Holding(s) in Company

BHP Billiton Limited
01 September 2003

     BHP Billiton Limited is issuing this announcement to fulfil disclosure
  obligations arising from its secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange.

    The text of this release is identical to that issued by BHP Billiton Plc
                                    earlier.



Issued by:      BHP Billiton Plc
To:                                                  cc:
Company Announcements Office                         New York Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange                            Swiss Stock Exchange
Old Broad Street                                     NZX
London EC2N 1HP                                      Johannesburg Stock Exchange
United Kingdom                                       Euronext
                                                     Deutsche Bank
Company Announcements Office
The Australian Stock Exchange
4th Floor, 20 Bridge Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia



Date:      1 September 2003

Contact:      Ines Watson [phone]



                   Notification of Major Interests in Shares



The following notification was received on 29 August 2003 by BHP Billiton Plc in
a letter from Franklin Resources Inc and its affiliates dated 28 August 2003
relating to major interests in shares of BHP Billiton Plc as at 28 August 2003:

'S.198 Companies Act - Disclosure of Share Interests

We are acting on behalf of Franklin Resources, Inc. and its affiliates, which
includes Franklin Mutual Advisers, LLC and Templeton Worldwide, Inc. and its
affiliates. Franklin Resources, Inc. and its affiliates perform investment
management and advisory services for clients on a global basis.

We wish to advise you of interests in the share capital of your Company under
management of Franklin Resources, Inc. and its affiliates on behalf of clients,
as detailed in the attached schedule.'
                                                        SCHEDULE
                                                         BHP BILLITON PLC
                                                        Outstanding Shares                       2,468,147,002
             Registered Holder                             No. of Shares                          % of Class
Chase Nominees Ltd
Woolgate House                                              75,386,454                                           3.0544%
Coleman Street
London
EC2P 2HD

Bank of New York (BONY)
3 Birchin Lane                                                677,957                                            0.0275%
LONDON
EC3V 9BY

Northern Trust Co.
155 Bishopgate                                               3,044,379                                           0.1233%
LONDON EC2M 3XS

Citibank
LONDON                                                        391,789                                            0.0159%

State Street Bank & Trust Co.
London                                                       8,772,930                                           0.3554%

Royal Trust Corp of Canada
London                                                       2,089,941                                           0.0847%

Mellon Bank
LONDON                                                       6,717,080                                           0.2722%

HSBC LONDON                                                   47,005                                             0.0019%
 
Deutsche Bank London                                         1,390,793                                           0.0563%

TOTAL                                                       98,518,328                                           3.9916%


BHP Billiton Limited ABN 49 004 028 077                 BHP Billiton Plc Registration number 3196209
Registered in Australia                                 Registered in England and Wales
Registered Office: 600 Bourke Street Melbourne Victoria Registered Office: Neathouse Place London SW1V 1BH United
3000                                                    Kingdom
Telephone [phone] Facsimile [phone]     Telephone [phone] Facsimile [phone]

              The BHP Billiton Group is headquartered in Australia



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            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange      HOLKGGGLFMNGFZG