Abu Dhabi/Dubai: January 12, 2004. The National Central Cooling Company (PJSC) (“Tabreed”) today announced that it intends to imminently launch in the local, regional, and international capital markets its debut US$ 100.0 Islamic Sukuk Offering (“ISO”) in the coming weeks.

Karl Marietta, Tabreed’s Director of Finance, said, “This offering can be considered as groundbreaking in a lot of regards, as it will be one of the first corporate Islamic Sukuk Offerings, to be listed in Luxembourg, and given its wide ownership base, will help establish a benchmark for future corporate Islamic Sukuk Offerings. We feel that it will be a new milestone for Tabreed in its strategic growth plans, and a groundbreaking transaction for regional capital markets and Islamic capital markets in general”.

Mr. Marietta further concluded, “This transaction will provide the opportunity for the wider Islamic investor base to participate in the Tabreed story, in turn providing Tabreed with a new source of efficient and attractive capital and widening its investor base. This will help the Company consolidate its leading market position in the UAE and support its sound growth plans while further solidify the Company’s capital structure. The proceeds will be mainly used to finance current plants and future identified expansion projects”.

Christian R. Mouchbahani, Director, The National Investor added: “New and original corporate finance solutions such as this Islamic Sukuk Offering for Tabreed, will help support the growth of companies in the UAE and GCC and be the cornerstone of local, regional and International Islamic market developments. Tabreed has always been at the forefront of such successful innovative business and financial strategy developments.”

Joseph Firas Chakra, Director at Credit Suisse First Boston said: “CSFB is delighted to be working with Tabreed and The National Investor on what we believe is one of the first public and Luxemburg-listed corporate Sukuk transactions. We believe that leading business entities from the GCC region, such as Tabreed, will be playing a leading role in the further development and deepening of the Islamic and regional capital markets, and we are pleased to be associated with these important developments.”

As mentioned previously, The National Investor (TNI) has been retained as Sole Advisor and Sole Arranger for the ISO, and The National Investor together with Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) will act as joint-lead managers. The overall syndication and placement structure and strategy is being finalized.

About Tabreed: Tabreed has offered district cooling services as a utility in the UAE for over five years, pioneering energy efficient gas-fired and electric-powered district cooling solutions in the UAE and across the region. The largest district cooling service provider in the world, Tabreed offers customers the highest quality service through an integrated energy system devised to help them optimise their energy usage and reduce power and maintenance costs.

Tabreed is a member of the International District Energy Association (IDEA), Association of Energy Engineers (AEE), International Association for Energy Economics (IAEE), International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR), American Gas Cooling Centre, Inc. (AGCC) and the Dubai Quality Group.

The National Investor: The National Investor is a leading UAE based regional advisory and investment firm with a track record in innovative advisory, fundraising, private equity and asset management. The National Investor is backed by 60 UAE based shareholders and is actively involved in investment banking, private equity, and asset management.

Credit Suisse First Boston: Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) is a leading global investment bank serving institutional, corporate, government and individual clients. CSFB’s businesses include securities underwriting, sales and trading, investment banking, private equity, financial advisory services, investment research, venture capital, correspondent brokerage services and asset management. CSFB operates in 69 locations in 34 countries across five continents. The firm is a business unit of the Zurich-based Credit Suisse Group, a leading global financial services company.