FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                   BOC announces major investments in China                    

             Over USD 100 million to be invested in three schemes              

Windlesham, UK, 8 October 2003 -- BOC, and its joint venture partners, are to
invest over USD100 million in developing three schemes in China, at Taiyuan,
Suzhou and in the Pearl River region.

Tony Isaac, BOC's chief executive commented " We are confident that our
strategy of focused investments in China, including joint ventures, will
further cement BOC's current position as the number one industrial gases
company in Asia".

Developing a partnership with China's largest stainless steel manufacturer

BOC-TISCO, the joint venture between BOC Gases and Taiyuan Iron and Steel
Corporation (TISCO), will build two new air separation units (ASUs) to supply
1400 tonnes a day of oxygen to TISCO's plant in Shanxi province in
north-central China. The new ASUs represent an investment of USD82 million
(GBP49 million) and they will come on stream at the end of 2005. This
investment is in response to strong demand for stainless steel in China and
will support TISCO's vigorous expansion plans.

The agreement was announced in Shanghai where the board of The BOC Group is
currently meeting. The formal letter of intent between BOC and TISCO will be
signed in Beijing on Thursday.

TISCO is the largest stainless steel producer in China and has been selected by
the central government as one of two stainless steel development centres.
TISCO's current production of nearly 600,00 tons a year of crude stainless
steel will rise to 900,000 tons by 2005, which will make it one of the five
largest stainless steel producers in the world.

BOC-TISCO was formed in 1996 with an initial capital investment of USD30
million (GBP18 million). The joint venture entered into a 15-year agreement to
supply industrial gases to TISCO. BOC has been investing in China since the
mid-1980s and is continuing the strategy that has established it as the leading
industrial gases company in the country.

Building two additional plants in the Pearl River region

Through Hong Kong Oxygen, its joint venture company in southern China, BOC has
reached an agreement with Guangzhou Iron & Steel (GIS) for their joint venture
company Pearl River Gases (PRG) to build a further two ASUs, adding around 400
tonnes of production to its current operations. Costing a total of USD19
million, this new investment will come on stream by the end of 2004, supporting
GIS's expansion of its steel manufacturing operations in southern China.

GIS is a major steel producer in China with an annual steel production capacity
of 3.5 million tons. PRG was formed in the early 1990s and has three joint
venture companies under its management. These three companies together supply
oxygen via pipeline to two steel sites, and bulk and compressed gases to the
merchant market within the Pearl River Delta.

Expanding the pipeline network in Suzhou

BOC's wholly owned subsidiaries in Suzhou have begun construction of new
on-site supply scheme pipelines to meet increasing demand for industrial gases
from key customers in Suzhou Industrial Park and Suzhou New District. Coming on
stream at the end of this year, the new USD10 million investments further
strengthen BOC's position in the Shanghai/Nanjing area.

-Ends-

Note to Editors: The BOC Group, which serves two million customers in more than
50 countries, is one of the largest and most global of the world's leading
gases companies. It employs more than 46,000 people worldwide and had annual
sales of over �4 billion in 2002. Further information about The BOC Group may
be obtained on the Internet at http://www.boc.com


Contact:       Christopher Marsay, Director, Investor Relations                
                                                                               
               Tel. 01276 477222 (International +44 1276 477222)               



END