New Floating Rate Negotiable Instrument of Deposit Launched

Hong Leong Bank (HLB) today launched the new Floating Rate Negotiable Instrument of Deposit (FRNID), Hong Leong Universal Leisure FRNID,a 2-year 100% capital protected investment product which aims at maximizing returns for investors thorough 2 key features. This FRNID gives a 15% headstart coupon to each investment sector and the final coupon payout is based on a Rainbow Payout structure whereby the best performing sector is given a 70%allocation and the worst performing sector is only allocated 10%.

The Hong Leong Universal Leisure FRNID taps into 3 sectors namely, Food & Beverage, Gaming and Tobacco. These 3 sectors have compelling and distinctiveinvestment characteristics - they are known to be defensive throughout economic cycles.

“We have done extensive research on each of the sectors in Bloomberg and found convincing evidence. The outlook for these 3 sectors is very encouraging,”said Ms Moey Tan, Chief Operating Officer, Personal Financial Services of Hong Leong Bank.

According to the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index subsidiaries, only 3 posted an increase in average price performance during the 11 market declinesassociated with recessions since World War II and they are Alcoholic Beverages, Household Products and Tobacco.

Many analysts foresee the food and beverage sector going into a major cycle with unprecedented consumption growth coming from Emerging Asia, Eastern Europeand the Middle East.

When the technology bubble burst in 2000, between May of that same year and October 2002, the S&P500 Index fell by 20% but the tobacco sector went upby 28%. Interestingly, since the credit crisis in July 2007, the S&P500 Index has fallen by 20% but the tobacco sector remains unchanged. The tobaccoindustry is viewed as a defensive sector during recessions and it is also expected to benefit from the growth of emerging markets.

The back testing on the gaming sector showed positive results as well. Measured within the same period of May 2000 to October 2002, the S&P500 Indexdeclined by 47% but the Gaming sector doubled its profits. With Singapore recently liberalizing its gaming sector, Macau is meeting its new competitorhead-on. Major Las Vegas operators will be opening casinos in Macau enabling the island to keep tapping into the huge gaming market of China and South EastAsia. Macau's gaming continues to be strong with 70% year on year revenue growth posted in June 2008 despite the slow down of the global economy. Over inSingapore, 2 mega casinos will be opening its doors within the next 2 years. It looks like Asia gaming is in a position to enjoy very strong growth.

With a minimum investment of RM100,000 and a high participation rate of up to 120%, investors can now potentially benefit from the expected strongperformance by big players in these sectors such as British American Tobacco, Altria Group Inc, Japan Tobacco Inc, Pernord-Ricard SA, LVMH Moet HennessyLouis Vuitton, Bunge Ltd, International Game Technology, MGM Mirage and Wynn Resort Ltd.

This FRNID is launched at an opportune time as most investors are looking for capital protected funds which can potentially give them higher returns thanthe Fixed Deposit interest rate during this current volatile market conditions.

Additionally, HLB is also offering free petrol vouchers and exclusive gifts like household electrical items and trolley bags, among others, to the first100 investors.

The Hong Leong Universal Leisure FRNID is available at all Hong Leong branches nationwide from8 August to 29 August 2008.

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Press Release - 15/08/2008