Dubai Financial Market IPO oversubscribed 300 times collects approximately AED 190 billion

The IPO was opened on Sunday November 12, 2006 and closed on Thursday November 23, 2006. The DFM announced that excess funds will be returned on December 10, 2006.

Essa Kazim, Director General of DFM, said: 'On behalf of the DFM, I sincerely thank His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, for his leadership and vision. I am also grateful to the Ministry of Economy for sanctioning the necessary approvals. Of course, I also thank local, regional and international investors for their strong support of the IPO, and our banking partners for their support as well. The extremely positive investor response to the IPO is an indication of their trust in the DFM, its future growth potential and market leadership status.'

Kazim continued: 'The DFM is also especially grateful to Dubai Bank, which served as the Lead Arranger, Financial Adviser, Manager and Book Runner for the IPO. We also thank the many receiving banks for reaching out to investors across the UAE, the Gulf and Middle East using a range of innovative outreach programmes. The success of this pioneering IPO, which took place against a backdrop of regional market softness, is testament to the commitment of so many people and organizations.'

DFM is a trusted brand name and is the primary listing venue in the UAE for 44 companies (as of October 31, 2006), six bonds and Sukuks, and 11 mutual funds. DFM provides a gamut of services ranging from listing and trade execution to clearing and settlement, as well as data and information services. DFM has a network of 93 brokers. For the year 2005, DFM's total revenues stood at AED 1.289 billion and net income stood at AED 1.253 billion.