Opening of Qatar's first signature Bice Restaurante positions The Pearl-Qatar as top dining destination

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About The Pearl-Qatar:

UDC's flagship project, and one of the largest urban developments in Qatar, The Pearl-Qatar is achieving international recognition as the Middle East's most prestigious and glamorous location, renowned for excellence in design and construction. With an area of 4 million square metres and a 32 km coastline, this reclaimed island has been developed with funds in excess of QR50bn ($14bn). It is at once a residential destination and luxury resort, shaped by the vision to create an asset and a way of life with lasting quality and value: a jewel at the heart of the Gulf.

The first development in Qatar to offer freehold and residential rights to the international community, The Pearl-Qatar continues to attract unprecedented interest from buyers and investors in more than 52 countries. On completion in 2012, it will accommodate more than 41,000 residents in approximately 15,000 dwellings divided between 10 distinctive precincts. In and around them, exquisitely landscaped parks, state-of-the-art marinas and pristine beaches vie with a captivating world of upscale shopping, dining and leisure opportunities to bring each unique neighbourhood to vibrant life.

The Pearl-Qatar is implementing the most advanced urban technologies to maintain the highest quality of life across its array of secluded villa retreats, world-class hotels and brilliantly designed shops and apartments in its bustling metropolitan hubs. Ground breaking central cooling and waste disposal systems provide an environment that is perfected for human comfort while reducing The Pearl-Qatar's wider ecological impact to a sustainable minimum. Designed with the future in mind, the island's IT infrastructure not only offers complete connectivity, but a host of home automation capabilities to enhance convenience and security for all residents.

As UDC's flagship project, The Pearl-Qatar has been a catalyst for an array of unique business development opportunities, and many of UDC's recent partnerships and enterprises have grown out of a desire to ensure that The Pearl-Qatar's world class standards are maintained throughout the Island.

At the end of 2008, the first phase of The Pearl-Qatar's development at Porto Arabia was completed, marked by a visit from their highnesses Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani and Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, their excellencies the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Municipal Affairs, along with presidents, prime ministers and dignitaries from all over the world. Already a must-see attraction for international visitors, interest in acquiring property on The Pearl-Qatar continues to exceed all expectations: in every respect the hallmark of a world-class development, a jewel recognised for its consummate imagination and flawless reality.

About United Development Company:

United Development Company (UDC) was established with the vision to become an international benchmark for project delivery and value creation, and the first choice partner for private sector joint ventures in Qatar, the Gulf Region and beyond. To deliver against this vision, UDC continues to identify, create and operate a diverse portfolio of substantial businesses that contribute to the growth of Qatar and provide lasting shareholder value.

Founded in 1999, UDC has been listed on the Doha Securities Market since June 2003. It is one of Qatar's leading public shareholding companies, with an authorized share capital of QR1.0725bn ($294m), a market capitalization of $1.039m and total assets of $2.034bn at 31st December 2008.

Since its launch, UDC has continued to grow from a core of detailed project research into active investment and operations. The Company targets a growing range of sectors for development, including hydrocarbons and energy, infrastructure and utilities, maritime and environmental related businesses, urban development, property management, information technology, hospitality and leisure, fashion and marketing services.

Having entered a joint venture with Qatar Fertilizer Company and a number of local partners in the Gulf Formaldehyde Company, a key hydrocarbon business, UDC went on to initiate a flagship project with global impact in April 2003: the development of The Pearl-Qatar. This is a 100% owned multi-billion dollar urban development project that by 2012 will provide upscale housing for more than 41,000 people on a meticulously designed, award winning 4 million square metre reclaimed island. It is the first urban development in the State of Qatar to allow international freehold ownership.

With characteristic foresight, UDC has established further joint ventures in district cooling (Qatar Cool, with the UAE's Tabreed); dredging, reclamation and marine logistics (MEDCO, with the State of Qatar and Belgium's Dredging, Environmental & Marine Engineering NV); and concrete production (United Ready-Mix, with BESIX / Six Construct of Belgium). While some of these businesses fulfil an important role serving the needs of The Pearl-Qatar, they were founded in the context of UDC's wider strategic goals. Through their own merits and the profound local knowledge and experience of the UDC Board, these companies are profiting from the widespread opportunities for their skills in Qatar and throughout the Middle East and North Africa. In a further strategic alliance, in 2004 UDC partnered (with Qatar Petroleum) in SEEF Ltd., a petrochemical joint venture for the production of linear alkyl benzene, a detergent precursor.

With these companies, UDC has shown an ability to attract and partner with the highest quality of international talent, bringing outside expertise to bear on significant developments in Qatar and beyond. It has also demonstrated a successful model for synergistic growth, creating businesses that can leverage off one another to generate additional revenue streams in new markets. As a result, UDC has established enterprises in marina development and management (Ronáutica Middle East, with Spain's Ronáutica SA); hospitality (the fully-owned Hospitality Development Company); fashion and retail (the fully-owned United Fashion Company); property management (fully-owned Medina Centrale and Abraj Quartier, and, with UAE's ASTECO, ASTECO Qatar); marketing services (the fully-owned SCOOP); information technology (the fully-owned PRAGMATECH); and a comprehensive urban facilities management company, including a cashless payment and security card system, are presently in development.

UDC's established track record in investment, joint venture and enterprise creation forms a solid foundation for future growth and diversification. The ability to research and identify opportunities both locally and internationally is central to the Company's strategic expansion. The Chairman and Board of Directors, who are among Qatar's most successful investors and businessmen, actively facilitate this process. Widely respected in commercial, governmental and diplomatic circles, they are able to align interests at a high level to ensure that UDC projects can be efficiently resourced and promptly initiated. To run its enterprises, UDC attracts and retains the services of a growing team of talented managers, who, with their staff, contribute the expertise and diligence that generate ongoing operational success.

To maintain integrity across the breadth of its business interests, UDC applies a set of consistent strategic values. Each subsidiary or partnership applies industry best practice to deliver the best quality results; it deploys innovative products and processes to maximise the benefits of technology; it practises transparent good governance, and actively promotes an environmental and social profile that offers tangible benefits to the community; and it creates sustainable competitive advantage, expressed in successful financial performance.

For more information, please contact:

Mira El-Baphe
Senior Public & Media Relations Officer
Corporate Communications Dept.
United Development Company
T (+974) 40 98 540