Office Opening

RNS Number:3874E
London Asia Capital PLC
12 June 2006


12 June 2006
                                        
                    LONDON ASIA CAPITAL PLC ("LONDON ASIA")
                                        
            New office opened in biofuel region - 32 offices in China


London Asia Capital plc ("London Asia"), the Asia focused merchant banking
group, has opened a new office in Nanning, Guangxi province in southern China,
taking the Company's total number of representative offices in China to 32.


The new office, near the border with Vietnam, is headed by Rose Luo, newly
appointed to the group. Nanning is in an agricultural area, which produces,
among other things, 60% of China's sugar cane. London Asia is working on a
number of investment opportunities in the biofuel sector, with the businesses
using the sugar cane from the region. Sugar cane is one of the best sources for
the production of ethanol, a replacement for oil, for which there is growing
demand both in China and elsewhere, given the high price of oil.


London Asia's geographical presence in China is one of the widest of any
investment banking group in the region. London Asia now has offices covering 20
of China's 34 provinces, providing access to expert knowledge in the region and
unrivalled access to deal flow.


This extensive "on the ground" presence allows a hands on approach to the
company's investments and corporate finance clients, enabling London Asia to
perform its own due diligence, and to continue to work with and monitor the
client once the investment has been made, a key issue in China where the
concepts of Western style corporate governance and protection of minority
shareholders are not as developed as that in the West, and there are significant
differences in the expectations of Chinese entrepreneurs and Western investors.
The Chinese government is placing heavy emphasis on improving corporate
governance and regulation in Chinese businesses to bring the level up to global
standards - London Asia is playing its part in this process with the seminars on
corporate governance we are running in China, in conjunction with the Shanghai
United Assets and Equity Exchange.


Simon Littlewood, Chief Executive of London Asia, commented: "China consists of
34 provinces, each with their own unique business culture, set of rules and
regulations, opportunity and risks, in many ways similar to the European Union's
25 nations, except that it has three times the population of the EU. In the same
way that someone based in Frankfurt doing business in southern Italy would be at
a significant disadvantage in understanding what was going on compared to a
local, those trying to service the companies in China from one office in China,
or worse from London, run a serious risk."


"If a Japanese broker were to fly into Budapest, meet a few companies then float
them on the Tokyo Stock Market, it wouldn't come as a surprise if there were
later problems and misunderstandings between the Hungarian entrepreneur and the
Japanese investors, who come from two very different cultural and business
backgrounds. Likewise with Chinese businesses coming to London - without an
advisor who is able to understand, and sit down and explain to both sides, what
the other expects, on an ongoing basis, it is highly likely problems will arise.
Having a local network is key to reducing the risks for investors of holding
investments in China, which is why London Asia has devoted significant resources
to building the leading network in China."


                                    - ends -


For further information please visit www.londonasia.com or contact:

John West/Matt Ridsdale             Simon Littlewood
Tavistock Communications            London Asia Capital plc
Tel: [phone]                  Tel: [phone]



London Asia's office network

For full details of London Asia's representatives and offices in China, visit
our web page www.londonasia.com



Notes to Editors:

Nanning, the capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is located in Southern
Guangxi in the sub-tropical region. With an area of 22,293 square kilometers, it
is situated in the middle of Nanning Basin through which Yongjiang River runs.


Nanning enjoys a favorable geographical location in Southwestern China,
connecting the Indo-China Peninsula to the west and Guangdong Province, Hong
Kong, Macao and Hainan Province to the east, making it not only an important
economic center along the Beibu Gulf, but also a rapid growing gateway city to
Southeast Asia in the southern and southwestern parts of China. The city is only
104, 173 and 204 kilometers respectively to the Ports of Qinzhou, Fangcheng and
Beihai, and only 204 and 230 kilometers respectively to the cities of Dongxing
and Pingxiang bordering Vietnam. Moreover, it is at both railways and Yongjiang
River. Four key railways meet here, namely, Hunan-Guangxi Railway,
Guizhou-Guangxi Railway, Litang-Zhanjiang Railway and Nanning-Kunming Railway,
making the city an important hub in Southwestern China.


As an important gateway to Southeast Asia for Southwestern China, Nanning is a
hub, a regional center and an opening city that plays an active role in the
communication between China and ASEAN countries. It is becoming a new and
booming economic zone and a hotspot for foreign investment in China. With its
rapid urban development, Nanning attaches great importance to improving the
natural environment and it enjoys the reputation of "the Green City of China"
because of its best green coverage in the country.


Economy
2004 GDP was 58.8 billion RMB, which is a 13% growth over the previous year. The
GDP per capita was Y16,121 (ca. US$1,950) in 2003, ranked no. 116 among 659
Chinese cities. Foreign exports in 2004 were 5 billion USD. Foreign fixed asset
investment was 26 billion RMB. Nanning has 6 development zones and industrial
parks, 3 of which accounted for 6 billion RMB of Nanning's GDP, more than 8% of
Nanning's total.


Key Industries
Food processing, papermaking, aluminium processing, machinery, chemical
engineering, biological engineering, pharmacy, electronics and information are
the pillar industries and focus of the development of Nanning.









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