Rocan Leung at Arena
e-mail: rocan.leung@arena.com

(852) 2951 6612

4 May 2000

[Hong Kong, 4 May, 2000] (http://www.arena.com) Arena, a key e-commerce service provider from Portsnportals.com, today announced that it has finalized the distribution agreement with Visma Marine ASA, the world's leading supplier of shipping maintenance and purchasing software, to jointly market Arena's global electronic procurement and supply chain applications to over 80,000 vessels worldwide.

Portsnportals.com is the e-commerce group of Hutchison Port Holdings and delivers a range of e-commerce services covering all aspects of the transportation business. Through Arena, Portsnportals.com delivers an Internet based electronic infrastructure for the global business-to-business vessels procurement and supply chain management.

Under the agreement, Arena's applications are to be integrated with SpecTec's industry-standard AMOS shipping maintenance and purchasing system and to be distributed through SpecTec's global sales network. This agreement will further enhance the companies' joint vision to streamline the procurement costs for ships.

"This is an exciting moment for SpecTec and Arena", said Mr. Thomas Falck, Managing Director of Visma Marine ASA. "The integrated product will tremendously trim down the handling cost of vessel procurement. The cost of processing a procurement transaction is around US$ 150-200 today. With the implementation of our integrated services, we believe this cost will be dramatically reduced by at least 50%."

Dave Lee, General Manager of Arena said, " The distribution agreement with SpecTec aims to expand Arena's state-of-the art service to a much wider user base. SpecTec is the ideal partner because of its strong network, brand and market leadership in the global shipping software industry. This strategic alliance goes beyond just benefiting the global ship management industry but also testifying the long-term viability of the Arena offerings."

The potential for vessel electronic procurement is tremendous. It is believed that the global annual market for vessel procurement is around US$ 20-40 billion. This strategic alliance between Arena and SpecTec is a big step forward for both companies in securing the leading position in this significant marketplace.

Notes to Editor:

Arena was established in 1994 and is the vehicle through which portsnportals.com, the e-commerce group of Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH), delivers a paperless, borderless Internet-enabled electronic infrastructure for the global business-to-business vessel procurement and supply chain management. As the global leader in supply procurement for sea vessels, Arena currently has over 4,000 members in 33 countries and is helping shipping lines and ship management companies to radically improve their trade and delivery process to vessels. More information about Arena can be found at http://www.arena.com

SpecTec is a Norwegian company listed on the Oslo Exchange and the subsidiary company of Visma Marine ASA (the world's leading supplier of marine software). Over 500 installations of the famous AMOS software systems have already resulted in greatly improved purchasing effectiveness for ship owners and operators. More information about Visma Marine ASA can be found at http://www.visma.no