21-Jul-2003

[Hong Kong – 21 July 2003] Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) is pleased to announce the acquisition of a fifty-one per cent (51%) stake in LC Terminal Portuaria de Contenedores S.A. de C.V., (LCT). LCT recently won the concession to operate and develop container handling facilities in the Port of Lazaro Cardenas, on the Pacific coast of Mexico.

LCT’s long-term concession, which was awarded in April of this year, allows for the immediate re-opening of an existing one-berth terminal, as well as providing development rights for an 85-hectare deepwater, green field site.

Situated in the State of Michoacan, Lazaro Cardenas is a highly developed deepwater industrial port. It is significantly closer to Mexico City than Manzanillo, the only other Mexican Pacific port serving this important market.

With existing on-dock rail facilities, the terminal is also well-positioned to benefit from the development by the State Government and National Port Authority of the NAFTA rail corridor, which will stretch from the Gulf of Mexico to the US Mid-West.

Commenting on the acquisition, Group Managing Director of HPH, John Meredith said, “HPH is very pleased to have forged this strategic partnership. With the transfer of HPH’s management expertise and advanced systems, we aim to turn LCT into a world-class facility.”

On the Gulf of Mexico, HPH currently operates Mexico’s leading container terminal, Internacional de Contenedores Asociados de Veracruz, at the Port Veracruz. On the Pacific coast, HPH operates Terminal Internacional de Manzanillo, Ensenada International Terminal and Ensenada Cruiseport Village. With the acquisition of LCT, HPH currently operates in 32 ports around the world.