Ajman Bank to list on the Dubai Financial Market in Dhs550m Public Offer

Ajman Bank will be the first Shariah bank incorporated and headquartered in the Emirate of Ajman and it intends to become the favourite financial services brand in the UAE and the GCC region. The Bank's strategy is to target the rapidly expanding Shariah financial services market with innovative products and services, designed to meet customers' needs, supported with outstanding levels of customer service.

Sheikh Ammar bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, Crown Prince of Ajman and Chairman of Ajman Bank, commented, "Ajman Bank will play a significant role in the economic development of Ajman and of the UAE. Its unique offer to the market will help to change the way customers experience banking. Ours is a long-term vision to create a business and a brand that will become the UAE's, and in the future, the GCC's favourite financial services brand. Through this vision we will generate sustainable value for shareholders, outstanding customer service for banking services and play our role in the growth of Ajman and the UAE."

Yousif Khalaf, CEO of Ajman Bank, said, "Ajman Bank is going to offer a new level of customer service to the financial services market in the UAE. We aim to start with the customer, taking the time to understand their financial needs, designing products that meet these needs and offering them with market leading customer service."

"The UAE's Shariah banking market offers significant potential to the organization which can change the current financial services model and create a strong customer focused brand offering choice and high levels of customer service to everyone in the UAE, and ultimately the GCC. We believe Ajman Bank has the strategy and management experience to seize this opportunity and create value for customers and shareholders alike."

"We already have the support of the Government of Ajman, which holds 25% of our shares, as well as significant financial institutions and private investors from across the UAE. We are now seeking to open up the growth potential we offer to investors in the UAE and the GCC by offering 55% of our equity through a public offering on the Dubai Financial Market. This is the first stage of our ambitious growth plan which aims to create the UAE's favourite financial services brand. The proceeds from the listing will fund an aggressive roll-out of branches and services across the UAE," Khalaf concluded.

The Offering

The Offering is for 550m ordinary shares, or 55% of the total shares of the Bank. The minimum subscription will be for 2000 shares at Dhs1 per share, in addition to Dhs0.02 per share in administrative costs. Investors can subscribe for shares by picking up subscription forms at Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Dubai Bank, Emirates Islamic Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank and Noor Islamic Bank. Following the Offering and the completion of the incorporation process, the Bank will apply to list its Shares on the Dubai Financial Market.

The Offering is open to UAE and non-UAE individual and institutional subscribers as per the terms and conditions mentioned herein. 5% of the Offer Shares (27.5 million Offer Shares) will be subscribed for and allocated to the Ministry of Finance and Industry. Non-UAE Subscribers, including Subscribers from countries in the GCC, will be allocated up to 100 million Offer Shares. The balance of the Offer Shares (422.5 million Offer Shares) will be allocated to UAE Subscribers.

The Offering will start on 17 February 2008 and is expected to close on 27 February 2008.

Strategy

Ajman Bank will offer innovative Shariah based financial products and services with outstanding levels of customer service to everyone in the UAE, and ultimately in the GCC. Ajman Bank's own research reveals that a significant proportion of UAE banking customers are seeking an enhanced customer experience when purchasing financial services. By offering a new way of providing and advising upon banking services, and creating a business and brand that is created to be close to the customer to truly understand their needs, Ajman Bank believes it will offer a highly-valued service to retail and corporate customers as well as creating long-term value for investors.

Ajman Bank will bring its new way of banking to the entire UAE financial services market, a sector which has seen a Compound Annual Growth Rate of over 58% for the past five years. Within this, Ajman Bank's Sharia products and services will appeal to the rapidly growing Islamic finance market, which held assets of Dhs120bn at the end of 2006, accounting for nearly 15% of all UAE banking assets.

Shariah based deposits grew at an average rate of 35% per annum, compared to only 19% for the overall sector during 2001 and 2006, and represented 22% of total customer deposits by late 2006.

Ajman Bank's strategy to achieve its objective of creating growth through offering new services comprises a number of initiatives which focus on growing the core business in the UAE. Ajman Bank will focus on its retail business to provide a basis for the launch of new and innovative products. The Bank believes that its expected distribution network, growing product suite and services and anticipated efficiencies will allow it to establish and maintain a leading market position in the UAE. To this end, it will focus on widening its product range and investing in new branches and alternative distribution channels.

Following the close of the Offer period, Ajman Bank will begin the process of building out its branch network with the creation of a central branch in Ajman, followed by branches in other Emirates.

Ajman Bank will also focus on expanding its funding base by increasing its share of the domestic deposits market through its proposed branch network and by increasing its deposits from foreign and local banks and selected depositors.

Recently, both the UAE Government and the Central Bank emphasized the importance of the UAE's SME (Small Medium Enterprises) sector. In the future, Ajman Bank plans to increase substantially its SME business, in terms of value and number of clients, and to establish a strong position in this sector, as it believes that this market will represent one of the most important areas for growth and profitability for banks.

Ajman Bank intends to host Ajman Government accounts, providing preferential credit to public institutions and to the Government of Ajman. The Bank also intends to provide automated services tailored to the needs of local Government, including employee payroll management. It is also contemplating managing specialized government investment funds or programs.

Ajman Bank intends to primarily focus on meeting increasing domestic demand resulting from the growth in the economy of the UAE, and to open branches across the UAE. Additionally, the Bank intends in the future to explore other investment opportunities in the GCC in order to diversify its revenue sources and spread its risk.

Significant investment and development activities have made real estate one of the key sectors of the UAE in terms of overall contribution to the country's economy. There are substantial opportunities for banks in the real estate sector both in terms of financing the extensive construction across various Emirates and in terms of providing mortgage loans to end-users. The Bank intends to fully benefit from such potential by closely working with developers and attracting home buyers in Ajman as well as other Emirates across the UAE.

Furthermore, the Central Bank announced in March 2007 that commercial banks would be permitted to set up real estate subsidiaries to increase their participation in real estate development. In due course, the Bank may take advantage of this new policy to further increase its exposure to the high-potential real estate sector. It may also take a stake in important developments in Ajman or other Emirates, similar to other banks.

Board of Directors

The bank's Board of Directors is chaired by the Crown Prince of Ajman, HH Sheikh Ammar bin Humaid Al Nuaimi and is supported by HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi, Deputy Chairman; HH Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi; Mr Salim bin Abdullah Al Housani; Dr Ali Rashid Abdullah Al Nuaimi; Mr Salem Rashid Al Khudur and Mr Yousif Al Fadhil.

HSBC Middle East is acting as financial advisor to the company.