THE WORLD'S FIRST SEAGOING LUXURY RESORT IS TO BE BUILT IN GERMANY Kiel, Nassau, November 24 (UNS)AsiaNet -- ResidenSea Ltd. (Bahamas) has today signed a Letter of Intent with the German shipyard Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft AG in Kiel, agreeing on the main terms for construction and delivery of the luxury vessel 'The World of ResidenSea.' The agreement includes scope for options on two subsequent vessels. 'The World of ResidenSea' is the most luxurious ship ever built at a total building cost of almost US dollars 500 million. The parties plan to close the final building contract early next year, expecting delivery of the ship to take place in the second half of the year 2000. 'The World of ResidenSea' is the creation of the Norwegian Knut Kloster Jr., whose family pioneered the cruise industry back in the1960's. Knut Kloster Jr. has served as both chairman and chief executive of Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Cruise Line and Royal Viking Line, some of the world's most highly acclaimed cruise companies. Fredy M. Dellis, the Chief Executive Officer of ResidenSea Ltd, is a Belgian with an extensive career as a senior executive with European and American multinational companies like Resort Condomiuiums International, Burger King, EuropCar International and Hertz International. Mr. Dellis stated upon signing the Letter of Intent: "A large luxury ship with 250 spacious luxury homes and 182 guest suites, 7 restaurants, bars, cinema, theatre, casino, a variety of sports, relaxation and cultural facilities as well as a business service centre with professional secretaries and a licensed securities broker on board, is the next logical step in the evolution of both the luxury cruise as well as the resort industry. By bringing these concepts together we are creating a new lifestyle allowing people to travel the world without leaving home." The present shareholders of ResidenSea Ltd. are prominent members of the Norwegian shipping and investment community. Chairman of the Board of ResidenSea Ltd. is Lars A. Christensen, a Senior Partner of leading Norwegian law firm Wikborg & Rein (Oslo, London and Kobe), who has a long career with the Norwegian and international shipping industry, as well as with project development and financing. After some six months of sales and marketing activities, close to US dlrs 120 million has been achieved in sales and reservations. ResidenSea Ltd. expects all the apartments to be sold at the time of delivery of the ship. Total sales will exceed US dlrs 550 million, covering the building price of the ship and contributing to the operating costs of the company up until the date of delivery. Alfred Berg, a major Scandinavian investment bank and subsidiary of the Dutch ABN-AMRO Bank N.V., has been appointed as financial adviser. The Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft AG (HDW) in Kiel is a universal shipyard for sophisticated hi-tech ships being founded back in 1838. It is Germany's biggest shipyard and one of the most modern ones in Europe employing a staff of some 3,000 people. The parent company, Preussag AG, is an international commodities and technologies group, active in the fields of steel and non-ferrous metals production, energy and commodities, trading and transport plant engineering and shipbuilding, building engineering and components. HDW's annual turnover is in the region of DM 1.3billion (US dlrs 750 million). Dr. Jurgen Gollenbeck, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of HDW is very excited that HDW is joining this groundbreaking venture: "We look forward to meeting the challenge of building 'The World of ResidenSea', and are confident that we will deliver a vessel of the highest quality." UNS Contact: Waltraud Locherer, Head of Public Relations, Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft AG, tel Germany +49 431 700-2435, or Bryn Freberg, Vice President Communications, ResidenSea Ltd. (Oslo), tel Norway +47 22 500-800, or mobile: +47 90 663646