Unicorn Investment Bank appoints Chief Executive to head Turkey operations

As Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of Unicorn Capital Menkul Deðerler A.Þ. (Unicorn Capital Turkey), Ms. Kalyoncuoglu will lead the development and expansion of Unicorn's operations in Turkey.

Ms. Kalyoncuoðlu was previously Country Manager and Head of Investment Banking at Credit Suisse Turkey.

Prior to this, Ms. Kalyoncuoðlu was a director covering Turkey in the Emerging Markets Coverage Group at Credit Suisse First Boston in London.

She previously spent several years at ABN AMRO Bank in Turkey and Amsterdam, where she was a vice president in the Structured Finance Group.

Ms. Kalyoncuoðlu holds an MSc in Finance from the London School of Economics and a BSc in Management from Bogaziçi University in Turkey.

Commenting on Ms. Kalyoncuoðlu's appointment, Najib Fayyad, Managing Director - Asset Management and Country Head for Turkey at Unicorn Investment Bank and Chairman of Unicorn Capital Turkey, said:

'The appointment of Sebnem as CEO is an important strategic development for Unicorn Capital Turkey, and we are pleased to welcome her to our team. Sebnem brings with her in-depth investment banking experience as well as specific knowledge of Turkey and is therefore ideally placed to ensure that Unicorn continues to grow its business in Turkey.'

Ms. Kalyoncuoðlu commented: 'I am delighted to take on this exciting new role and look forward to leveraging the local knowledge and expertise of our team in Turkey as well as Unicorn's global structuring and placement capabilities to further grow Unicorn Capital Turkey's business. Unicorn Capital Turkey is committed to being a leading local provider of innovative, competitive and well-structured investment banking products and services and to serving as a conduit for Gulf capital seeking access to Turkey.'

Unicorn Capital Turkey is a subsidiary of Bahrain-based Unicorn, an Islamic investment bank with an international presence in the Middle East, the United States, Malaysia and Turkey.

Unicorn entered Turkey in January 2007 with the acquisition of Inter Yatirim Menkul Deðerler A.Þ. and Inter Portföy Yönetimi A.Þ. Unicorn Capital Turkey offers a broad range of investment banking products and services catering both to Turkish investors and investors from the Gulf region seeking exposure to Turkey.

The company's business lines include Corporate Finance, Private Equity, Real Estate Private Equity, Asset Management (through its subsidiary Unicorn Portföy A.Þ.), International and Domestic Capital Markets, International Sales and Research.

Unicorn Capital Turkey recently re-launched the Istanbul Fund, an open-ended Islamic fund investing in a diversified portfolio of stocks listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE), where the company has identified over 106 stocks that currently meet the fund's investment criteria.

The Istanbul Fund also invests in global Islamic bonds. The fund's investment objective is to provide investors with long-term growth through exposure to attractive Turkish equities with a balanced risk/return profile.

Unicorn Capital Turkey is also currently converting its A-type equity fund into a Dow Jones Islamic Market Turkey Index Fund, which will make it the first mutual fund to provide global investors with exposure to Islamically compliant stocks listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE).