Nedlloyd Issues Joint Press Release Regarding ECT.

ROTTERDAM, The Netherlands--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 5, 1999--

Royal Nedlloyd, an international leader in logistics services, today announced that the shareholders of Europe Combined Terminals B.V. ("ECT") (Internatio-Muller N.V., Royal Nedlloyd N.V., Royal Pakhoed N.V. and NS Group N.V.) hereby announce that there is a justified expectation of an agreement regarding the sale of ECT. The purchase price is expected to be approximately NLG 680 million.

Hutchison International Port Holdings ("Hutchison") and Rotterdam Municipal Port Management ("RMPM") have informed the vendors that they have withdrawn the formal notification of their original planned acquisition, which was submitted to the European Commission's Merger Task Force in March this year. This has resulted in the cessation of the European Commission's Merger Task Force review.

A new agreement is now being put in place whereby Hutchison, through its subsidiary Hutchison Atlantic, will hold a 35% interest in ECT instead of 50%. RMPM will invest through an investment vehicle which will also hold a 35% interest. Financial institutions, which will include ABN AMRO Participaties B.V., will participate with a total of 28%. In a new development for ECT, the remaining 2% will be set aside for the benefit of employees.

The new shareholding provides a strong platform for the continued growth of ECT.

The Dutch SER merger authority, the Works Council of ECT and the relevant trade unions have been informed of the proposed transaction. It can be completed as soon as the procedure for obtaining the advice of the Works Council of ECT has been finalized. The transaction is not subject to any other external conditions.

Royal Nedlloyd Group is an international leader in logistics services. Nedlloyd's shares are listed on the Amsterdam and Frankfurt Stock Exchanges and are traded in ADR form in the US (symbol RNLGY in the NASD OTC Market; each ADR is equal to one-half of an ordinary share). Nedlloyd ordinary shares may be accessed on Bloomberg under the symbol NLYN NA, on Quotron under NEDLN.EU and the Reuter Equities 2000 System under NYLN.AS. Additional information is available on Nedlloyd's home page: http://www.nedlloyd.com.