Launch of New Initiative

ABB Ltd
22 March 2000


ABB Corporate Communications, Zurich         ABB Investor Relations, Zurich
John Fox                                     Manfred Ebling
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              ABB Launches eBusiness Initiative At Hanover Fair

Zurich, Switzerland, March 22, 2000 - ABB, the global technology company,
announced today the launch of a major eBusiness initiative to provide customers
with a broad range of products and services on line.

ABB customers at the Hanover 2000 trade fair in Hanover, Germany, previewed a
web site planned for launch as the Company's eBusiness hub. The site features
on-line evaluation, ordering, documentation, and lifecycle support for a wide
variety of ABB products and services. The site allows customers to personalize
their eBusiness environment, select products and pricing to match their
individual purchasing needs or supply agreements, and participate in a variety
of community centers and news groups.

The Hanover demonstration is part of the company's plan to create a customer
focused eBusiness platform encompassing not only ABB's key businesses but also
third party web portals and on line market places.

ABB CEO Goran Lindahl, who said at the company's annual general meeting last
week that the company would aggressively develop eBusiness over the next couple
of years, said today that the Hanover project 'is an important step in our
strategy to tap eBusiness opportunities. It's a way to help our customers save
time, reduce costs, increase productivity, and interact more effectively with
ABB, while we build up broader market channels.' The company has said it is
aiming to put some 30 percent of its standard products online this year.

The annual Hanover Fair is one of the largest trade fairs in the world, with
more than 7,000 exhibitors from 65 countries.

ABB  is a global technology company serving customers in
power transmission and distribution; automation; oil, gas and petrochemicals;
industrial products and contracting; and in financial services. Power generation
customers are served by ABB ALSTOM POWER. The ABB Group employs about 165,000
people in more than 100 countries.