Stora Enso Joint Venture in China HELSINKI, Finland, Oct. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Stora Enso (NYSE: SEO) today announced that Stora Enso is starting a joint venture with Shandong Huatai Paper of China. The parties will initially conduct a prefeasibility study concerning publication paper production in China, including a market analysis and an investigation of the possibility of transferring an existing paper machine to China. The prefeasibility study is expected to be completed in March 2005. Stora Enso will have a majority shareholding in the joint venture. Shandong Huatai Paper is a company listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange with sales of EUR 160 million in 2003. It is part of the Huatai Group, which is involved in paper manufacture, the chemicals industry, printing, energy, forestry, logistics and trading. The Huatai Group has over 8 000 employees, including about 3 700 at Huatai Paper. All of the company's paper and board manufacturing assets are located in Shandong province and its annual production capacity is 800 000 tonnes of paper and board. For further information, please contact: Tim Laatsch, Senior Vice President, Communications, Stora Enso North America, tel. 715 422 4023 Scott Deitz, Vice President, Investor Relations, Stora Enso North America, tel. 715 422 1521 http://www.storaenso.com/ Stora Enso is an integrated paper, packaging and forest products company producing publication and fine papers, packaging boards and wood products, areas in which the Group is a global market leader. Stora Enso sales totalled EUR 12.2 billion in 2003. The Group has some 44 000 employees in more than 40 countries in five continents and an annual production capacity of 15.7 million tonnes of paper and board and 7.4 million cubic metres of sawn wood products, including 2.8 million cubic metres of value-added products. Stora Enso's shares are listed in Helsinki, Stockholm and New York. Stora Enso Oyj Business ID 1039050-8 DATASOURCE: Stora Enso Oyj CONTACT: Tim Laatsch, Senior Vice President, Communications, +1-715-422-4023, Scott Deitz, Vice President, Investor Relations, +1-715-422-1521, both of Stora Enso North America Web site: http://www.storaenso.com/

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