Khadem Al Qubaisi takes over as Aabar Chairman

H.E. Al Qubaisi, the new Chairman of Aabar said: "I would like to place on record my thanks to Mr. Abdulhamid Saeed, the outgoing Aabar chairman, for his excellent leadership during his tenure with the company. Thanks to Mr. Saeed's contribution in building Aabar, I am sure the company faces a promising future and will work in partnership with IPIC and its other partners, to deliver excellent returns to all its stakeholders in the years ahead".

Mr. Abdulhamid Saeed said: "I am very thankful for the opportunity of having served as Aabar Chairman. I am grateful to all the members of Aabar's board for the excellent support they provided me particularly over the last few months when Aabar was in negotiations with IPIC over its proposed investment in Aabar. I wish Aabar and all the members of its Board, the very best in the future. With the partnership of and investment by IPIC, I believe Aabar will be well positioned to progress onto its next phase of growth. With the IPIC partnership in place, it is time for me to pass the baton to H.E. Al Qubaisi so that I can concentrate on my increasing roles in other institutions."

In another significant change to Aabar's board, Ms. Alyazia Ali Saleh Al Kuwaiti, a Manager of Investment Evaluation and Execution at IPIC has been appointed as a new Aabar board member.

Ms. Al Kuwaiti, an Emirati national, will be the first woman to serve on Aabar's board.

Ms. Al Kuwaiti also holds the post of Deputy Chairwoman at Austria's OMV Aktiengesellschaft, the largest listed industrial company in Austria and Central Europe's leading oil and gas corporation.

In addition Ms. Al Kuwaiti is a member of the board of Gulf Energy Maritime ("GEM"), the Middle East's largest independent commercial product tanker operator.

Welcoming Alyazia Al Kuwaiti to Aabar's board, H.E. Al Qubaisi said:

"I am sure Alyazia's excellent knowledge of international investments, industry knowledge, and her deal sourcing capabilities will be a valuable asset as Aabar leverages its recently-acquired enhanced capital access and new pipeline of potential investment opportunities, to aggressively fulfil its mandate to create shareholder value by investing in various regional sectors including energy."

The changes to Aabar's board follow the announcement earlier this month of a strategic partnership between Aabar and IPIC aimed at building a pre-eminent global investment company.

Within the partnership structure, Aabar plans to issue IPIC with a mandatory convertible bond of Dhs6,684,000,000 convertible into 2,228,000,000 new ordinary shares in Aabar at a conversion price of Dhs3.00 per share.

Upon full conversion of the Bond, whether on the final maturity date of November 30, 2009 or at any earlier date chosen by IPIC, IPIC will hold a majority ownership interest in Aabar.