Bangkok--23 Sep--Fitch Ratings Fitch Ratings will be hosting a teleconference today, 23 September 2008, at 4pm Hong Kong/Singapore to discuss the banking sector in Asia ex-Japan. This call follows two press releases published by Fitch yesterday - titled "Fitch: Good First Half for Asian Banks but Outlook Dims" and "Fitch: Signs of Strain Emerging in China's Banking Sector Despite Strong H108", which will form the basis for today's conference and are available on www.fitchratingsasia.com. During the call, Fitch analysts will comment on the first half results reported by banks in Asia ex-Japan and discuss the outlook for the rest of 2008 and into 2009. The call will include short presentations by senior analysts responsible for covering banks in China, Korea and India. Fitch analysts will also be available to respond to questions on banking sectors in other countries. Interested participants may also refer to the reports titled "Banks in Asia Excluding Japan: 2008 Half Year Review and Outlook" and "Chinese Banks: Signs of Strain Emerging, Despite Strong H108", available on www.fitchratings.com. Opening remarks will last approximately 20 minutes, after which there will be a Q&A session. To register for this event, please contact Valerie Tan at (65) 6796 7209/ [email protected]: Participants should dial the listed toll-free telephone access number at least 5 minutes before start time. When prompted by the Operator, the pass code is 'Fitch Ratings'. Participants will be placed in listen-only mode with music until the moderator or speaker starts the conference. Participants are advised to dial the toll free lines from an IDD-enabled fixed land line. Hong Kong 800 962 681 Singapore 800 6162 212 China North (CNC) 10800 6110 114 China South (CT) 10800 3610 134 India 000 800 100 6486 Indonesia 00180 3061 2084 Malaysia 1800 181 225 Philippines 1800 1612 0024 South Korea 00798 612 1030 Taiwan 00801 232 383 Thailand 001800 612 1073 UK 0808 234 8304 USA 1866 888 7010 Replay: An archived replay of the teleconference will be available from the 'Events Calendar' on the Fitch Ratings Asia website, www.fitchratingsasia.com, from 25 September 2008. Contacts: David Marshall, Hong Kong, +852 2263 9911; Peter Tebbutt, Hong Kong, +852 2263 9966; Charlene Chu, Beijing, +8610 8567 9898 ext 112; Ambreesh Srivastava, Singapore, +65 6796 7218. Media Relations: Lisa Lim, Singapore, Tel: +65 6796 7214; Shivani Sundralingam, Singapore, Tel: + 65 6796 7215.Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, 'www.fitchratings.com'. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site. 101 Finsbury Pavement, London, EC2A 1RS