International Investment Bank's 3rd quarter net income rises by 119.8%

Net Income for the period was $14.0m, an increase of 119.8% compared to $6.4m earned in the first 9 months of 2006. The result reflects the continued growth of IIB's business and its ability to effectively develop and offer a diverse range of attractive investment opportunities.

Total Income increased by 125.5% to $24.9m in the first 9 months of 2007, mainly from investment banking fees that increased by $10.4m or 119.7% to $19.1m, generated from the structuring, underwriting and placement of new investments. In addition, the Bank registered a capital gain of $1.4m on the sale of an investment property in the Seef district of The Kingdom of Bahrain.

Total Expenses increased by $6.3m, as IIB continued to build its staffing and operating infrastructure to support its growing business activities.

Total Assets increased by 134.2% from the 2006 year end figure to $221.3m. The increase represents mainly receipts from investors in respect of the share issue of $112.7m.

Profitability Ratios for the nine-month period of 2007 are impressive, evidenced by annualized returns of 43.4% on Paid up Capital (ROC) and 28.3% on Average Equity (ROE), excluding share subscriptions of $112.7m.

Capital Adequacy at 30 September 2007 of 97% is eight times greater than the minimum requirement of 12% by the Central Bank of Bahrain. This demonstrates a strong and prudent approach by the Bank in respect of risk management.

Commenting on the Bank's results, His Excellency Mr. Saeed Abdul Jalil Mohammed Al Fahim, Chairman of IIB, said:

"The Bank has continually, since its inception, improved its financial performance as indicated by the key performance indicators of investment banking revenues, asset base, profitability ratios and capital adequacy". He added that: "This has been achieved while pursuing its ongoing strategy of investing across diverse asset classes and geographic regions in order to provide its investors with superior risk adjusted returns."

Mr. Aabed Al-Zeera, CEO of IIB, further elaborated:

"During 2007, IIB has concluded investment transactions ranging from a steel re-bars manufacturing project in Bahrain, the first re-bar green-field project established in the Kingdom of Bahrain to support the growing construction, infrastructure and real estate sectors of the Kingdom, a fully-tenanted commercial building in Germany, real estate development projects in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and the recently announced acquisition of a 49% stake in a commercial bank located in Azerbaijan. He further added that: "The pipeline of deals under study continues to be strong and includes several private equity and real estate opportunities in GCC, North Africa and Europe. Accordingly the outlook for further growth in earnings in 2007 and beyond continues to look very positive."