Bear Stearns Names Henry Tsang President of Bear Stearns Asia Limited; Albert Cheng Joins Bear Stearns as Head of Asian Equity Capital Markets.

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 28, 2000

Bear Stearns &Co. Inc. announced today that Henry Tsang has been named President of Bear Stearns Asia Limited. Mr. Tsang will lead the firm's businesses in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai and Singapore.

Mr. Tsang joined Bear Stearns as a senior managing director in 1996, when he was granted responsibility for Bear Stearns' investment banking activities in Asia, excluding Japan. He had spent the entirety of his previous professional career with Merrill Lynch, most recently as a director of investment banking responsible for direct investment in Merrill's Hong Kong office. He holds a BS in chemical engineering, magna cum laude, from the University of Houston and an MBA from Rice University.

Commenting on Mr. Tsang's appointment, James E. Cayne, president and chief executive officer of Bear Stearns, said, &uot;We are delighted that Hank has taken the lead of Bear Stearns Asia. In addition to the depth of his understanding in investment banking, he also has an excellent breadth of knowledge of the securities industry as a whole. He has been a tremendous asset to the firm's Asian effort and has been integral to the growth of our client base in the region.&uot;

Bear Stearns also announced that Albert Cheng has joined the firm as a managing director and head of Asian equity capital markets. Mr. Cheng joined the firm from Jardine Fleming, where he was a director of corporate finance with responsibility for Greater China. He holds a BS in accounting and finance from City University of London.

&uot;The important addition of Albert to our team will help us to expand our equity capital markets franchise and to build on the solid base developed in Greater China thus far,&uot; said Mr. Tsang.

Bear Stearns Asia has been a leader in Greater China equity underwritings, particularly in leading &uot;red chip&uot; and H-share offerings such as the recent $2 billion global follow-on offering for ChinaTelecom (Hong Kong) Limited and the $267 million Yanzhou Coal Mining initial public offering. Those transactions were named Deal of the Year for 1999 and 1998, respectively, by several publications.

Bear Stearns Asia, headquartered in Hong Kong, serves clients in the areas of investment banking, international equity and fixed income sales and trading, capital markets, derivatives and research.

Founded in 1923, Bear, Stearns &Co. Inc. is a leading worldwide investment banking and securities trading and brokerage firm, and the major subsidiary of The Bear Stearns Companies Inc. (NYSE: BSC). With approximately $21.4 billion in total capital, Bear Stearns serves governments, corporations, institutions and individuals worldwide. The company's business includes corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions, institutional equities and fixed income sales and trading, private client services, derivatives, foreign exchange and futures sales and trading, asset management and custody services. Through Bear, Stearns Securities Corp., it offers professional and correspondent clearing, including securities lending. Headquartered in New York City, the company has more than 10,000 employees located in domestic offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Puerto Rico and San Francisco; and an international presence in Beijing, Buenos Aires, Dublin, Hong Kong, London, Lugano, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo. For additional information about Bear Stearns, please visit our Web site at www.bearstearns.com.