RISI expands presence in Asia

BEDFORD, Mass., June 28, 2006 - RISI, the leading information provider for the global forest products industry,today announced the opening of a new office in Shanghai, China. The office will serve the demand for market information about China's forest products industry and provide a platform for sales of RISI products into the rapidly growing Chinese market.

The grand opening of the office follows close on the heels of RISI's annual Asian Pulp and Paper Outlook Conference in late April, also in Shanghai. Organized in conjunction with the China Paper Association, it attracted nearly 200 industry executives, breaking all prior attendance records for the event.

Rod Young, RISI's CEO, commented, "Together with our Singapore office, the new location in Shanghai sends a strong message that we are committed to the region, and will enable us to more easily leverage opportunities with customers in this growing market. This is already reflected in the strong attendance we enjoyed at our recent Shanghai conference."

The new office is located in the Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone of Shanghai and led by Mr. Alex He. Prior to joining RISI in 2004 as China Economist, Mr. He worked for Philips (China) in Nanjing, China. He is a native Mandarin Chinese speaker with an MBA from Brandeis University (Waltham, Massachusetts, U.S.A.) and a BA from Soochow University (Suzhou, China).

"Alex has advanced RISI's presence in China considerably by developing strong relationships and contacts within the paper and wood products markets," said Mr. Young. "He also plays a key role in developing RISI's forecasts and analysis for Asia."

RISI currently produces a wide range of news and analysis covering Asian markets. These include PPI Asia News, which provides twice-monthly industry news and prices; the monthly Asian Pulp & Paper Monitor; quarterly forecasts for Asian graphic paper and paper packaging; along with mill intelligence in detailed cost benchmarking data and the Lockwood-Post Directories.

Keith Balter, Senior Vice President of Analytical and Editorial Services for RISI, commented, "Our new location in China will support aggressive growth plans to deliver the market intelligence our customers need to gain insight into the rapidly expanding China market. Our short-term plans include the completion of several new multi-client studies about China, collecting price information for the Chinese market and recruiting additional analytical staff.

About RISI

RISI is the leading information provider for the global forest products industry. The company works with clients in the pulp and paper, wood products, tissue and nonwovens industries to help them make better decisions. For more information, visit www.risiinfo.com.