CONTRACT OF ASSURANCE


This contract is signed by and between the following  parties on the 30th day of
October, 1996 in Huizhou, Guangdong Province, China:


Guarantor A:  Huizhou Highway Bureau
Guarantor B:  Huizhou Highway Property Development Company
Guarantee:    Guanghui Highway Project Company Limited

     WHEREAS Guarantor B is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Guarantor A;

     WHEREAS  Guarantor  B and  Guarantee  have  signed a  Cooperative  Contract
(hereinafter  "the  Cooperative  Contract")  on  the  5th  day of  August,  1996
concerning the  establishment of Huizhou Guanghui  Highway  Development  Company
Limited.  During the  existence  of the  Huizhou  Guanghui  Highway  Development
Company Limited (hereinafter "the Cooperative Company"), the Cooperative Company
shall take  precedence to pay Guarantee a certain Minimum Amount of Distribution
annually  according to the  stipulations in the  Cooperative  Contract and other
agreements made by both parties,

     WHEREAS  Guarantor A and Guarantor B both consent to ensure Guarantee shall
receive the profit,  not less than the Minimum Amount of Distribution,  from the
Cooperative Company at each installment;

     NOW THEREFORE,  in  consideration  of the foregoing,  the adequacy which is
hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto covenant and agree as follows:

     1.   Otherwise  indicated  in this  contract,  the  terms  shall  have  the
          meanings as follows:

          i.   "Guarantor" means Guarantor A and Guarantor B;

          ii.  "Stipulation  of  Distribution"  means  the  stipulation  of  the
               Cooperative  Company to distribute the operating revenue to those
               two cooperative parties mentioned in the Cooperative Contract and
               other agreements made by them;

          iii. "Minimum  Amount  of  Distribution"   means,   according  to  the
               Stipulations of Distribution,  the minimum amount of distribution
               of the operating revenue that the Cooperative Company distributes
               to Guarantee by installments;

          iv.  "Distribution  Day" means the day that the  Cooperative  Company,
               according to the  stipulations of  distribution,  distributes the
               operating revenue to Guarantee ;


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          v.   "Distribution  Difference" means, according to the Stipulation of
               Distribution,  the  difference  between the actual amount and the
               minimum  amount  of  distribution   given  to  Guarantee  by  the
               Cooperative Company.

     2.   During the  existence  of the  Cooperative  Company,  Guarantor  shall
          guarantee  non-rescinding  and  unconditionally,  if, according to the
          Stipulation  of  Distribution,  the  operating  revenue  in any  stage
          distributed to Guarantee by the  Cooperative  Company is less than the
          Minimum   Amount  of   Distribution,   Guarantor   shall  deposit  the
          Distribution  Difference into the designated bank account of Guarantee
          within 5 days upon the Distribution Day.

     3.   If Guarantor fails to pay the  Distribution  Difference,  according to
          the  stipulation  in paragraph 2, to Guarantee on schedule,  Guarantor
          shall   additionally  pay  the  interest  of  breach  of  contract  to
          Guarantee.  The interest of breach of contract is  calculated by using
          0.2% of the  Distribution  Difference as the daily interest,  starting
          from the Distribution  Day and until the  Distribution  Difference and
          the  interest of breach of contract  owed by  Guarantor  have all been
          paid off.

     4.   The average monthly revenue in 1996 of Guangshan Highway Chentang toll
          booth,  which is wholly-owned by Guarantor,  is  approximately  RMB4.5
          million.  In  order to  implement  the  stipulation  in  paragraph  2,
          Guarantor  has agreed to use the  operating  revenue of Chentang  toll
          booth as the reserve to pay  Distribution  Difference.  Guarantor  has
          also agreed to deposit all the  operating  revenue from  Chentang toll
          booth to the designated  account  (hereinafter  "designated  account")
          mentioned in Appendix II of the Cooperative Contract, so as to deposit
          the  designated  account  with  sufficient  reserve to pay the Minimum
          Amount of Distribution for 3 months. Guarantee shall, according to the
          Stipulation   of   Distribution,   calculate  the  Minimum  Amount  of
          Distribution  for  the  next 3  months  and  inform  the  bank  of the
          designated  account,  and this  amount  shall be the  Minimum  Deposit
          (hereinafter  " the Minimum  Deposit")  maintained  in the  designated
          account. When the total cash deposit in the designated account exceeds
          the  Minimum  Deposit,  Guarantor  can  make  use of the  money in the
          designated account contributed by Guarantor itself, but a total amount
          exceeding the Minimum Deposit shall be maintained. When the total cash
          deposit in the designated account is less than the Minimum Deposit, it
          can only be withdrawn with the written consent made by both parties.

          If the operating  revenue from Guangshan  Highway  Chentang toll booth
          fails to provide  sufficient  cash  reserve,  Guarantor  has agreed to
          deposit the designated account with its own revenues and other cash


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          income  source in order to  maintain  sufficient  cash  reserve to pay
          Minimum Amount of Distribution.

          Guarantor  must prove in evidence  the holding the  Guangshan  Highway
          toll booth and other  ownership and penalty right of the toll booth as
          to guarantee to have the Minimum Amount of Distribution.

     5.   Guarantor hereby represents and guarantees:

          i.   Guarantor   shall  have  the  right  to  sign  this  Contract  in
               accordance with the laws of the PRC and have sufficient  economic
               and financial abilities to fulfill the obligations  stipulated in
               this  Contract.  This Contract  shall be signed by Guarantor with
               effective  procedure  and  shall  be  binding  since  the date of
               signing.

          ii.  Guarantor  has taken all the  appropriate  actions and gained the
               necessary  authorization  to sign and fulfill the  obligations in
               this Contract.

          iii. In case the payment, for fulfillment of assurance obligation,  to
               Guarantee is paid off by Guarantor, no taxes shall be deducted.

          iv.  The  reorganization,  changes of status and financial position of
               Guarantor shall not affect its fulfillment of obligations.

          v.   This Contract  shall have the same binding  effect to the merger,
               acquisitor,  assignee,  partner,  representative  and  any  other
               successor of Guarantor.

     6.   The  assurance  made  between  Guarantor A and  Guarantor B under this
          Contract shall be a joint  assurance.  Guarantee  shall request either
          Guarantor bear all or part of the assurance obligations.

     7.   The  Contract  of  Assurance   specifies  the  basic  obligations  and
          liabilities  of the  guarantor.  The  Contract of  Assurance  shall be
          continued to be effective  regardless  of any change in the ability of
          the  performance  of the  cooperative  company  or  obligation  of the
          cooperative  company  under the  cooperative  contract.  In  addition,
          should there is any further  amendment in the cooperative  contract or
          supplementary contract in the future, the assurance obligations of the
          guarantor  will  be  accorded  with  the  payment  obligation  of  the
          guarantee by the cooperative  company  specified in the  supplementary
          contract after amendment.

     8.   Solely for the Contract of Assurance,  the  guarantor  shall not waive
          any  obligations  of  the  guarantee  stipulated  in the  Contract  of
          Assurance  should  the  guarantee  makes  any  delay  on  payment  and
          concession.


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     9.   The  Contract of Assurance is still  effective  until the  cooperative
          corporation  and guarantor  settle all payments in accordance with the
          provisions   stipulated   in  the   cooperative   contract   and   the
          supplementary contract.

     10.  The following situations shall not affect,  weaken, alter, restrict or
          eliminate the assurance  obligations of the  guarantor.  The guarantor
          shall continue to completely fulfill its assurance obligations.

          (a)  The  cooperative  company is  allowed  to extend the  cooperative
               period after consultation from the three parties.

          (b)  Part of the provisions of the cooperative agreement is invalid or
               either Party A or Party B breaches the contract.

          (c)  The  court  and   administrative   department   concerned  impose
               mandatory  execution on the properties of the cooperative company
               in order to pay for any liabilities of the cooperative company.

     11.  Any disputes arising from the execution of , or in connection with the
          contract shall be settled through friendly  consultations between both
          parties.  In case no settlement can be reached through  consultations,
          the disputes shall be submitted to the Shenzhen  branch of the Foreign
          Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission in accordance with its rules
          of  procedure.  The  arbitrative  award is final and binding upon both
          parties.  All expenses arising from the arbitration  shall be borne by
          the loser.

          During the arbitration process, apart from the section of the contract
          which the dispute is arisen.  Both parties  shall  continue to fulfill
          the remaining part of the contract.

     12.  This contract is written in Chinese with three  original  copies which
          are all binding. The guarantor and the guarantee both keep an original
          copy after the contract is signed and  stamped.  The  duplicated  copy
          will be duplicated if necessary and will be delivered to the concerned
          unit for filing.


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Guarantor A: Huizhou Highway Department   Guarantor B: Huizhou Highway Property
                                                       Development Company


Authorized Representative: (Signature)    Authorized Representative: (Signature)



Seal:                                     Seal:



Guarantee: Guanghui Highway Project Company Limited


Authorized Representative: (Signature, Mr. Yiu Yat On)


Seal:


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                                  NOTARIZATION






   NOTARY OFFICE, HUIZHOU, GUANGZHOU PROVINCE, THE PEOPLES' REPUBLIC OF CHINA