SHANGHAI, April 14, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Dow Jones Indexes, a leading global index provider, and China Business Network Co. Ltd. (CBN), a leading professional financial-media company, today signed an agreement to create a series of sector blue-chip indexes based on the Dow Jones CBN China 600 Index. The launch date for these indexes is scheduled for June 2005.
The Dow Jones CBN China 600 Sector Blue-Chip indexes were created to measure the performance of the largest Chinese companies in each of the 18 Supersectors defined by the Industry Classification Benchmark (ICB).
"The Dow Jones CBN China 600 Sector Blue-Chip Index will broaden and diversify our already existing index offering for China," said Lars Hamich, managing director of STOXX Ltd., the joint venture that is responsible for Dow Jones Indexes' business development in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. "The new Chinese sector Blue-Chip indexes will deepen the understanding of China as a financial market for national as well as global investors."
Mr. Hamich continued, "Dow Jones Indexes will license the Dow Jones CBN China 600 Sector Blue-Chip indexes to financial institutions as the basis for investment products which will offer investors the opportunity to participate in the performance of one of today's most dynamic markets."
"The series of Dow Jones-CBN China 600 Sector Blue-Chip indexes is another successful cooperative product between Dow Jones and China Business Network after the Dow Jones CBN China 600 Index," said Ruigang Li, chairman of CBN. "The launch of the index is a strategically significant step for CBN to enter into other industry arenas and develop derivative products."
He continued, "The cooperation marks CBN not only as a professional financial medium that provides real-time, accurate, and high-standard financial news and in-depth analysis to the global Chinese audiences, but also as a professional financial-information provider that offers the best information services."
The Dow Jones CBN China 600 Index, a co-branded index by Dow Jones Indexes and CBN, was launched in September 2004 and is based on the stock prices of the 600 largest companies listed at the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The Dow Jones CBN China 600 Index is part of the Dow Jones STOXX Global 1800/600 indexes series. The series comprises the Dow Jones STOXX 600 Index (Europe), the Dow Jones Americas 600 Index, the Dow Jones Asia/Pacific 600 Index and the Dow Jones STOXX Global 1800 Index, which is a composite of the three regional indexes.
Journalists may e-mail questions regarding this press release to PR-Indexes@dowjones.com or contact a member of the Dow Jones Indexes/STOXX public relations group:
New York: Sybille A. Reitz, +1-212-597-5735 Frankfurt: Simona Deckers, +49-69-97142894 Nicole Wesch, +49-69-97142893 CBN: Shanghai, Business Development Dept., Viola Ge, +86-21-62173437, gexiaogeng@stv.sh.cn
Note to Editors
About Dow Jones Indexes
Dow Jones Indexes is a premier global provider of investable indexes, including the Dow Jones Averages, the Dow Jones Global Titans 50, the Dow Jones Asian Titans 50, the Dow Jones Sector Titans, the Dow Jones Country Titans Indexes and is co-owner of the Pan-European Dow Jones STOXX Indexes. Dow Jones Indexes is part of Dow Jones & Company, which publishes the world's most vital business and financial news and information.
In addition to Dow Jones Indexes, Dow Jones & Company (NYSE:DJ) (dowjones.com) publishes The Wall Street Journal and its international and online editions, Barron's and the Far Eastern Economic Review, Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch and the Ottaway group of community newspapers. Dow Jones is co-owner with Reuters Group of Factiva, with Hearst of SmartMoney and with NBC Universal of the CNBC television operations in Asia and Europe. Dow Jones also provides news content to CNBC and radio stations in the U.S.
About CBN
China Business Network (CBN), a wholly owned subsidiary of Shanghai Media Group (SMG), was incorporated in August 2003. Having merged the business channel of Shanghai TV Station and the business frequency of Eastern Radio Shanghai, the company stands ready to garner the benefits of shared resources in human capital, information and brand equity.
CBN channel is a unique Chinese business channel targeting at professional investors. Its headquarters are situated in Shanghai, with strong coverage network and studios in Beijing, Shenzhen and major banks and economic futures companies in Shanghai. It also has correspondents in Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, New York and London, etc. Running for 12 hours a day, its programs transmit current affairs, and the latest financial news and analysis to its Chinese audience. Cooperating and interacting with over 30 financial radio stations in China, CBN is proud to be the most influential expert in the field. CBN Daily, a professional financial daily newspaper covering China, was recently launched.
While strengthening its core competency, CBN is also making foray into other related areas and will emerge as a multi-channel business information provider with cross-region and cross-industry operation.