Qingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo and Xiamen of PRC was stable. They collectively achieved total turnover of US$10,640,000, increased from last year's US$9,047,000, while profit before taxation was US$921,000.

Mid-stream Operation

Despite of the fact that turnover decreased more than 36 per cent from 1997 and reached only US$8,819,000, the restructuring that took place in November 1997 and the continual cost control measures proved to be effective. The mid-stream operation managed to turn around from a loss before taxation of US$1,873,000 in 1997 and achieved a profit of US$574,000 in 1998.

PROSPECTS

• Continue its prudent approach with respect to its business expansion plans, placing its utmost emphasis on maintaining a strong liquidity position and pursuing profit maximization.

• Actively identify positive investment opportunities, continue to examine each individual investment plan and closely monitor the business environment in order to be able to react spontaneously to any market changes.

• Continue to focus on its existing businesses and further minimize overall operating costs, and improve efficiency and standard of service to enhance its competitiveness and market position.

YEAR 2000 COMPLIANCE

The Year 2000 ("Y2K") issue is the result of computer programs being written by using two digits rather than four to define the applicable year. Thus, these computer systems that have date-sensitive software may recognise a date using "00" as the year 1900 rather than the year 2000. The Group is fully aware of the Y2K issue and a project on Y2K compliance has been started in mid-1997. A Steering Committee ("Committee") has been set up to assess the impact of Year 2000 on the Group's operations, and to formulate a Year 2000 compliance program (the "Program"). The Committee reports regularly to the Board of Directors and to the Group Audit Committee. The Program involves testing of all relevant systems to ensure that they are Y2K compliant. It also includes planned replacement by mid-1999 of a small number of the Group's systems, which are not Y2K compliant. The Group is aiming for the majority of its systems to be Y2K compliant by the end of 1998. The overall progress of the Program is on schedule. Total estimated costs of the Program are US$170,000, of which approximately 70% has been incurred and the remaining 30% has not yet contracted for. For full details of the Group's Y2K compliance, please refer to the Annual Report of the Company.

AUDIT COMMITTEE

To comply with the revised Code of Best Practice as set out in Appendix 14 of the Rules Governing the Listing of Securities on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited, the Company has established an Audit Committee in August 1998. This committee is comprised two independent non-executive directors, Messrs. Ong Ka Thai and Ping Kim, and one non-executive director, Mr. Kuan Kim Kin. In establishing the terms of reference for this committee, the Directors have referred to the "Guide for the Formation of an Audit Committee" issued by the Hong Kong Society of Accountants in December 1997. The Committee is answerable to the Board and the principal duties of the Committee include the review of the Company's financial reporting process and internal controls.

TRANSFERS FROM RESERVES

Pursuant to the legal requirements in the PRC and the appropriation agreed in the subsidiaries and an associated company, aggregate amounts of US$53,000 and US$41,000 have been transferred to general reserve and development reserve of the Group respectively during the year.

FINAL DIVIDEND

Due to available cash resources are required to finance the Group's working capital requirements, the Directors do not recommend the payment of a final dividend for the year ended 31st December, 1998.

PURCHASE, SALE OR REDEMPTION OF LISTED SECURITIES

During the year, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiary companies has purchased, sold or redeemed any of the Company's listed securities.

By Order of the Board
Chang Yun Chung
Chairman

Hong Kong, April 28, 1999

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