Standard & Poor's Equity Research Upgrades Hutchison Telecommunications to 4-STARS (Buy)

Singapore, August 17, 2006.

Standard & Poor's Equity Research, the leading provider of independent equity research, has upgraded its recommendation on Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd. (HTIL) to 4-STARS (Buy) from 3-STARS (Hold), and raised the 12-month target price to HK$16.00 from HK$13.00. This is due mainly to expectations for strong growth of HTIL's Indian subsidiary Hutch Essar.

Standard & Poor's Associate Director of Equity Research, Alexander Chia, said, "We like HTIL for being a key player in the Indian mobile telecommunications market, which promises high growth rates for years to come, considering its substantial population size and its low mobile penetration rate estimated at just 10% currently. The Indian mobile market grew 35% in the first six months of this year, reaching 109 million customers at end-June, and is expected to double in size in 2-3 years. Hutch Essar had 17.5 million subscribers at end-June, which translates to a 16% share of the market."

Going forward, Hutch Essar is expected to continue to provide the main thrust for HTIL's growth. Its Indian mobile subscribers are expected to rise by 102% and 39% to 23 million and 32 million in 2006 and 2007 respectively. Hutch Essar is forecast to contribute 48% of group revenues in 2006, rising to 58% in 2007.

HTIL's businesses in the mature markets are expected to remain steady with the increasing adoption of higher value added 3G services expected to provide a buffer against the erosion in average revenue per user (ARPU). Earnings could be materially impacted in the near term, however, depending on the timing and scale of the network launches in Indonesia and Vietnam.

"At our target price of HK$16.00, the prospective 2007 EV/EBITDA multiple is 8.4x, which, in our opinion, is an appropriate premium to the estimated regional average of about 5x, given HTIL's strong earnings growth prospects," said Chia.

Risks to Standard & Poor's Equity Research's recommendation and target price include slower-than-expected subscriber growth and higher-than-expected ARPU erosion in India, regulatory changes, and higher-than-expected start-up losses in Indonesia and Vietnam.

Concluded.

---