CATIC-Pacus proceeds with purchase of Noble China shares.

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 1, 1996--STATUS REPORT CATIC-Pacus Investment Corp. ("Pacus"), a subsidiary of China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corp. ("CATIC"), announced Friday that it has yet to reach an agreement with the management of Noble China Inc. to transfer Mr. Lei Kat Cheong's shares to Pacus.

However, Pacus believes it has a legitimate business reason to enter into the purchase agreement with Mr. Lei and it has determined to proceed with the transaction with Mr. Lei.

In the last week, Pacus has dispatched its Chinese legal counsel, Mr. Jin Qingjun, to Toronto in order to ascertain the claim against Mr. Lei and to negotiate with Mr. John Pennal of Noble China for a reasonable solution for the transfer of Mr. Lei's shares to Pacus under the purchase agreement.

Pacus has proposed to put Cdn $10 million into an escrow account to be paid to the winning party after the arbitration between Noble China and Mr. Lei. The $10 million amount was derived from a binding settlement agreement entered into between Mr. Lei and Noble China in January of 1996.

Pacus further proposed that it will withhold an additional $10 million purchase money for Mr. Lei if the arbitration award against Mr. Lei exceeds the $10 million in the escrow account.

If Mr. Lei wins the arbitration, all the money will be paid to Mr. Lei immediately. In exchange, Pacus would like to become involved in the management of Noble China as soon as possible so that its strategic business plan can be implemented immediately for the benefits of all shareholders including Pacus.

There has been a lot of inquiries regarding Pacus and its parent, CATIC. For the benefit of all shareholders of Noble China, Pacus is authorized to state the following:

(1) CATIC is one of the largest Chinese corporations in China. CATIC is also one of the top trading firms in China. Aside from its aviation manufacturing assets, which are over US$30 billion. Its diversified assets, developed in the recent years, are worth more than US$1.5 billion.

CATIC is engaged in real estate, hotel, food stuff, high-technology development, and beverage business. CATIC is also the controlling shareholder of two pubic companies in China.

(2) CATIC has a strategic plan for entering into China's beer and other alcohol products markets. Because of Noble China's interests in three joint venture breweries in China, it provides CATIC an opportunity to utilize its vast resources in China, including its trading arms and sales network to better market the products of Noble China and to expand Noble's market share.

CATIC, through Pacus, currently owns 847,400 shares of Noble China acquired from open market which is approximately 5% of the total outstanding shares of Noble China. Acquiring Mr. Lei's shares is the most direct and cost effective way for CATIC to achieve its purposes.

CATIC will do everything in its power to promote the interest of the three joint venture breweries' in China once it assumes the controlling shareholders' position in Noble China.

(3) CATIC does not intend to get involved in the disputes between Mr. Lei and the management. However, Pacus has ordered its legal counsel to continue its investigation regarding the claims against Mr. Lei based on the documents made available to Pacus.

Pacus is also in the process of obtaining legal opinion from its legal counsel, including requesting all relevant Chinese authorities to support its investigation. Pacus will make these legal opinions available to all interested shareholders once these opinions are obtained.

CONTACT: Shu Jin (USA) & Co., PRC Law Firm

Mr. Jin, Qingjun, Esq., 202/637-2261