New Holland's China Joint Venture Receives Government Approval

HARBIN, China (PROTEXT) - New Holland N.V. (NYSE: NH) todayannounced that the Company's joint venture in China has receivedits business license from the Heilongjiang State Administrationfor Industry and Commerce of the People's Republic of China. Thelicense grants Harbin New Holland Beidahuang Tractor Ltd. fullpermission to begin operations and conduct business in thePeople's Republic of China. Speaking on the occasion of the joint venture's first Board ofDirectors meeting, New Holland CEO Umberto Quadrino said, "It isindeed an honor to have been awarded this opportunity toparticipate in such a substantial way in the mechanization ofChina's cash grain farm economy. We are especially fortunate thatour new joint venture is being launched now, on the eve of the50th Anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic ofChina. This first step toward establishing a full line presencefor New Holland in the People's Republic of China is the directresult of the efforts of a dedicated team of professionals fromthe two partners working together to make our dream a reality." "During the significant 50th Anniversary of the People'sRepublic of China, we welcome the glorious moment in which weachieve the successful cooperation on the high horsepower tractorproject between New Holland and the Hong Qi Machinery Factory,"Mr. Wang Jiaxu, Vice-Director of the General Bureau of StateFarms of Heilongjiang told the Board of Directors. "We would liketo express our heartfelt congratulations to this project, whichis the achievement of both parties efforts, and the essence ofour sincerity in commitment to the principle of equality andmutual benefit. Not only has this project had a good beginning,but the most important point is that another successfulcooperative effort between New Holland and us has beenestablished." At today's Board of Directors Meeting Jean-Marc Perrier waselected Chairman and Zhu Xi Guang was elected Vice Chairman.Under the terms of the joint venture agreement, the positions ofChairman and Vice Chairman will rotate between the partners everyfour years. New Holland owns approximately 70% of the jointventure with the Heilongjiang Beidahuang State Farm Group holdingthe remaining 30%. Harbin New Holland is located in Harbin, thecapitol city of Heilongjiang Province, one of China's mostproductive agricultural regions. The joint venture will produceNew Holland agricultural tractors in the 100-180 horsepower rangefor sale in the People's Republic of China and for export.Preparation of the factory is scheduled during the coming wintermonths, with production beginning in the spring of 2000. Theformation of the joint venture was announced in March, 1999. InApril, 1999, New Holland delivered 363 tractors to the provincefor use during the 1999 season. The tractors were built at NewHolland's Basildon, UK Plant. Financing was provided by theOverseas Economic Cooperation Funds of Japan. The Harbin Hong Qi Machinery Factory is a leading manufacturerof large scale irrigation equipment for the region. The plantalso produces rolled steel and a variety of products forindustry, power generation and agriculture. The General Bureau ofState Farms of Heilongjiang Beidahuang encompasses 103 StateFarms with over two million hectares of cultivated land,producing over five million tons of grain per year. Theorganization operates 194 industrial, commercial, transportation,construction and services enterprises and has a population of 1.6million. New Holland is a world leader in the design and manufacture ofa full line of agricultural and construction equipment, andoffers a rapidly expanding line of financial services in many ofits markets. The Company and its joint venture partners operatethrough a global network of more than 6,000 dealers anddistributors in 160 countries. ots Original Text Service: NewHolland N.V. Internet: http://www.newsaktuell.de Contact:Jeffrey Walsh, Media Relations, of New Holland N.V., +44-181-479-8809, or fax, +44-181-479-8626, or JWALSH@NEWHOLLAND.COM

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