2008 Jan 24
AEON Stores (Hong Kong)

AEON STORES ACQUIRES ENTIRE STAKE OF AEON SHENZHEN　CAPTURES TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITIES IN THRIVING PRC RETAIL MARKET

(HONG KONG, 24 January 2008) - AEON Stores (Hong Kong) Co., Limited ("AEON Stores" or the "Group") (Stock code: 984) announced yesterday that it had signed an agreement with Shenzhen Friendship Trading Center Limited (深圳友誼貿易中心有限公司; "Friendship") and Shenzhen Centralcon City Plaza Company Limited (深圳中洲城市廣場有限公司; "Centralcon") to acquire their 35% interest in the registered capital of Shenzhen AEON Friendship Co., Ltd. (深圳永旺友誼商業有限公司; "AEON Shenzhen") at an aggregate consideration of RMB94.5 million to be paid in cash by the Group using internal resources.

AEON Shenzhen operates five General Merchandise Stores ("GMS") in Shenzhen with the Group, Friendship and Centralcon traditionally owning 65%, 25.01% and 9.99% stake respectively. When the acquisition is completed, the Group will hold 100% stake in AEON Shenzhen and enjoy optimum flexibility in capturing opportunities in the booming retail market in Shenzhen and its vicinity areas.

Mr. Lam Man Tin, Managing Director of AEON Stores, said, "The retail market in the PRC has been growing stronger in the past few years, which is a development favourable to our business and what prompted this acquisition. We are optimistic about the prospects of the retail market and our operation in Shenzhen, one of the fast growing cities in the country.

"After the acquisition, we intend to integrate certain operational functions of AEON Shenzhen with those of the Group to save costs and improve cost effectiveness. We will be able to achieve greater economies of scale and enjoy stronger bargaining power with suppliers and the benefit of complementary marketing and promotional strategies. We look forward to the acquisition bringing strong synergies to the Group in the coming years," Mr. Lam concluded.

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About AEON Stores
AEON Stores was established in Hong Kong in 1985 and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1994. The Group is mainly engaged in the operation of general retail businesses (General Merchandise Stores and Independent Supermarkets). Currently, it operates 10 GMS, 2 independent supermarkets, 31 independent Living PLAZA by AEON, 31 independent Daiso Japan, 4 Mono Mono, 4 KOMEDA'S Coffee and 1 JELYCO DO By KOMEDA'S Coffee in densely populated districts in Hong Kong. It also operates 21 GMS and 17 independent supermarkets in Guangdong Province, the PRC.

For more information：
AEON Stores (Hong Kong) Co., Limited
Corporate Communication Department
Tel.：（852）2165 0777
Email：aeonpr@aeonstores.com.hk