NBK launches the 'Watani Central European Real Estate Fund'

The investment objective of this Fund is to invest in the TMW Central European Fund (TMW Fund) whose objective is to seek current income and capital appreciation through an investment portfolio containing high-quality Real Estate properties in selected Central and Eastern Europe countries to benefit from the economical boost taking place in the region along with the EU expansion which will contribute in improving the Real Estate markets' performance.

George Nasra, NBK's Group General Manager of Investment Banking, Asset Management and Treasury stated that the initial subscription period starts today February 6, 2005 and will continue until March 3, 2005. The minimum investment amount in the Fund is Euro 500,000 with additional investments in multiples of Euro 10,000. The Fund is closed-ended and investors can only subscribe into the Fund during the Initial Offering Period.

Also, George Nasra explained that the Fund is a long-term investment vehicle designed to achieve an expected net IRR of approximately 10.5%-12.5% with an expected annualized net quarterly cash distribution of approximately 3%-5% during the Investment Period. Once the portfolio is fully invested, the annual net target return is expected to be approximately 7%-8%. The Fund is denominated in Euros and suitable for investors with a long-term investment horizon who are seeking steady quarterly income, with the possibility of capital appreciation at maturity.

Then he added that the Fund will pursue its objective by investing in a diversified portfolio of first class office properties, retail properties, and modern logistics properties with international tenants in Central and Eastern European countries such as Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria. Furthermore, it is expected that the economic growth in the Central and Eastern European countries over the next few years due to the EU expansion will help boost the performance of the real estate sector.