Laws of the People's Republic of China

Announcement of the First Public Invitation for Bid for Export Quota of Liquorice and Products Thereof in 2007

The first public invitation for bid for export quota of liquorice and products thereof in 2007 will start on December 15, 2006, and in accordance with related provisions speculated in the Measures of the Invitation for Bid for Export Commodity Quotas (hereinafter referred to as the Measures) and the Implementation Rules of Invitation for Bid for Export Industrial Goods Quotas (hereinafter referred to as the Implementation Rules), related matters are hereby publicized as follows:

1.

Names and custom codes of the commodities under the invitation for bids

(1)

Glycyrrhiza inflata bat in Xinjiang(12111010)

(2)

Other varieties of liquorice(12111090)

(3)

Saps and extracts of liquorice(13021200)

(4)

Acid powder, super of liquorice and derivatives thereof(29389000.10¡¢29389000.20¡¢29389000.30)

2.

Amount and times of the bid

(1)

The total biding amount of Glycyrrhiza inflata bat in Xinjiang is 1,000 tons for the whole year, and shall be bided for two times, 500 tons of which will be bided for the first time in December 2006.

(2)

The total biding amount of other varieties of liquorice is 2,800 tons for the whole year, and shall be bided for two times, 1.500 tons of which will be bided for the first time in December 2006.

(3)

The total biding amount of liquorice saps and extracts is 2,400 tons for the whole year, and shall be bided for two times, 1.400 tons of which will be bided for the first time in December 2006.

(4)

The total biding amount of liquorice acid powder and super and derivatives thereof is 900 tons for the whole year, and shall be bided for two times, 500ons of which will be bided for the first time in December 2006.

3.

Time of bids

Biding time: December 12 to 15, 2006

Terminal time of biding : 16¡Ã00, December 18, 2006

Open time of biding: 10¡Ã00, December 18, 2006

4.

Installment of electronic software for biding

(1)

Applying for an electronic key to the Chinese International Electronic Commerce Center (the contact telephone of each representative office is publicized on the website of the Chinese International Electronic Commerce).

(2)

Entering into the Information Service System for the Electronic Biding Enterprises in the website of the Chinese International Electronic Commerce(www.ec.com.cn), logging in each of information of the enterprise, and obtaining the procedure license number of the electronic biding software distributed by the Chinese International Electronic Commerce Center.

(3)

Downloading the electronic biding software V3.1 from the website of the Chinese International Electronic Commerce, completing the installment and keying in the obtained license number to active each function of the procedure.

5.

Biding Mode

(1)

Electronic biding will be employed for this bid through the website of the Chinese International Electronic Commerce. The Biding Office will refuse any biding in written. Enterprises can bid by such two means:

a.

Member enterprises of the website of the Chinese International Electronic Commerce may bid by dialing via special web.

b.

Enterprises that are not members of the website of the Chinese International Electronic Commerce may entering into Internet first, then log in the special web to bid on the strength of the free temporary biding username and password (see the attached column) publicized by the website of the Chinese International Electronic Commerce for common use (only within the scope of the users of Win2000/XP Operating System) and the server address for connecting VPN is vpnfree.ec.com.cn.

usersname¡¡¡¡password

zhaobiao¡¡¡¡ zhaobiao

zhaobiao1¡¡¡¡zhaobiao1¡¡

(2)

The enterprise can submit only one piece of electronic tender document before the terminal time of the biding, and where two or more papers are submitted, the tender document of the enterprise is considered as invalid.

(3)

10 minutes later as of the completion of biding operation, the enterprise may inquire whether the tender document is successfully accepted or not by the mainframe through entering into the Information Service System of the Electronic Biding Enterprises in the website of the Chinese International Electronic Commerce. As for the tender document submitted only 30 minutes before the terminal time of biding, the system shall not guarantee that it can feed back the information of whether the mainframe has accepted the paper successfully or not.

For the Chinese International Electronic Commerce Center, the telephone for consumers: 010-67870108(first dialing 1 then 3 after contact); the fax: 010-67800343; e ¨Cmail: callcenter@ec.com.cn.

6.

Biding amount

The highest biding amount shall be classified in accordance with the average export amount from 2004 to August 2006, namely:

(1)

Glycyrrhiza inflata bat in Xinjiang

the average export amount from 2004 to August, 2006 the highest biding amount¡¡

qualified enterprises of biding for glycyrrhiza inflata bat 150tones

in Xinjiang

(2)

Other varieties of liquorice

the average export amount from 2004 to August, 2006 the highest biding amount

more than 500tones (including 500tons) 280tones

150-500tones (including 150tones) 140tones

80-150tones (including 80tones) 70tones

less than 80tones (including new emerging enterprises) 20tones

(3)

Saps and extracts of liquorice

the average export amount from 2004 to August, 2006 the highest biding amount

more than 200tones (including 200tones) 160tones

100-200tones(100tones) 100tones

less than 100tones(including new emerging enterprises) 50tones

(4)

Acid powder, super of liquorice and derivatives thereof

the average export amount from 2004 to August, 2006 the highest biding amount

more than 80tones(including 80tones) 70tones

20-80tones(including 20tones) 40tones

less than 20tones(including new emerging enterprises) 10tones

7.

Biding price

The lowest biding price has been determined, and the enterprise may directly accept the lowest price determined by the Biding Committee in its tender document. The tender document, of which the biding price is lower than the lowest determined by the Biding Committee, shall be abolished.

8.

P rice and amount of winning bid

The biding prices of all the biding enterprises shall be arranged sequentially from high to low, and the biding amount will be accumulated in light of the sequence. Where the accumulating biding amount is equal to the bid-inviting amount, enterprises reckoned in the accumulating biding amount (namely the total amount of the invitation for bids) shall be the bid-wining ones, and the biding amount be the bid-winning amount. Where the total biding amount of the enterprises with the lowest bid-winning price exceeds the remained quota, these enterprises shall obtain in accordance with their biding amount proportions. Where the bid-winning amount is below the lowest biding amount, it is handled as failing to win bids.

The biding price is the bid-winning price.

9.

Inquiry of the result of winning bid

This bid shall be opened at 10:00of December 19, 2006, and the preliminary result of winning bid will be promulgated on www.ec.com.cn on December 20. In case any enterprise with any objection, it may submit to the Bidding Office before 15£º00 of December 24. Any bidding enterprise may inquire about its status of winning bid examined and officially publicized by the Biding Committee via www.ec.com.cn as of December 25. The Bidding office will not issue a written Notice for Winning Bid to enterprises.

10.

Deposit for Winning Bid

The deposit for winning bid (winning price ¡Áwining amount ¡Á10%) for this biding is 10 percent of the winning amount and shall be remitted to the designated account before the February 28, 2007 by the wining enterprise.

Bank for opening the account: Beijing Wanda Square Branch of China CITIC Bank;

Account number: 7112410182600001628

The Biding Committee shall, in accordance with related provisions in the Measures and the Implementation Rules, punish enterprises that fail to remit the deposit for winning bid and waste quota.

11.

As for the qualified enterprise of biding for liquorice and products thereof by such trade means as processing with supplied materials, the quota amount may not be restricted by the total bid-inviting quota for the whole year, and half of the average bid-wining price will be charged. The specific applying procedures shall be conducted according to related provisions.

12.

Bidding Office of Export Quotas of Liquorice and Products thereof

Address: 8/F, Building 12, Panjiayuan Nanli, Chaoyang District, Bejing; post code: 100021

Telephone : 010-67734756,67734746

Fax : 010-67702068,67734768

The Committee of the Invitation for Bid for Export Commodity Quotas

December 11, 2006