23 June 2005

Al Marfa’a Al Mali US$ 100 to 170 Million Sukuk Offering Successfully Closed

The offering of the US$ 100 to 170 million Sukuk offering for Al Marfa’a Al Mali Sukuk Company B.S.C.(c) was successfully closed last Thursday, 23 June, 2005 - the Placement Agents; Liquidity Management Centre announced today in Bahrain.

The Sukuk was underwritten by Senior Lead Manager Gulf Finance House Commercial Bank (Bahrain), Lead Managers Islamic Development Bank, in addition to Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates Islamic Bank and Liquidity Management Centre along with Managers Sharjah Islamic Bank and Bahrain Islamic Bank.

The Istisna’a - Ijara Sukuk has been structured as a Shari’a compliant Islamic security with a five year term maturing in 2010. It offers a quarterly return of 250 basis points over US Dollar 3 months LIBOR. The Sukuk offering has been approved by the Bahrain Monetary Agency and is expected to be listed on the Bahrain Stock Exchange in the near future.

The Arrangers; Liquidity Management Centre commented on the closing day; “Today represents a milestone for the financial community in the Kingdom of Bahrain with the successful closing of Al Marfa’a Al Mali Sukuk Issue reaffirming Bahrain’s position as a Financial Centre and further reflecting the optimism in the Sukuk market and its continued momentum”.