Hong Kong, August 29, 2000 iSteelAsia.com (HKSE:8080), the world's leading steel exchange vertical portal (vortal) and the well known international steel trader Stemcor Holdings Limited (Stemcor), today announced that they have entered into a "heads of terms" agreement for iSteelAsia's acquisition of an equity interest in Stemcor.

Headquartered in London, Stemcor has 50 years of history and a solid business track record that illustrates its impeccable reputation as a world-class player. Stemcor is principally engaged in international steel trading, and provision of specialised services in related businesses. As a leading independent trading house acting in partnership with both suppliers and customers, Stemcor offers invaluable logistical, financial and marketing services to support the trade financing and export activities of steel suppliers. It also functions as a trusted and reliable sourcing channel for steel buyers.

Stemcor operates six major trading centres and 35 offices around the world. In 1999, Stemcor traded a total of over 5 million tonnes generating over US$1.2 billion of turnover. Asian countries played a part in about 50% of Stemcor's turnover, while the majority of the balance involved the European and US markets. Stemcor's global network of offices enables it to service its customers needs efficiently. Stemcor is extremely complementary to iSteelAsia's global vision and Asian focus.

The proposed equity purchase will give iSteelAsia.com a strategic interest in Stemcor, while at the same time Stemcor commits to transact a significant portion of its steel trading volume through the iSteelAsia.com vortal. Concurrently, iSteelAsia.com will provide state-of-the-art e-commerce technology and expertise to help transform Stemcor's current offline transaction models. Stemcor, which for many years has been at the forefront of harnessing computer technology in its business, has made known its commitment to embracing the internet, and this alliance serves to underline this commitment.

The alliance should prove to be a win-win situation for both parties and serve as a basis for iSteelAsia.com to build on its full service capabilities to the steel industry. Through this alliance it is iSteelAsia.com's goal to support and continue to work with all industry players by providing a more robust neutral trading environment.

"The proposed alliance, a milestone investment for iSteelAsia is part of our aggressive global expansion plan and acquisition strategy to build a successful company upon a clear path to profitability" said Mr. Andrew Yao, Chairman of iSteelAsia.com. "This alliance integrates a very solid business from the so called old economy with the leader in the new economy, the first of its kind in the steel business."

Commenting on the proposed alliance, Mr. Ralph Oppenheimer, Chairman of Stemcor, said, "the Internet is going to change the world, and Stemcor and iSteelAsia will be in the forefront of this change."

About iSteelAsia.com Limited
Launched in December 1999, iSteelAsia.com (iSteelAsia) was Asia's first online exchange for trading in steel and steel products. It is the first of its kind to be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's GEM board in April 2000. Focused on the Asian steel community, iSteelAsia aims to offer an open and neutral marketplace for steel trading. Trading competitiveness and efficiency are optimised on iSteelAsia as players can access a full spectrum of buyers and sellers and timely market knowledge. iSteelAsia serves as a single point of contact offering financing, insurance, surveying, shipping and logistics services, providing members with a one-stop end-to-end steel trading.

To date, iSteelAsia has over 2,600 registered members who regularly use its online trading services and access into its online Reuters and Asia Information Resources News.

About Stemcor
Founded in 1951, Stemcor is principally engaged in international steel trading. Stemcor and its subsidiaries (the Stemcor Group) also operate as a global provider of specialist services to the steel and metal industries, in areas such as marketing, procurement, shipping, engineering and trade finance.

Stemcor's six main trading centres are located in London, Dusseldorf, Johannesburg, New York, Singapore and Sydney. The Stemcor Group also maintains offices world-wide, in Antwerp, Athens, Bangkok, Beijing, Bucharest, Cairo, Caracas, Dnepropetrovsk, Dubai, Genoa, Hamburg, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Karachi, Kiev, Krakow, Lagos, Lisbon, Los Angeles, Madrid, Mexico City, Moscow, Mumbai, Nairobi, Odessa, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, Sofia, Tehran and Tokyo.

Issued on behalf of iSteelAsia.com and Stemcor by A-World CitiLink Communications Ltd.