Providential Holdings Subsidiary PHI Mining Group Signs Agreement With Angkor Metal Corporation to Engage in Copper Mining in Cambodia

LOS ANGELES, CA and PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA--(MARKET WIRE)--Jan 7, 2009 -- Providential Holdings, Inc. (OTC BB:PRVH.OB - News) (Frankfurt:PR7.F - News) (WKN 935160), a company engaged in mergers and acquisitions, real estate development, mining, and investing in special situations, today announced that PHI Mining Group, Inc. (Other OTC:PHIG.PK - News), a company focused on mining opportunities in Southeast Asia, through its wholly owned subsidiary Indochina Mining Corporation (IMC), has signed a principal contract with Angkor Metal Corporation, a Cambodia-based company, to survey, explore, exploit and process copper ores in Preah Vihear Province, Cambodia. According to the agreement, IMC will own 51% of Angkor Metal Corp. stock at the closing of the transaction.

Angkor Metal Corporation has already been granted an exploration license for a total area of 192 km2 (47,440 acres) in Kolean District, Preah Vihear Province, Cambodia, potentially one of the largest copper ore reserves in Southeast Asia, of which 2.5 km2 (618 acres) is fully surveyed with promising commercial exploitation ability. This mineralized material opportunity is estimated to be in excess of 500,000 metric tons and may amount to several million metric tons.

Providential Holdings, Inc. currently owns approximately 18 million shares (80%) of PHI Mining Group, Inc. stock.

About Providential Holdings

Providential Holdings and its subsidiaries engage in a number of diverse business activities, the most important of which are M&A and consulting services, real estate development, mining and investing in special situations. As part of its activities in Vietnam, Providential has been hosting seminars in conjunction with the Nasdaq Stock Market to help Vietnamese companies go public and raise capital through the U.S. financial markets. The Company currently develops "Pointe 91," an upscale residential community and luxury resort in Chu Lai, central Vietnam. Web site: www.phiglobal.com.

About PHI Mining Group

PHI Mining Group is a U.S.-based mining and exploration enterprise focused on acquiring and developing industrial mineral properties. The company is in the process of negotiating to acquire interests in diatomite, lead, copper and granite properties in South East Asia and South America. PHI Mining Group is committed to high standards in the areas of environmental management and health and safety for its employees and neighboring communities.

Web site: www.phimining.com.

Safe Harbor: This news release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected on the basis of such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are made based upon management's beliefs, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management pursuant to the "safe-harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

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