JOINT STOCK EXCHANGE ANNOUNCEMENT AND NEWS RELEASE

Melbourne, 1000, Friday, 15 June 2001

BHP Limited and Billiton Plc announce that the European Commission has provided the necessary regulatory approvals for the merger of the two companies to proceed. The companies are confident that the remaining non-Australian regulatory approvals will be obtained shortly.

Information on the effective implementation date for the merger, as well as the record date and timing of the issue of bonus shares to BHP shareholders will be announced within a short period of time.

Following completion of the merger, BHP Billiton will issue further information to the investment market, relating to the timing and nature of financial reporting, as well as additional information on the organisational structure.


Contact

BHP
Australia (media)
Mandy Frostick
Manager Media Relations
BHP Limited
Phone: +61 3 9609 4157
Mobile: +61 419 546 245
Fax: +61 3 9602 4121
e-mail: frostick.mandy.mj@bhp.com

Australia (investor relations)
Robert Porter
Vice President Investor Relations
BHP Limited
Phone: +61 3 9609 3540
Mobile +61 419 587 456
Fax: +61 3 9609 3006
e-mail: porter.robert.r@bhp.com

United States (investor relations)
Francis McAllister
Vice President Investor Relations
BHP Limited
Phone: +1 713 961 8625
Mobile +713 480 3699
e-mail: mcallister.francis.fr@bhp.com


Billiton
London (media and investor relations)
Marc Gonsalves
General Manager
Billiton
Phone: +44 20 7747 3956
Mobile: +44 7768 264 950
Fax: +44 20 7747 3914
e-mail: mgonsalves@Billiton.com

Johannesburg (media and investor relations)
Michael Campbell
Manager Corporate Affairs
Billiton
Phone: +27 11 376 3360
Mobile: +27 82 458 2587
Fax: +27 11 376 3362
e-mail: mcampbell@Billiton.co.za