HONG KONG, February 11 - Priceline has emerged as the leading e-travel brand in both Hong Kong and Singapore - less than eight months after its Asian debut.

An Advanced Tracking Programme study by global top-10 market research company Millward Brown found that 75% of Hong Kong people and 71% of Singapore people have heard of Priceline.

Priceline topped all categories investigated in Hong Kong:

In addition, Internet users polled in Hong Kong voted priceline.com.hk No.1 for delivering the best online travel deals, compared with No.2 for Wing On Travel's website, with less than 50% of Priceline's votes, and No.3 for Cathay Pacific's website. Priceline also ranked No.1 for providing savings of 20%-30% off typical market rates, and No.1 for its Name Your Own Price^TM system being the smart way to shop.

Last year Priceline was chosen by Yahoo! Internet Life magazine as Best Bargain Booker on the Web. Reviewers wrote: "Priceline consistently offered lower ticket prices than its rivals." Priceline also was named among the Best Overall Travel Sites. Reviewers commented: "The first choice for price-sensitive shoppers." Priceline previously was lauded by Internet Life for having the Best Travel Deals on the Web for 2002.

Hutchison-Priceline CEO Alfredo Gangotena said the Priceline brand was virtually unknown in Asia before its launch in Hong Kong in April 2002 and Singapore in late May.

"The Millward Brown brand awareness finding is great news and a tribute to the immense effort that the Hutchison-Priceline team has put in so far," he said. "It is particularly pleasing in light of the other travel websites polled."

Mr Gangotena continued: "We recently added Choose Your Own Brand options to our Asian websites, where travellers can select specific hotels and rental cars at discounted prices. We have an ambitious expansion programme this year and fully intend to earn our reputation as Hong Kong's leading e-travel provider."

Millward Brown Asia Pacific CEO Andreas Sperling congratulated Hutchison-Priceline on its brand-building efforts. "It's an excellent result given the strength of the other brands polled," he said. "In a short space of time, the brand has made a strong impact - especially given that it is dealing in a new category of online travel bookings."

Millward Brown polled 600 Internet and non-Internet users aged between 18 and 45 in Hong Kong and Singapore to complete the December survey. Three hundred people were polled in each market. The researchers asked respondents if they were aware of particular brands. Other brands surveyed in Hong Kong were China Travel One, Expedia and Asia Hotels.

According to Nielsen//NetRating figures from October 2002, 18% of Hong Kong Internet users aged 16 or above have made an online purchase. The number of at-home unique visitors to e-commerce sites grew 26%, year-on-year, in December 2002 to nearly 1 million. In the same period, total Internet users in Hong Kong grew by 16%.

eMarketer predicts that e-commerce sales in the Asia-Pacific region will rise from $US8.2 billion in 2001 to $US38 billion by 2004.

About Hutchison-Priceline

Hutchison-Priceline (Travel) Ltd was formed with investments from Hutchison Whampoa Ltd (65%) in Hong Kong and priceline.com Inc (35%) in the United States. Hutchison brings to the alliance its unparalleled brand, huge customer pool, vast management experience and deep knowledge of Asia. Priceline.com also boasts an extremely strong brand. It adds unique technology to the mix, plus outstanding e-commerce experience.

Hutchison-Priceline (Travel) Ltd operates a unique Name Your Own Price^TM Internet travel service for airline tickets and hotel rooms. It offers great savings for flexible travellers. For airline tickets customers choose their destination, dates of travel and desired price, then agree to fly on a major airline at the times when the airline has empty seats. For hotel rooms customers specify their dates, the star rating, the area of a city and, of course, the price. Priceline then picks an international-brand or boutique hotel. Hutchison-Priceline also operates a Choose Your Own Brand Internet service for discounted, fixed-price hotels and rental cars around the world.

Hutchison-Priceline (Travel) Ltd works with one of the travel industry's largest collections of travel suppliers. These include 34 Asian and international airlines and more than 9,000 hotel properties around the world.

For further information, please contact:
Grayling
Polly Steeds/Ivy Suen
Tel: +852-2590-1808
Fax: +852-2516-5411
E-Mail: pollys@graylinggroup.com.sg / graylinghk@fastmail.fm