Sino-Forest Strengthens Board of Directors; Appoints Garry West and James Bowland

TORONTO, Feb. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Sino-Forest Corporation (TSX: TRE), a leading commercial forest plantation operator in China, announced today the appointment of Garry J. West and James P. Bowland to its Board of Directors.

"We are very pleased to welcome Garry and Jamie to our Board as Directors," said Allen Chan, Chairman and CEO of Sino-Forest Corporation. "With Sino-Forest growing so rapidly, both operationally and financially, it is important for us to continue increasing our corporate oversight by independent Directors. Garry and Jamie bring to us a wealth of knowledge in accounting and capital market transactions. During their careers, they have both gained extensive experience in advising executive management and Boards of publicly listed companies." 

Mr. Garry West was Partner at Ernst & Young and during his 35 years career gained extensive financial experience including auditing, corporate restructuring, public financings and strategic planning initiatives for a number of major organizations in the technology, communications, manufacturing and service sectors. He is a Fellow of the Ontario Institute Chartered Accountants and serves as a Director and Chair of the Audit Committee for two other TSX-listed companies.

Mr. James (Jamie) Bowland is also a Chartered Accountant with 35 years of executive-level business experience in the financial sector. Jamie's career includes 15 years as Managing Director, Investment & Corporate Banking at BMO Capital Markets where he acted as a senior advisor on several large-scale mergers & acquisitions, and developed significant experience in the equity, debt and corporate banking markets. He serves on the Board of a number of TSX-listed companies and not-for-profit organizations.  Jamie holds the Institute of Corporate Directors designation.

"We look forward to integrating the valuable perspectives of Garry and Jamie into our goal setting, investment decision-making and corporate governance as we move ahead with executing our long-term growth strategy and achieving our vision," added Allen Chan.

About Sino-Forest Corporation
Sino-Forest Corporation is a leading commercial forest plantation operator in China. Its principal businesses include the ownership and management of forest plantation trees, the sale of standing timber and wood logs, and the complementary manufacturing of downstream engineered-wood products. Sino-Forest also holds a majority interest in Greenheart Group Limited (previously Omnicorp Limited), a Hong Kong-based company (HKSE: 00094) involved in log harvesting, lumber processing, and marketing and sales of logs and lumber products to China and other countries. The Company's common shares have traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol TRE since 1995. Learn more at www.sinoforest.com.

SOURCE Sino-Forest Corporation