Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 31 March 2009 -- Sino-Forest Corporation (TSX:TRE), a leading commercial forest plantation operator in China, announced today that its subsidiary, Guangdong Jiayao Wood Products Development Co, Ltd., has signed an equipment assignment contract with a third party purchaser to sell the particleboard manufacturing equipment at its plant in Gaoyao, Guangdong Province for a total price of approximately USD 30 million. The contract provides that the purchase price will be paid to Sino-Forest in various instalments over a six-month period.Sino-Forest will retain ownership of the manufacturing building and property. The purchaser is expected to lease these Gaoyao premises from Sino-Forest and operate the equipment in the premises, subject to final terms and conditions of the lease agreement.

Allen Chan, Sino-Forest chairman and CEO, said, “The sale of the equipment will allow us to better focus on our manufacturing strategy of developing a portfolio of smaller-scale processing facilities that is closely integrated with our plantation operations. This strategy helps maximize the use and value of our wood fiber, and increase employment in rural areas – an important government objective. In addition, we will continue to develop our Sino-Maple brand of wood products, which utilize fiber from our own plantation resources.”

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. The company’s common shares have traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol TRE since 1995.