Bank of East Asia : Announcement pursuant to Rule 13.51B(2) of the Listing Rules

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited and The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited take no responsibility for the contents of this announcement, make no representation as to its accuracy or completeness and expressly disclaim any liability whatsoever for any loss howsoever arising from or in reliance upon the whole or any part of the contents of this announcement.

The Bank of East Asia, Limited東亞銀行有限公司

(Incorporated in Hong Kong with limited liability in 1918)

(Stock Code: 23)

Announcement pursuant to Rule 13.51B(2) of the Listing Rules

This announcement is made by the Bank pursuant to Rule 13.51B(2) of the Listing Rules.

On 3rdOctober, 2018, the National Court in Madrid opened a criminal investigation in relation to certain transactions undertaken by CaixaBank, including: (i) the transfer by CaixaBank to Criteria of its stake of approximately 17.24 per cent. in the Bank and its stake of approximately 9.01 per cent. in Grupo Financiero Inbursa, S.A.B. de C.V.; (ii) the sale of 9.9 per cent. of the treasury stock of CaixaBank; (iii) the sale of 2 per cent. of the shares of Banco de Fomento Angola, S.A. ("BFA") by Banco BPI, S.A. ("BPI") to Unitel S.A., of which Ms. Isabel dos Santos is a shareholder; (iv) the grant of a creditline of €400 million toBFA; and (v) CaixaBank'stakeover bid for BPI to increase its existing stake by 39.04 per cent. to 84.5 per cent.(the "Investigation").

The Investigation has been brought against CaixaBank, Criteria, Dr. Isidro FainéCasas ("Dr. Fainé"), five other executives/directors of CaixaBank, and Dr. the Hon. Sir David Li Kwok-po ("Dr. Li"), and arose out of a petition by two individual shareholdersof CaixaBank who have unsuccessfully attempted to bring criminal actions against CaixaBank in the past.

The allegations include alleged market abuse, insider trading, misrepresentation of financial statements, mismanagement of the firms and unfair treatment of shareholders.

This information recently came to the attention of the Bank when it appeared in reports in the media.

Dr. Li and Dr. Fainé resigned as Directors of CaixaBank on 23rdOctober, 2014 and 30thJune, 2016, respectively. They have informed the Bank that they consider the allegations to be unfounded and without merit.

Shareholders of the Bank and potential investors are reminded to exercise caution when dealing in the securities of the Bank.

The Bank will make further announcement(s) in relation to the Investigation as and when appropriate in accordance with the Listing Rules.

Definitions

In this announcement, unless the context otherwise requires, the following expressions have the meanings set out below:

"Bank"

The Bank of East Asia, Limited, a company incorporated in Hong Kong with limited liability, the Shares of which are listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange

"CaixaBank"

CaixaBank, S.A. (formerly known as CaixaCorp, S.A.), a Spanish banking entityCriteria

"Criteria"

Criteria Caixa, S.A. Sociedad Unipersonal, a Spanish holding company

"Directors"

the Directors of the Bank

"Listing Rules"

The Rules Governing the Listing of Securities on the Stock Exchange

"Stock Exchange"

The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong LimitedBy Order of the BoardAlson LAW Chun-takCompany Secretary

Hong Kong, 16thOctober, 2018

As at the date of this announcement, the Board of Directors of the Bank comprises Dr. the Hon. Sir David LI Kwok-po#(Chairman & Chief Executive), Professor Arthur LI Kwok-cheung* (Deputy Chairman), Dr. Allan WONG Chi-yun** (Deputy Chairman), Mr. Aubrey LI Kwok-sing*, Mr. Winston LO Yau-lai*, Mr. Stephen Charles LI Kwok-sze*, Dr. Isidro FAINÉ CASAS*, Dr. Peter LEE Ka-kit*, Mr. Adrian David LI Man-kiu#(Deputy Chief Executive), Mr. Brian David LI Man-bun#(Deputy Chief Executive), Dr. Daryl NG Win-kong*, Mr. Masayuki OKU*, Dr. the Hon. Rita FAN HSU Lai-tai**, Mr. Meocre LI Kwok-wing**, Dr. the Hon. Henry TANG Ying-yen**, The Hon. CHAN Kin-por** and Dr. Delman LEE**.

#

Executive Director

* Non-executive Director ** Independent Non-executive Director