American Stock Exchange Publishes New Halter USX China Index - First U.S. Index Dedicated To Tracking U.S. Listed Chinese Companies

The American Stock Exchange (Amex) announced today that it has begun publishing the Halter USX China Index (Ticker Symbol: HXC); a new index comprised of publicly traded U.S. companies that conduct the majority of their business within the People's Republic of China. The index is designed to provide insight and access to the unique economic opportunities taking place in China while still providing the transparency offered with U.S. listed securities.

Tim Halter, managing director of Halter USX China Index, said, "With China's tremendous economic growth, as well as its growing influence on the world economy, we believe the Halter USX China Index is the right product at the right time. We're excited to partner with the Amex on this product, which should offer a valuable tool for investing in China."

Scott Ebner, associate director of the Amex ETF Marketplace, said, "We are pleased to be working with Halter Financial in calculating the Halter USX China Index. The index is well-suited as a benchmark for exchange traded funds and we look forward to listing products based on this index."

PowerShares Capital Management filed a registration statement on July 19, 2004 that included an exchange traded index fund tracking the Halter USX China Index along with 25 other new exchange traded funds.

The Halter USX China Index is calculated using a modified market capitalization weighting methodology. Changes to the index composition and/or the component share weights typically take effect after the close of trading on the next to last business day of each calendar quarter. Companies included in the index have a market-cap greater than $50 million based on the average closing price for the prior 40 trading days and trade on the NYSE, Amex or NASDAQ, as identified by the Halter USX China Selection Committee. The index was created by the Halter Financial Group, Inc.