BICCGENERAL ACQUIRES INTEREST IN JOINT VENTURE IN GERMANY AND ANNOUNCES FORMATION OF JOINT VENTURE IN CHINA HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky., Sept. 15 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ -- BICCGeneral (NYSE: BGC) announced today that it has completed the acquisition of BICC plc's ownership interest in a wire and cable manufacturing joint venture based in Berlin, Germany. This transaction is part of the final phase of BICCGeneral's acquisition of the worldwide energy cables business of BICC plc. The acquisition cost was approximately $21.9 million and included BICC plc's 50 percent interest in both Kaiser Kwo Kabel Energie Gmbh & Co. KG and Kaiser Kwo Kabel Telecom Gmbh & Co. KG, which are limited partnerships which manufacture and sell power cable and telecommunications cables principally to utilities in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Poland. BICCGeneral's partner in the German joint venture is NKF, a leading Dutch wire and cable manufacturing company that is now part of Draka. In a separate transaction, BICCGeneral announced that it has formed a new joint venture in Baoying, Jiangsu province in Mainland China with the Jiangsu Baosheng Group Co. Ltd. The Baosheng Group is a well-established manufacturer of low- and medium-voltage power and construction cable products and communications cable products in China with multiple sales offices throughout the country. The joint venture will manufacture and market medium- and high- voltage power cables to utilities and other customers both within China and outside the country in international markets. BICCGeneral will invest approximately $13 million in return for approximately two-thirds ownership of the joint venture, while the Baosheng Group will contribute existing wire and cable manufacturing assets in China to the enterprise in return for its interest. The partners expect to launch production of high-voltage power cables in January 2000 with the most modern and capable equipment in China. The joint venture will market within China principally to utilities utilizing the sales resources of the Baosheng Group. After receiving necessary governmental approvals, the China joint venture is expected to be operational in October 1999. More information is available on BICCGeneral's web site at www.biccgeneral.com. SOURCE BICCGeneral CONTACT: Christopher F. Virgulak, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer of BICCGeneral, 606-572-8877 Web site: http://www.biccgeneral.com