Arab Tourism Organization and Siraj Capital Ltd. sign an agreement to establish The Arab Tourism Bank

July 7, 2007

Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - July 6, 2007 - An agreement for the establishment of The Arab Tourism Bank was signed on Wednesday July 4th at the Hilton Hotel in Jeddah, between The Arab Tourism Organization and Siraj Capital Ltd, in the presence of his Royal Highness Prince Sultan Bin Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, The Secretary General for The Supreme Commission for Tourism in Saudi Arabia and under the patronage of the President of the 10th council for the Arab Ministers of Tourism, his Excellency Engineer Joseph Sarkis, Lebanon's Minister of Tourism.

This agreement followed a resolution taken by their Excellencies, the Arab Ministers of Tourism during their 8th council meeting, mandating The Arab Tourism Organization to undertake all necessary steps to establish The Arab Tourism Bank.

The Arab Tourism Organization in partnership with Siraj Capital will undertake the required market and feasibility studies, financial and regulatory structuring work and the preparation of a private placement memorandum for the bank's initial paid up capital.

According to Dr. Ghassan Al Sulaiman, Chairman of Siraj Capital, "Siraj will lead this initiative in partnership with Osus Company to identify the most appropriate model for the operation of the bank based on similar international existing models and to locate the strategic partners that would add the most value to the Bank at its inception and later once it becomes operational."

The council of Arab Ministers of Tourism recently stressed the importance of supporting the tourism sector in the Arab world and the establishment of an overreaching strategy that caters to this industry, and its financial requirements.

According to Mr. Bandar Fahed Al Fehaid, President of the Arab Tourism Organization, "the results of recent research and studies have underlined the importance of the establishment of The Arab Tourism Bank as a central focus point for supporting the development of the tourism sector throughout the Arab countries, where tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors".

For some Arab countries, the tourism sector represents a major source of income and a main contributor to the country's GDP. Other countries view this sector as a very promising investment opportunity, given that their tourism infrastructure, services and standards are not fully developed and can compete to attract tourists from both within the Arab region as well as from outside. On the other hand these countries enjoy natural and touristic attractions and hence have a pressing need to attract local and foreign investment and know-how that would help in developing these tourism opportunities while at the same time providing the necessary knowledge and training required for sustaining such developments.

The Arab Tourism Organization and Siraj Capital aim to establish the Arab Tourism Bank - as a tourism investment bank to be capitalized at $ 2 Billion, serving all Arab countries. By incepting, structuring and managing several investment funds, through which it would invest exclusively and directly in certain Arab countries, the ATB and Siraj Capital would also target other investment funds focusing on the tourism sectors such as (hotels, travel services, restaurants, sports tourism, entertainment and touristic venues, and health and religious tourism) throughout the Arab world.

The Arab Tourism Organization is an independent body set up by the Arab League of Nations to further the development of the tourism sector throughout its member countries.

Siraj Capital Ltd is an investment company specializing in developing, sponsoring, seeding and launching innovative investment funds and investment opportunities in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Siraj Capital Ltd has recently co-launched RAHALA, a $ 500 Million regional hospitality investment company.