Gulf Finance House beats its target for the first quarter of 2008

This quarter's result has also exceeded the strong fourth quarter results of $108m for 2007. GFH also recorded a healthy rise in assets this quarter, reaching $2,577m, up by 14.8 % compared to the previous quarter, while shareholders' equity reached $790m.

Earnings per share for the first quarter 2008 were 14.68 cents (US) compared to 9.08 cents (US) for the same period of 2007. The main driver for this quarter's result is the Tunis Financial Harbour (TFH) project.

TFH will become the first offshore banking and financial centre in North Africa and will incorporate world class banking legislation to attract global financial institutes to Tunisia. Located a short distance from downtown Tunis on a site with close proximity to the sea, Tunis Financial Harbour, spread over four square kilometres, is the latest financial district to be created by GFH in its programme of economic infrastructure projects.

TFH is a master planned business and social community which will include themed residential areas, modern retail and exciting new leisure concepts. The project has been underwritten by a group of banks that include Masraf Al Rayan, Qatar National Bank and Emirates Islamic.

Announcing the results, Mr. Esam Janahi, Chairman, GFH, stated:

"2007 underlined the strength of our business model, delivering high value economic infrastructure projects that offer unparalleled investment opportunities to our clients. In the first quarter of 2008 we've built on these strong foundations, and both clients and financial institutions continue to demonstrate strong confidence in GFH's projects."

The bank's deal pipeline is particularly strong this year, and based on the first quarter results, we expect to beat our targets once again."

Commenting on the Bank's plans and activities in 2008, Mr Peter Panayiotou, Acting CEO, stated: "It has been a very good start to the year as we continue to deliver high returns to our investors and make some of our most exciting announcements yet. Tunis Financial Harbour and our ongoing advisory role with the Tunisian Government is set to transform the banking and financial landscape across North Africa by delivering the very first offshore financial centre in the region. In Algeria, we've announced the intention to launch an Economic Zone covering a number of industry sectors. We have also announced our intent to extend our Energy City brand into Libya and Kazakhstan, creating world class energy hubs that will accelerate economic development and prosperity.

As always, we keep a sharp eye on the future and we anticipate the launch of three to four funds by our Asset Management division, a green field venture capital investment and further economic infrastructure initiatives that will continue to drive strong growth at GFH."