SWX Swiss Exchange - Admission Board Tightens Publication Rules

The Admission Board of the SWX Swiss Exchange passed the following resolutions at its meeting of 5 May:

The deadlines for the submission of financial reports by listed companies are to be amended as set out below:
- Submission and publication of annual reports: no more than four months after balance sheet date (previously six months)
- Submission and publication of interim reports: no more than three months after the key date for interim financial statements (previously four months)
The new rule will enter into force on 1 January 2005 and will apply for the first time to annual and interim reports for 2005. The Listing Rules will be amended accordingly.
Transactions by members of the boards of directors and executive boards of listed companies in shares in their own companies will have to be disclosed within a short period in future. The draft of this new regulation will pass through a broad-based consultation and approval process over the next few weeks and will be published on the SWX website.

In the light of a number of resignations in recent months, the Admission Board further acknowledges the following elections of substitute members:

Election by economiesuisse:

Bruno Allmendinger, CFO Sulzer AG, Winterthur, to succeed Gerold Bührer, who stepped down last year.

Election by the Board of Directors of SWX:

Rémy Best, Partner, Pictet & Cie Banquiers, Geneva, to succeed Thierry Lombard, Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch, who has stepped down after serving on the Admission Board for 20 years.
Rolf Watter, partner and Member of the Executive Board Bär & Karrer Rechtsanwälte, Zurich, to succeed Pierre Fischer of Banque Cantonale Vaudoise, who stepped down last year.

Following these changes to its membership, the Admission Board has reformed itself with the following elections:

As Vice-Chairman: Raymund Breu, CFO and Member of the Executive Board, Novartis AG, Basel (succeeded by Thierry Lombard).
As member of the Executive Committee of the Admission Board (successor to Thierry Lombard): Felix M. Stählin, CEO, Swiss National Insurance Company Ltd, Basel.

Daniel Keist, to date a partner in Ernst & Young, has been appointed the new head of the Admission Division and of the Admission Board. He will take up his new position at the beginning of August. He takes over from Dr. Heinrich Henckel who, as part of the reorganization of early 2003, will be devoting more time to his role as CEO of the SWX Swiss Exchange.

Admission Board of the SWX Swiss Exchange
(Status 5 May 2003)

Chairman

Peter E. Merian ^*
CEO
Bank Sarasin & Co Ltd., Basle

Vice Chairman

Raymund Breu ^*
CFO and Member of the Executive Committee
Novartis AG, Basle

Members

Bruno Allmendinger
Chief Financial Officer, Member of the Executive Committee
Sulzer Ltd., Winterthur

Raymond J. Bär
Vice President of the Group Executive Board
Julius Bär Holding Ltd., Zurich

Rémy Best
Partner
Pictet & Cie Banquiers, Geneva

Reto A. Cavelti
Managing Director and Senior Executive Officer for Switzerland
Citigroup Global Markets Ltd., Zurich

Hans Fischer
Member of the Executive Board
Zürcher Kantonalbank, Zurich

Reto Francioni
Chairman of the Board of Directors
SWX Swiss Exchange, Zurich

^* Member of the Executive Committee of the Admission Board

Tobias Guldimann
Managing Director
Credit Suisse Group, Zurich

Roland Lösser
Member of the Board of Directors
Clariant Ltd., Muttenz

Markus Dietrich Niederhauser
General Counsel
Bobst Group SA, Lausanne

Wolfgang H. Reichenberger ^*
Executive Vice President & CFO
Nestlé S.A., Vevey

Marcel Rohner ^*
Member of the Group Managing Board
UBS AG, Zurich
CEO UBS Wealth Management and Business Banking

Felix M. Stählin ^*
Chief Executive Officer
Swiss National Insurance Company, Basle

Rolf Watter
Attorney at law
Partner, Member of the Managing Board
Bär & Karrer, Zurich

^* Member of the Executive Committee of the Admission Board