Bank of China Acquires Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise

Bank of China Limited ( BOC ) is pleased to announce that it has, through a wholly-owned subsidiary, acquired 100% of the issued share capital of Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise Pte. Ltd. ( SALE ) for US$965 million in cash.

Headquartered in Singapore, SALE is the largest aircraft leasing company based in Asia. Currently, SALE owns a fleet of 63 aircraft and manages 14 aircraft on behalf of third parties. In addition, SALE has firm orders for another 28 aircraft, and options and purchase rights to acquire 20 additional aircraft.

SALE's fleet is one of the youngest in the industry with an average age of 3.5 years. More than 70% of the fleet comprises the highly popular narrow-body Boeing Next-Generation B737 and Airbus A320 aircraft. SALE has a diversified customer base in 20 countries across 6 continents. As of 30 September 2006, SALE's total assets amounted to US$3.

1 billion, total debt amounted to US$2.28 billion and equity amounted to US$535 million.

The acquisition forms part of BOC s overall corporate strategy in expanding its scope of diverse financial services and increasing its diversification into non-interest income. SALE will provide a well-established platform for BOC to expand into aircraft leasing, and potentially lead to other cross-selling opportunities with airline companies. BOC will leverage on its global client resources and institutional network in China and overseas to support SALE's global business development, and particularly in the Chinese aviation sector, which is one of the fastest growing in the world.

BOC will appoint directors to the board of directors of SALE following the acquisition. SALE will continue to be run by its existing management team based in Singapore led by Chief Executive Officer Robert Martin.

About Bank of China

BOC is one of the leading commercial banks in China, providing a comprehensive range of commercial banking products and services in domestic and overseas markets. BOC's H shares became listed in Hong Kong in June 2006 (stock code: 3988) and its A shares became listed in Shanghai in July 2006 (601988 CH).

BOC has been admitted as a constituent of the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong since 4 December 2006. BOC's business comprises three principal segments: corporate banking, personal banking, and treasury products, and owns approximately 66% of the issued share capital of BOCHK which is the second largest commercial bank in Hong Kong by total assets as of 31 December 2005.