Muscat, August 18th 2008 - BankMuscat, the Sultanate's leading financial institution, was awarded an advisory mandate by the Jordanian Government owned Aqaba Water Company, a water and wastewater utility. The BankMuscat led advisory group will advise on all financial, technical and legal matters relating to the project.

BankMuscat along with technical advisor Mott Macdonald, international legal advisor Allen & Overy and local legal advisor Khalifeh & Partners won the mandate after competing with ten international advisory consortium. The advisory group will assist Aqaba Water Company in the preparation of strategy report and managing the competitive bid process to select a private sector developer for the project. All members of the advisory team are highly reputed and are consistently in the top ranks of leading infrastructure magazines.

The signing ceremony was held under the auspices of H.E. Engineer Ra'ed Abulso'oud, Minister of Water and Irrigation. The advisory agreement was signed by Mr. Emad Zreikat, Director General of the Aqaba Water Company and Mr. Sulaiman bin Mohamed Bin Hamed Al Yahyai- Director, BankMuscat S.A.O.G. The occasion was graced by H.E. Musallam Bin Bakhit Al-Barami, Ambassador of Sultanate of Oman to Hashemite Kingdom of Jordon, H.E. Engineer Imad Fakhory- The CEO of Aqaba Development Company, the Vice president of AWC Board of Directors and other Board members, Management and the advisory team.

On the occasion, Sulaiman Yahyai thanked AWC on behalf of BankMuscat and its partners. He said, "We are excited about our partnership with Aqaba Water Company. We are especially honored as this is the first partnership of its kind for BankMuscat in Jordan and hope will lay the foundation for many more opportunities to work together in the years to come. We are committed to working together with AWC to complete the transaction successfully." 

With the large infrastructure projects being developed in Jordan and the Government's increased efforts to create a suitable and attractive business environment, BankMuscat has initiated discussions with several other key projects in the Kingdom to provide comprehensive advisory services.  

-Ends-

Notes to the Editor:
All the Advisory team members are highly reputed and are consistently ranked highly by leading infrastructure magazines

The advisory group has wide international experience of working in Europe, Middle East and Asian sub continent. 

About BankMuscat (SAOG):
With assets worth over USD 11.9 billion, BankMuscat (SAOG) is the largest financial services provider in Oman today with a strong presence in Corporate Banking, Retail Banking, Investment Banking, Treasury, Private Banking and Asset Management. The Bank has a network of 116 branches and over 300 ATMs and 76 CDM's in Oman, a branch in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and a representative office in Dubai (UAE). BankMuscat currently owns 49% of BMI Bank B.S.C ©, an independent bank in the Kingdom of Bahrain that is focused on becoming a truly GCC bank. The Bank also has a 43% stake in the Mangal Keshav Group, one of the oldest and most respected securities houses in the fast-growing Indian equities market. Earlier this year, the Bank acquired a 35% stake in Saudi Pak Commercial Bank to enter the high-growth Pakistan market.

For more information, please contact:
Hassan Al Saleh
Trans-Arabian Creative Communications (TRACCS)
Muscat, Sultanate of Oman
Telephone: +968 24 605-028
Fax: +968 24 605-027
Email: hassan.alsaleh@traccs.net

Suha Al Raisi
Assistant Manager, Corporate Communications
BankMuscat SAOG
Telephone: +968 24 768-595
Fax: +968 24 787-768
Visit: www.bankmuscat.com

© Press Release 2008