KWEK LENG BENG APPOINTS AMERICAN HOTELIER COO OF MCIL

Millennium & Copthorne International Limited (MCIL) is pleased to announce the appointment of Bill Barnett as its Chief Operating Officer as of July 2001.

Before he joined MCIL, Mr Barnett was Vice President of Operations for Century International Hotels in Hong Kong.

As MCIL’s COO based in Singapore, Mr Barnett’s role will be to oversee the operations of all of the group’s hotels in Southeast Asia, along with Australia and New Zealand.

MCIL is a subsidiary of Millennium & Copthorne plc (M&C), which is the London-listed hotel arm of Hong Leong Group Singapore. MCIL oversees the East Asian sector of M&C’s global operations.

“I am pleased to welcome Bill on board. With his extensive experience in Asia-Pacific Region, I am confident that he will be able to add value to our growing network of hotels,” said Mr Kwek Leng Beng, Chairman of M&C plc. “We want to take the group to the next level and this appointment should help us to achieve it,” added Mr Kwek, who is also the Executive Chairman of Hong Leong Group.

Mr Barnett, 42, is a highly respected “veteran hotelier” with 16 years of experience in the region. He previously held positions in operations, development and asset management.

Commenting on his new role, Mr Barnett said, “It is an exciting time for us with the launch of the new M brand in the next few months. M&C is a growing and dynamic organization with tremendous potential and I am looking forward to growing the brand.”

Notes

Millennium & Copthorne International Limited (M&C) is part of the Singapore-based Hong Leong Group. Ranked as Asia’s largest hotel group, its hotel division, Millennium Hotels & Resorts, has a stable of 105 hotels in 14 countries. Sixteen of these hotels are managed by sister subsidiary company, City e-Solutions Limited (CES).

Millennium & Copthorne Hotels plc, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, ranks 23rd among the largest hotel owners and operators in the world and is Singapore’s largest international hotel group. The majority of its hotels operate under the ‘Millennium’ and ‘Copthorne’ brands. ‘Millennium’ is a 4-star deluxe chain with 25 hotels (including the 12 rebranded US Regal hotels). ‘Copthorne’ comprises 4-star business-style hotels. Together, these brands offer both business and leisure travellers a full range of corporate, conferencing, banqueting and leisure facilities in properties situated in major gateway cities throughout the UK, continental Europe, North America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

The Group also owns several chain-managed hotels including the Seoul Hilton, Grand Hyatt Taipei, The Regent in Kuala Lumpur, Nikko Hotel and JW Marriott in Hong Kong, Orchard Hotel Singapore, The Heritage Hotel Manila, and The Plaza and Millenium Hilton in New York.