February 1, 2006

Noble Group buys China soybean plant

Noble Group Limited, a global supply chain manager of agricultural, industrial and energy products, reached an agreement to purchase an integrated soybean crushing and refining plant in the port of Qinzhou, Guangxi Autonomous Region, China, from Siping Hongzui Grease Limited. The plant will supply soymeal and oil to customers in rapidly expanding markets in southern and central China.

"The acquisition of the Qinzhou Dayang facility will further integrate Noble's global agricultural supply chain, linking its strengths in origination, elevation and sea-borne transportation to the most dynamic and developing market for our products," said Richard Elman, chief executive officer of Noble Group. "We expect to supply a significant part of the soybeans for Qinzhou Dayang through our newly built port in Timbues, Argentina, creating an integrated supply chain from field to feed."

The Qinzhou Dayang facility started operations in June 2005 and is located in the growing port of Qinzhou, capable of receiving and discharging panamax-size vessels. Its purchase is expected to close in March 2006.

Noble Group Limited is a market leader in managing the global supply chain of agricultural, industrial and energy products. With revenues exceeding US$9 billion through Q3 2005, the group operates a network of over 70 offices in 42 countries serving more than 3,500 customers.

In 2005, Noble Group was assigned ratings from Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's Ratings Agency, and joined the benchmark Straits Times Index and MSCI Index in Singapore. During this period, the Group was also recognised by Hewitt Associates as one of Hong Kong's Best Employers, and by The Asset for its excellence in Corporate Governance while topping the annual Forbes 2000 list of best stock performers over the past five years.

In 2004, the group's board of directors was awarded the Listed Company (Main Board) Board Award from The Hong Kong Institute of Directors, and ranked first on the Billion-dollar club of the Singapore Stock Exchange for Total Shareholder Returns over a three- and five-year period.