Immediate release July 1999

APT SATELLITE HOLDINGS GRANTED NEW SATELLITE
TELEVISION UPLINK & DOWNLINK LICENCE
BY HONG KONG GOVERNMENT

(Hong Kong) APT Satellite Holdings Limited (the "Group") (stock code: 1045 or ATS) welcome the grant of a satellite television uplink and downlink licence to the Group by the Chief Executive in Council of the Hong Kong SAR to provide satellite television uplink, downlink and broadcasting services, making use of the Group's third geostationary satellite, APSTAR-IIR, and its Satellite Control Centre at Tai Po.

The new licence enables the Group to provide such services, which will be launched later this year in an alliance with a business partner, Combo-Orientstar Satellite TV Ltd., a broadcasting agent that focuses on marketing and distribution of television programmes.

The downlink system of the Group's integrated digital television programmes transmission platform will receive and decode the TV programmes which will then be encrypted and digitally compressed before transmission via the uplink system to the APSTAR-IIR satellite, which will broadcast twelve satellite TV programmes channels in the first year through its Ku-band transponder to authorised end-users within the footprint regions.

The uplinked television programmes will be broadcast over the footprints of APSTAR-IIR including the PRC where authorised end-users are allowed to receive and decode the encrypted and compressed TV programme signals, using the designated receiving decoders. The Group has no plan to provide the television programmes in Hong Kong for the time being.

Commenting on the award of the new licence, Mr. He Ke-rang, Vice Chairman and President of the Group said, "We are all very thrilled with this latest development which is in line with the open policy in Hong Kong."

"Whilst our primary business focus remains the leasing of our transponder capacity," Mr. He added, "this new licence will greatly enhance our competitive position. Since a number of customers have been approaching us for this type of satellite uplink and downlink service, so I am confident that the demand for the Group's satellite capacity is set to increase."

"At present, the Ku-band transponder services in the PRC market, used for TV broadcasting, are still in the infant stage. It is still a raw market with an enormous market potential which, when developed, will make an important contribution to the continuing success of the Group and to the economic development of China and Hong Kong", Mr. He concluded.


For enquiries, please contact:


Brian LO
APT Satellite Holdings Limited
Tel: (852) 2526 2281
Fax: (852) 2522 0419
Email: aptir@apstar.com
Website: www.apstar.com


Dorothy Lee
Keith Statham Associates Limited
Tel: (852) 2810 8108
Fax: (852) 2868 4116
Email: dorothy@ksa.com.hk