M&C Hotels to enter the FTSE4Good Index

Financial magazine Worth ranks M&C 7th largest luxury hotel chain globally

Millennium & Copthorne Hotels plc. (M&C), the London-listed hotel arm of Hong Leong Group Singapore has been selected for inclusion into the respected (Financial Times Stock Exchange) FTSE4Good Index series, a move which recognizes the Group as a prized investment company.

M&C has qualified and met the three main selection criteria for inclusion - maintaining environmental sustainability, development of positive relationships with stakeholders and the upholding of universal human rights. Financial performance and market capitalization of M&C were also evaluated. “Millennium & Copthorne hotels has met all aspects of the selection criteria to become a constituent of one of the FTSE4Good indices,” said Mr Mark Makepeace, Chief Executive of FTSE index. The last three annual environmental reports have been positively assessed and M&C has displayed consistency in providing equal opportunities in areas such as flexible working arrangements, family benefits, health & safety systems, employees’ training and development systems.

“We are honored to be seen as a socially responsible company and the first Singapore- controlled company to be included in this FTSE4Good index,” said Mr Kwek Leng Beng, Executive Chairman of Hong Leong Group and Chairman of M&C. M&C has shown its commitment in implementing pro-environmental policies and management systems.

In hopes of setting a global standard in the fast growing area of socially responsible investments (SRI), UK’s leading stock market indices maker FTSE created its first ethical benchmark index - FTSE4Good index. This new index is managed by the London Stock Exchange and the Financial Times newspaper. FTSE4Good works with the Ethical Investment Research Service (EIRIS) in gathering data on eligible candidates. EIRIS is UK's leading independent provider of research in areas of social, ethical and environmental performance of companies.

In another development, Worth, an American investment magazine has ranked M&C as the 7th largest luxury hotel chain of the world’s Top 10 luxury hotels. Touted as the investor’s A-list, Worth’s third annual Readers Choice awards (as published in its August edition) places the Singapore-controlled M&C ahead of other well-known international hotel chains such as Le Meridien and Inter Continental. Worth’s readers are estimated to hold financial portfolios of a mean value of US$932,000. (S$1,677,600 - S$1.80 to US$1.00)