Citigroup Best Debt House in the Middle East, Best Investment Bank in Egypt

The announcement was made during a ceremony in Bahrain at which Euromoney presented a number of awards for excellence across Middle Eastern financial markets.

The two awards follow Euromoney's "Best International Market Sukuk House" award to Citigroup as part of the magazine's 2004 Islamic Finance Awards which were announced earlier this year.

According to Euromoney, Citigroup "has participated - very often as lead manager - in almost every major financing deal in the region. It has been innovative, as has been shown by its involvement in some extraordinary and complex sukuk (Islamic bond) transactions in the last year.

"Indeed, Citigroup has been lead manager in four out of the five major sukuk offerings since the start of 2004, including the Dubai Civil Aviation $1 billion debut offering, the Bahrain Monetary Agency $250 million issue, the pioneering €100 million offering for Saxony Anhalt (the first for a borrower from the OECD countries and the first to be denominated in euros)."

Citigroup was also chosen Best Investment bank in Egypt. "Citigroup has proved itself the outstanding investment bank in Egypt during the last year through its involvement in many of the most important transactions in the country," said Euromoney.

"Citigroup was the global coordinator, lead arranger, escrow agent and book runner for the local currency bond for Telecom Egypt, the state owned fixed line operator. This L£3.8 billion ($345 million) was the largest ever corporate bond in Egypt and the first local currency corporate issue to attract the interest of foreign investors.

"The bank also acted as global coordinator, lead arranger and underwriter for the $65 million local currency issue for Orascom Construction, a bond that has helped considerably in the revival of Egypt's domestic bond market."

Mohammed Al-Shroogi, Citigroup Managing Director - Middle East, said: "The Euromoney Awards speak volumes about Citigroup's commitment to the region and the firm's active involvement across a diverse geography and complex range of products. We use Citigroup's global reach and cross-market experience to customize conventional as well as Sahri'a-compliant finance solutions for our clients across the Arab World. We are delighted that our efforts and success have been recognized by Euromoney through these awards."