Sino-Forest appoints Dave Horsley as Senior Vice President

Oct 10, 2005. /Lesprom Network/. Sino-Forest Corporation (TSX:TRE), a leading commercial forestry plantation operator in China, today announced the appointment of Dave Horsley as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer effective October 10, 2005. Mr. Horsley will report directly to Mr. Allen Chan, Chairman and CEO of Sino-Forest Corporation, and will work closely with his predecessor, Mr. Kee Wong, who is promoted to Vice Chairman. Mr. Wong will continue to focus on strategic and corporate development, and financing of the Company. Appointed as independent director of Sino-Forest since September 2004, Mr. Horsley is currently a member of its Audit, Compensation, and Corporate Governance Committees. The Company is in the process of identifying an independent director to replace Mr. Horsley on its Board. In addition, Sino-Forest appointed Tom Maradin as Vice-President, Risk Management on September 1, 2005. Mr. Maradin is responsible for leading and strengthening Sino-Forest’s risk management and internal control processes. The two senior appointments signify Sino-Forest’s commitment to strengthening its management team, corporate governance, and communications with North American investors as both executives will be based in Toronto, Canada. “We are very excited to have Dave and Tom join us as both bring a wealth of experience having worked for private and public companies in North America. In addition to taking up the responsibility as CFO, Dave will address and work closely with our investment community in North America, while Tom will strengthen our risk and operational control under Canada’s Bill 198 compliance,” said Mr. Allen Chan. “Kee Wong has been successfully strategizing and spearheading the Company’s corporate development and financing over the past few years. In his new position as Vice Chairman, and, with Dave assuming the responsibility as CFO, Kee can advance Sino-Forest’s corporate development to the next level as we seek to increase and expand our geographical foothold in China’s vast markets,” added Mr. Chan. In addition to the above appointments, Sino-Forest intends to appoint an independent Lead Director to assist the Chairman to enhance Director effectiveness, managing the Board, and acting as liaison between the Board and management. About David Horsley, C.A, C.B.V. Prior to joining Sino-Forest, Mr Horsley was Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Cygnal Technologies Corporation. He has also served on a number of private and public boards including Cygnal Technologies, Unico Foods, EDM, Site Oil Tools, FuelMaker, Chapters and Sino-Forest Corporation. Mr. Horsley holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto, and is a member of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, as well as the Institute of Chartered Business Valuators. About Tom Maradin, CA Mr. Maradin spent five years working with senior management of several multinational companies on key business projects including Sarbanes-Oxley/Bill 198 under the Canadian Rules. He spent 15 years working at Ernst & Young LLP; where he was an auditor and business advisor to public and private growth oriented companies. Mr. Maradin has an Honours Bachelor of Administration from Brock University and is a member of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, as well as the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario. Sino-Forest Corporation, a Canadian company, is the largest commercial forestry plantations operator in China. The Company started its operations in China in 1994 and is the first foreign and privately managed company involved in forest products in China. Its principal business activities include the ownership and management of forestry plantation trees in China and the sales and trading of logs, lumber and wood chips. Besides being a leading supplier of commercial wood fiber in China, Sino-Forest is also an integrated wood products company with downstream processing operations.