(23 June 2014 – 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 the PRC, is pleased to announce that the Company title sponsors the “NWDS Sowers Action Challenging 12 Hours Charity Marathon 2014” for the first time which will be held at the Wilson Trail, Hong Kong by Sowers Action on 2 November. The Company plans to mobilize all employees in China and Hong Kong to support the cause so as to help poor high school students in China complete their studies for a brighter future. The Company and Sowers Action hosted the kick-off ceremony at The Urban Council Centenary Garden, Tsim Sha Tsui on 21 June and subsequently commenced registration for the marathon.

Committed to promoting education aid in rural China, Sower Actions has helped poor students complete their studies by the means of school construction, provision of teacher trainings and tuition subsidies in the past two decades. In view of the situation that some children from impoverished families dropped out of high school for not being able to afford the tuition fee which is not covered in the current education system in China, Sowers Action launched the “Challenging 12 Hours Charity Marathon” in 2000 to raise money for them. Entering the 16th year, the marathon has become one of the largest fund-raising activities in Hong Kong, and successfully recruited more than 25,000 participants and raised more than HK$30 million in the past 15 years. This year’s marathon will take place in Hong Kong on 2 November. Participants have to complete designated sections of the Wilson Trail within 12 hours to imitate the hardship, walking one to two hours to school every day, endured by students in China’s rural mountainous regions to experience their persistence in pursuing studies. The marathon comprises of three categories, including Run for Challenge (42km), Run for Sowers (26km) and Run for Education (10km), and welcomes participants to join as individual, teams, corporate team and family team. Fund Raising Award and Corporate Participation Award are in place to boost public participation and donation.

NWDS has been undertaking corporate social responsibility in a proactive manner. The Company is dedicated to giving back to the society amid the pursuit of profit, and paying extra attention to the physical and mental development of children in poverty. Thus, the Company launched “@Dream Sustainable Development Program” last July to offer a diversified learning platform to over 6,000 children in Mainland China under four themes, namely music, learning, sports and soul. The similarity between Sowers Action’s principle and NWDS’ sustainability commitment fuels this meaningful collaboration. Besides encouraging staff to join the marathon, NWDS also mobilizes around 45,000 employees in China and Hong Kong to make donations to the poor children in Mainland China. Furthermore, the Company also plans to leverage its online channel to help promote the marathon in Mainland China so as to widespread the message of education aid.

Ms. Rebecca Woo, Corporate Affairs Director and Chairman of Sustainability Steering Committee of NWDS, said, “As a department store deeply rooted in Mainland China, NWDS understands that many children cannot unleash their full potential due to the lack of resources. Hence, the Company proactively organizes community activities such as material recruitment, training classes and volunteer visits, to offer education aid and emotional support to the affected children. NWDS has always recognized Sowers Action’s education-related works and highly acclaimed its practical attitude. Through sponsoring the marathon, we hope to make our humble contribution to foster universal education in China. We believe that this collaboration is just the beginning, and we will continue to explore on how to better leverage our nationwide retail network and mutual resources for the cause jointly and the opportunity to expand the width and the depth of the cooperation in order to benefit more under-resourced children in Mainland China.”

- End -