(29 June 2016 – Hong Kong) New World Department Store China Limited (“NWDS” or the “Company”; Hong Kong stock code: 825), one of the largest owners and operators of department stores in Mainland China, is pleased to announce that the Company’s FY2015 Sustainability Report has garnered the Grand Award in the category of “Annual Reports – Specialized: Sustainability Report” in the 2016 Astrid Awards (the “Awards”), following its triumph in April to win the Gold Award in the same category. NWDS is the first Hong Kong-listed company to receive such an honor, which stands as a testimony to its forefront position as a role model to its peers in the field of sustainable development.

Themed with “Continuous Carbon Reduction”, NWDS’ FY2015 Sustainability Report highlights the Company’s outstanding performance in energy saving and carbon reduction in the year under review with its cover furnished in green and the light bulb-shaped die-cut in the centre of the report cover. The report embraces the Company’s sustainability spirit and is selective in regard to the material used and printing process of the report. As such, FSC(Forest Stewardship Council)-certified paper and soy ink are used to mitigate the possible impact on the environment.

Founded in 1991 by the US independent awards organization MerComm, Inc., the Astrid Awards aims to recognize outstanding design works. Its judging panel consists of renowned designers, art directors and graphic artists around the globe. Entries are assessed according to their design concept, creativity, effectiveness and overall quality, and are subject to three rounds of rigorous evaluations. The Grand Award is highly representative as only Gold Award winners are eligible to compete for the Grand Award in respective categories and each category will only award one grand prize. Over the years, the Astrid Awards has been widely recognized in industries over the world for its stringent judging criteria.

Ms. Violet Chan, Assistant General Manager of Corporate Communication and Chairman of Sustainability Steering Committee of NWDS, said, “Corporate and social sustainable development has become a hot topic for all conglomerates around the world. In recent years, the HKEx has actively encouraged Hong Kong-listed companies to keep in pace with international trends on the preparation of the report. NWDS has been the first mover of publishing sustainability report and published its first report in 2014. We are pleased that our senior management had given us their unwavering support since the very initial stage and that our colleagues from different departments and stores had demonstrated high synergies in the cross-departmental co-operation, resulting in the successful completion of our reports. Thereafter, we devoted continuous effort and sought betterment in our second sustainability report production by being attentive to every detail in respect to not only the design but also the content for stakeholders’ easy and comprehensive understanding of NWDS. The Grand Award is really a big encouragement and motivation for us to continue to deliver reports with appealing designs and high readability to stakeholders in the coming future.”

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