PRC Government Grants High-Tech Status to AOBO Su...( NEW YORK Jan. 13 Asia-FirstCall/ ...)

NEW YORK, Jan. 13 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- American Oriental Bioengineering, Inc. (NYSE: AOB) ("AOBO" or "the Company"), a leading marketer, distributor and manufacturer of pharmaceutical and healthcare products in China, today announced that the PRC government, led by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation, jointly granted three of the company's subsidiaries, Heilongjiang Songhuajiang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. ("HSPL"), Changchun Xin'an Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. ("CCXA"), and Three Happiness Bioengineering Co., Ltd. ("Three Happiness") high-tech enterprise status. Prior to today's announcement, AOBO's other two subsidiaries: Guangxi BOKE Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. ("BOKE") and Guangxi Lingfeng Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. ("GLP") were already approved for the designation from the local provincial government, and the Company anticipates finalizing the certification from the central government in the near future. With today's announcement, five of AOBO's subsidiaries, throughout different provinces, have received recognition to benefit from a 15 percent tax rate through 2011, at the subsidiary level. Additionally, according to the China Banking Regulatory Commission Guiding Opinions Number 94, companies with high-tech status are eligible for benefits in addition to the 15 percent tax rate, potentially including preferential treatment in obtaining other support from the government such as obtaining financial support from the PRC's special Technological Development Fund, and to receive competitive commercial bank loans and subsidized interest.

Mr. Tony Liu, Chairman and CEO of AOBO, stated, "Receipt of high-tech enterprise status further demonstrates the fundamental strength of our business particularly related to our proprietary products and innovation a
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