With the aim of deploying up to US$ 1 billion

Khartoum, 29 March, 2010: Beltone Private Equity and Kenana Sugar Company have signed an agreement to create a private equity fund (MAHASEEL Agriculture Investment Fund) with the aim of deploying up to US$ 1 billion in large-scale agriculture projects in Sudan and Egypt. The fund will be managed by Beltone Agriculture, a joint venture between Beltone and Kenana.

Mr. Hazem Barakat, CEO of Beltone Private Equity, said that Beltone would provide investment management, corporate finance and strategy capabilities for the fund, which will focus on investments in agriculture; the production and processing of crops and livestock in Sudan, as well as opportunities in food processing and agro-related businesses in Egypt.

Mr. Mohamed El Mardi, Managing Director of Kenana, said that, "Kenana will support the venture through its extensive technical know-how and operational expertise in the agricultural sector and deep agricultural experience in Sudan", He also added that 'agriculture plays a vital role in the development of Sudan and Egypt and is a major source of income for both economies'.

Mr. Aladdin Saba CEO of Beltone Financial Holding stressed that the abundance of fertile land and water availability all point to the agricultural potential of Sudan.

Saba added that MAHASEEL will provide direct exposure to the agriculture and agribusiness sector by offering a compelling investment mandate that addresses the region's food concerns and covers attractive green-field projects and private equity opportunities in the agriculture sector, agribusiness and agro-related industries and services in Sudan and Egypt.

Discalimer

The material set forth herein is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in any jurisdiction in which such an offer or solicitation is unlawful. No public offering of securities will be made in any jurisdiction.

Mohamed El Mardi Tegani

Mr. Mohamed El Mardi Tegani, 52, currently is the Managing Director Kenana Sugar Company; a multi-billion dollar investment specialized in production of food and energy. Kenana is considered to be the largest integrated company in the world for cane growing, sugar manufacturing, animal feed, ethanol, produce farm & forestry products like meat, poultry, milk, wood products, grains and engineering services.

Mohamed El Mardi joined the Marketing and Sales Division of Kenana in 1982, which then was very much in its embryonic stage. With the challenging attitude that is innate to him, he transformed the Marketing Division into a full-fledged vibrant entity which firmly established the name of Kenana globally.

On assuming responsibility of the coveted Managing Director position in Feb 2007, he transformed Kenana from the traditional tag of 'sugar producer' and diversified in various other fields like production of Ethanol, Green Tops (a nutritional product for animals) and production of animal feed pellets from molasses.

In his drive to increase Sudan's sugar production, he initiated the White Nile Sugar Project (WNSP) with crushing capacity of 26,000 TCDs and production of 450,000 MT of sugar pa. WNSP is US$ 1 billion investment wherein Kenana has taken 30% stake. Kenana is currently managing the implementation of this project.

Having firm plan and designs for the benefit of Sudan and its people he has now successfully embarked upon managing agricultural schemes for out-growers in the regions of south White Nile State, Rahad and El Souki which extends to around 450,000 acres and grows sorghum, groundnuts, maize and sunflower.

Besides heading the multi-faceted challenges of Kenana and its subsidiaries, Mohamed El Mardi has active role in Boards of various institutions such as Industrial Development Bank, University of Khartoum, University of Bakht El Reeda, Consultative Council to the Minister of Industry and External Trade, NGOs and Humanitarian organizations.

He has also held various high level positions in international organizations, noteworthy among them being the Chairman of International Sugar Organization (ISO), Member of Sudan National Negotiating Team to WTO Accession. He has also participated in WTO bilateral negotiations with Japan, Canada, Australia, Brazil and China, and chairing the Commercial Group of Least Developed Countries under the EU initiative - Everything But Arms.

He also represents Kenana in the council of the World Association of Beet & Cane Growers (WABCG), World Sugar Research Organisation, GAFTA (International Grains Orgainsation), Refined Sugar Association and Sugar Association of London.

Mardi has been bestowed with the Sudan Award 'El Nilein First Class' awarded by the Presidential Decree in 2005 for the exemplary contribution towards the development of sugar sector and other agro-based industry in Sudan.

Mardi is a graduate in B.Sc (Hons) in Business Administration from the Faculty of Economics, University of Khartoum, Sudan.

-Ends-

About Kenana Sugar Company
Kenana is considered to be the largest integrated company in the world for cane growing, sugar manufacturing, animal feed, ethanol, produce farm & forestry products like meat, poultry, milk, wood products, grains & engineering services.  It was incorporated in 1973 by a successful combination of Arab finance, Western technology and natural resources of Sudan. Kenana has its headquarters in Khartoum, Sudan and has offices in London, UK (marketing) and Dubai, UAE (procurement).

Kenana has sugar plantation of over 100,000 acres and a factory with peak capacity of 26,000 TCD to produce average of 400,000 MT of sugar and 70 MWs of power. It operates an ethanol plant with 200,000 litres/day capacity to produce 65 million litres pa. Its animal feed plant has a capacity of 100,000 MT which also produces 1 million tons of green fodder. Its estate has 1,600 cows that produce 4 million litres of milk pa, poultry of 2.5 million kgs and 20,000 bulls pa. Kenana also manages agriculture schemes covering more than 450,000 acres to produce sorghum, groundnuts, maize and sunflower.

Kenana Engineering & Technical Services (KETS), its wholly owned subsidiary, is a leading engineering and consulting services firm which serves the agro-industrial sector in Sudan and Africa. KETS's principal services include project feasibility, the full range of project engineering services from initiation to commissioning, technical auditing, training and research. KETS has been successfully delivering projects in Sudan and within other African countries since 1995.  KETS is currently delivering White Nile Sugar Project of US$ 1 billion size.

About Beltone Financial Holding SAE
Beltone Financial Holding is one of the fastest growing investment banks in the Middle East and one of the region's leading financial services firms, founded in 2002 by leaders in the financial services industry in the Middle East. Headquartered in Cairo, Egypt, Beltone Financial has attracted some of the brightest brains, growing to a staff of almost 292. Offices have been established in New York, Saudi Arabia, Qatar , the United Arab Emirates and Libya .

Beltone serves institutions and high-net-worth investors in the world's most exciting investment market, outranking every other investment bank in the Middle East for year-on-year growth since its inception. Beltone Financial comprises divisions for asset management (AUM 24 bn LE), Investment Banking (52 bn LE in transactions), private equity (AUM 2.1 bn LE), brokerage (Ranked #1 in trading 2009 Egypt) and research.

© Press Release 2010