Ithmaar Development Company announced as Platinum Sponsor for BIPEX 2008

Notes and media contacts

For more information please contact:

Luis Maronese, Director, PR and Corporate Communications, Ithmaar Banking Group +973 36242224

Note to Editors:

About Ithmaar Development Company

Ithmaar Development Company was set up by Ithmaar Bank in 2006 and has been mandated to manage and execute major development projects, with a focus on real estate, infrastructure, resorts, hotels, medical facilities and commercial buildings. Ithmaar Development Company's activities also include, among others, management and development of property and related consultancy services, as well as facility management.

IDC's initial portfolio of projects consists of the Health Island project, Aljazayer Beach Resort, and a hotel/office tower project. The total value of these prestigious developments is estimated at around $3.3bn.

The $1.6bn Health Island (Dilmunia) entails the creation of international standard health and wellness facilities in a resort-style environment. The project will be constructed on a man-made island off the north-east coast of Bahrain and will include a state-of-the-art diagnostic centre, nutrition/diabetes centre, cosmetic surgery, aesthetic medicine centre, women and children centre, alternative medicine centre and sports medicine centre. The project will also include deluxe spas and boutique hotels as well as residential clusters, commercial facilities and recreational amenities.

The $1.5bn Aljazayer Beach Resort project involves the creation of a world class leisure, family tourism and entertainment facility in the southwest coast of Bahrain. The facilities will include public beaches, several hotels, marinas, a theme park, a water park, an aquarium, a cultural center, a commercial district, residential units and chalets.

The hotel/office Tower project, estimated at $175 million, comprises a hotel that includes service apartments and an office complex, and will be located off the up-market Seef District of Manama. The hotel will be a luxurious family-oriented property, which will be the first of a chain of hotels that Ithmaar Development Company and its parent company Ithmaar Bank will develop within and outside the GCC countries.

Ithmaar Development Company is confident of establishing a sterling track record and setting a benchmark in conceptualising, developing and executing such world class projects in the fast growing regional real estate and property sector. Ithmaar Development Company's professional team is led by its CEO & Member of the Board, Mohammed Khalil Alsayed, who has a distinctive track record of leading major development and infrastructure projects.