The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong will introduce the Growth Enterprise Index (GEI) on March 20, 2000 to provide investors with a benchmark indicator to assess the movement of the Growth Enterprise Market (GEM).

The base value of GEI is 1000 index points and the base date of the index is March 17, 2000. GEI is market-value weighted, which means that the index is weighted according to each company's market capitalisation. All GEM stocks will be included in the index.

A spokesman for the Exchange said the introduction of GEI would allow investors to measure the overall performance of GEM in a more efficient manner and help investors to make their investment decisions accordingly.

"The movement of GEI will be driven initially by a few large companies. This reflects the market structure and may change with the listing of more companies on GEM," the spokesman said.

With effect from March 20, real time GEI data will be available on teletext page 8788 and disseminated to all existing information vendors. The GEI will also be posted on the GEM web site (http://www.hkgem.com) and disseminated by Electronic Mailing Stock Information Service. Data available on the web will be 60 minutes delayed.

More details about the GEI are attached for your information. The weighting of all GEI constituent stocks will be released on March 17, 2000.