Article in Manila Bulletin-Issue of January 3, 2000

January 5, 2000 PSE CIRCULAR FOR BROKERS NO. 020-00 January 4, 2000 Mrs. Grace De Guia Asst. Manager, Disclosure Department PHILIPPINE STOCK EXCHANGE PSE Centre, Exchange Road Ortigas Center, Pasig City SUBJECT : Article in Manila Bulletin-Issue of January 3, 2000 Dear Mrs. De Guia: The captioned article refers to the discussions between Mr. Patrick Chen (former President of MBf, Inc.) and the Singaporean Company, Grand Columbia and a Hongkong based company First Euro Asia. They explored the possibility of investing in MBf, Inc. The discussions, which occurred during the 2nd and 3rd quarters of 1999 were purely exploratory and never reached the level of mutual understanding or agreement. Both companies broke off from the discussions with Mr. Patrick Chen late last year after failing to reach agreement with Unitrust Development Bank on a possible restructuring or settlement of its credit exposure to the MBf companies. Very truly yours, (SGD.) ELIZABETH R. ESGUERRA Corporate Information Officer