28 July 2003 HANG SENG BANK ANNOUNCES 2003/04 HANG SENG SCHOLARS Hang Seng Bank has awarded scholarships to four outstanding students in Hong Kong and mainland China to study abroad, taking the total number of students benefiting from the Hang Seng Bank Overseas Scholarship Scheme to 32 since its launch in 1996. The Bank has allocated about HK$32 million in the past seven years to overseas, Hong Kong and mainland China scholarship schemes. Over 550 students have benefited. At a reception held today, Mr Vincent Cheng, the Bank's Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive, presented this year's overseas scholarships under the Hong Kong programme to Mr Vincent Yu of Li Po Chun United World College; Miss Celine Leung of Tsuen Wan Government Secondary School and Mr Daniel Tang of La Salle College. The three Hang Seng Scholars will undertake undergraduate studies in economics at Princeton University, molecular biology at Princeton University and law at King’s College London respectively this September. The fourth scholarship recipient, Mr Yang Ming of Tsinghua University will pursue post-graduate studies in public administration in international development at Harvard University under the mainland China programme of the Overseas Scholarship Scheme. Mr Cheng said: "As a good corporate citizen, Hang Seng treats education as a top priority in its social responsibility programmes. We believe educational excellence is a critical component for building up the economic success of Hong Kong and the Mainland, and enhancing the quality of life in the community. We are pleased to play a role in nurturing young people for the betterment of the community.” Also attending the reception was Prof Joseph J Y Sung, Associate Dean (Clinical) of the Faculty of Medicine of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, who shared his thoughts on ‘Serving the Society’ with the Bank’s scholarship recipients. TIME magazine has hailed Prof Sung and his SARS team at the Prince of Wales Hospital as Asian heroes “who remind us what the human spirit can achieve even in the direst of situations”. more… Hang Seng Bank Announces 2003/04 Hang Seng Scholars / 2 The overseas scholarships are awarded to recipients who have excellent academic achievements, leadership abilities and a strong sense of commitment to their community. They should be ready to contribute significantly to their community upon completion of their studies. The Hong Kong recipients must return to the territory for employment for a minimum period of three years, and the Mainland recipients are required to return to the Mainland for employment for two years. The other Bank scholarships comprise the Hang Seng Bank Hong Kong Scholarships and Mainland Scholarships. A total of 321 Hong Kong students and 200 Mainland students have benefited from the two scholarship schemes since their launch in 1995 and 1999 respectively. The Bank also supports the Hang Seng School of Commerce, set up in 1980 with funding from the Bank, the S H Ho Foundation and several Bank Directors. More than 6,400 students have graduated from the School so far. Founded in 1933, Hang Seng Bank is a principal member of the HSBC Group and the second largest listed bank in Hong Kong in terms of market capitalisation. It operates 157 branches and automated banking centres in Hong Kong; and a network of six branches and representative offices (branches in Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Fuzhou and representative offices in Beijing and Xiamen) in mainland China. The Bank also has a representative office in Taipei. With consolidated assets of HK$474.6 billion at the end of 2002, the Bank reported a profit attributable to shareholders of HK$9.96 billion for 2002. For further information on Hang Seng, please visit the Bank’s website at www.hangseng.com. #END# .