Dubai Holding mandates Emirates Bank and Standard Chartered to arrange USD2.25 billion syndicated loan to finance 35 per cent stake in Tunisie Telecom

DUBAI, 8 May 2006: Dubai Holding LLC has mandated Emirates Bank and Standard Chartered Bank to finance the purchase of a 35 per cent equity stake in Tunisie Telecom, the Tunisian Government telecommunication provider.

A consortium of TECOM Investments LLC and Dubai Investment Group has been formed to complete this landmark acquisition by Dubai Holding Group. Emirates Bank and Standard Chartered Bank expect to launch the syndication of this 18 month facility in the last week of May 2006.

Ahmad Bin Byat, CEO of TECOM Investments said:"We are delighted to announce that we have mandated Emirates Bank and Standard Chartered Bank to jointly provide all the banking facilities relating to this transaction. We have a strong relationship with both banks and are confident that this combination of a large regional bank and leading international bank will lead to a wide distribution of this landmark debt issuance by Dubai Holding".

Abdul Wahid Al Fahim, the General Manager of the Corporate Banking Department of Emirates Bank said: "Mandating Emirates Bank to provide the required financing for this vital deal demonstrates the leading role that Emirates Bank plays and its steady commitment in supporting the investment and important trading initiatives in the United Arab Emirates, regionally and internationally. It also reflects the firm banking relationship with Dubai Holding Group which we are proud to maintain". Mahdi Kazim, the Senior Manager Corporate Banking of Emirates Bank added "we are proud to be part of this financing."

Mohamed Metwally, Managing Director and Head of Corporate Finance and Advisory at Standard Chartered Bank said: "We are pleased to support Dubai Holding, a leading investment company in its strategic cross-border acquisition plans. Growth driven by cross border acquisitions is a relatively new concept for Middle East Corporates, but has picked up significant momentum in the last two years. We expect this trend to continue and look forward to support such initiatives by our clients in the region. Further, we highly value the confidence in us demonstrated by Dubai Holding Group and are certain that our contribution to this deal will further enhance our existing and strong business relationship with them."