DP World IPO opens

It has set an indicative price range of $1.00 - $1.30 per share for shares in its initial public offering (IPO).

2.822 billion shares, subject to a greenshoe of 498 million shares, will be offered to investors globally.

The final price of the securities will be in US dollars and will be established through a bidding process with international institutional investors, which will set a market price before listing. Retail and institutional investors will pay the same final price, which is expected to be announced on or around 21 November.

DP World highlights include:

• a truly global portfolio of 42 terminals in 22 countries

• a significant bias towards handling the more stable and higher margin origin and destination (import/export) cargo, with only around a quarter of current volumes being transhipment cargo

• a pure play port operator with long term, stable business model

• the company is growing faster than the market; DP World volumes grew approximately 18% in 2006 compared with market growth of approximately 11%

• strong growth has continued into the first half of 2007

• strong pipeline of new projects and expansions expected to nearly double capacity to around 90 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent container units) in 10 years.

The intention to float up to 20 percent of DP World was announced on 21 October. The IPO will be in the form of a sale of shares by DP World's sole shareholder, Port & Free Zone World (P&FZ World), which will retain majority ownership. P&FZ World is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dubai World.

DP World shares are expected to list on the Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX) towards the end of November.

The shares will be offered globally to institutional investors in certain jurisdictions, and in the UAE the offer includes UAE residents and nationals, and GCC nationals, residents and corporates with qualifying investment accounts in the UAE. The UAE retail offer applications must be made in the UAE.

Application forms for the UAE retail offer will be provided with a summary document, which, together with the full prospectus, are available to eligible UAE retail investors in the UAE from today. UAE retail investor applications will be accepted by receiving banks from today until 12 (noon) on 15 November.

Chairman of Dubai World and of DP World, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, said:

"DP World has grown from strength to strength since it began with just one port in Dubai some 35 years ago. Today, with 42 terminals in 22 countries, DP World is one of the most geographically diverse port operators in the world. Its capable international management team has delivered solid performances measured both by increased container throughput and by strong financial results. We expect this to continue into the future, given the continued increase in volumes flowing through the supply chain and the constraints on the ports industry's ability to meet that demand globally."

DP World Executive Vice Chairman and Group CEO of P&FZ World, Jamal Majid Bin Thaniah said: "The indicative price range reflects DP World's strong reputation internationally and confidence in its future. DP World is a long term business and our pre-marketing has indicated that potential investors recognise that and are interested in a correspondingly medium to long term investment in our shares."

DP World CEO Mohammed Sharaf said: "Our corporate strategy is simple: to grow in a way that meets our customers' needs into the future and provides value for our shareholders. That means we constantly look for efficiencies, we weigh investments carefully, and we work with our customers to ensure we grow with them. This has been a successful approach to date. We have a strong track record of winning concessions globally and we constantly look for new opportunities in both developing and developed markets."

Mr Bin Sulayem, Mr Bin Thaniah and Mr Sharaf, together with DP World CFO Yuvraj Narayan, officially launched the IPO in Dubai today, holding a majlis (meeting) outdoors at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), and answering questions put to them by potential UAE retail investors.