18 Mar 2003

Relief of Stamp Duty

Swire Pacific Limited confirms that Arrowtown Assets Limited was successful in its appeal to the Court of Appeal for the relief of stamp duty in relation to the acquisition, in 1997, of a development site jointly with Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited. Swire Pacific will not be considering the write back of any provision until the completion of the judicial process, as the judgment may be subject to further appeal by the Collector of Stamp Revenue.

The site is in relation to the Ocean Shores development at Tseung Kwan O. A provision of HK$175 million for stamp duty on this project was made in the Swire Pacific 2001 accounts.