Dutch global financial services company ING has signed a deal to become an

Official Sponsor of the AFC Asian Cup 2007, the continent's premier national

team competition.



The sponsorship extends ING's involvement with football in Asia and follow

s its sponsorship of the AFC Champions League, the continent's premier club te

am competition.



ING will be the exclusive Bank and Insurance sector sponsor and joins,

Emirates, Epson, JCB, Konica Minolta, Maxell, Samsung, Toshiba etc. and Yamaha

as Official Sponsors of the event.



Explaining ING's decision to extend its association with Asian football,

Alexander Rinnooy Kan, Member of the Executive Board and chairman of ING

Insurance Asia/Pacific, said:



"Through various arts and sports sponsorship, ING hopes not only to

increase its brand awareness but also to contribute to cultural development in

each of the markets where ING has a presence. I hope this sponsorship will

have a positive effect on the further development of football activities in th

e Asian region."



Ron van Oijen, CEO of ING Life Insurance Korea, expressed that

"Our success in the 2005 AFC Champions League sponsorship has paved the way fo

r our involvement in the AFC Asian Cup 2007. As a global financial institutio

n, ING is active in many Asian countries. ING is proud to be associated with

the Asian Cup 2007, which will attract viewers around the region of over a bil

lion.



Mohamed bin Hammam, President of the AFC, General, welcomed the

partnership, saying:



"The 2004 edition of the Asian Cup showed that interest in national team

football in Asia has reached new heights.



"Asia may be a vast and disparate continent but quality football helps

bring the football family closer together.



"The involvement of a respected and well known international institution

like ING is a real boost to our sport and is further proof that Asian football

is on the up."



Welcoming ING to the family of blue-chip companies involved in Asian

football, World Sport Group President Seamus O'Brien said:



"We are delighted to welcome ING into the family of Asian Cup sponsors.

ING's support of the Asian Cup will help us to build the competition in the

long-term while serving their broader sponsorship marketing objectives.



"We are confident that ING's long and historic sponsorship experience with

football globally will be an added benefit for our sport in Asia."



The Asian Cup 2007 will be held in the ASEAN region in July 2007. The 14t

h edition of the competition will, for the first time, be co-hosted, with

Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia the venues.



Twenty-four of Asia's top teams will begin qualification for the 16 spots

available at the tournament in early 2006. The draw for the Qualifying Round

will take place on January 4, 2006.



The partnership was officially announced at the Four Seasons Hotel in

Bangkok. Present were:



-- Alexander Rinnooy Kan, Chairman of ING Insurance Asia Pacific

-- Ron van Oijen, CEO of ING Life Korea

-- Jim Brown, CEO of ING Life Thailand

-- Ian Mathie, Sr. VP - Asean and South Asia of World Sport Group



About ING

ING Group is a global financial services company of Dutch origin with 160

years of experience, providing a wide array of banking, insurance and asset

management services in over 50 countries. Based on market capitalisation, ING

is one of the 20 largest financial institutions worldwide. In Asia-Pacific,

ING has offices in China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines,