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BMCE Capital with More Than $2billion of Different Assets under Management Launches the $250m Maghreb Siyaha Fund

To capitalize on strong projected growth of real estate & tourism sectors

Dubai, UAE - BMCE Capital , the investment banking subsidiary of BMCE Bank , the second largest private bank in Morocco, today unveils a unique opportunity for leading UAE based institutions and individual investors to partner with leading Moroccan entities as a first step into successful investments in Morocco and the rest of the Maghreb region.

The Maghreb Siyaha Fund offers a variety of investment opportunities managed by multi-disciplined fund managers and experienced board of directors that have access to a huge network of deal flows, multifaceted expertise, financial products and off market transactions. Whilst conforming with international standards and transparent policies.

“The expansion and development of the Maghreb region has been exponential in the past years, and the tourism and retail sectors specifically are forecasted to grow over six times by 2012, to reach over $20billion in investments,” commented Jaloul Ayed, Chairman of the Board, BMCE Capital and Maghreb Siyaha Fund. “This potential attracted significant investments from outside the Maghreb, predominantly from GCC states and Europe, and initial enquiries indicate that a minimum of 25% of the overall fund’s capital will be raised from investors in the GCC region. Our road show meetings this week aim to present this exclusive investment opportunity to a wider group of high net worth individuals and institutional investors looking for high rates of return in a rapidly developing region.”

The fund is close ended and upon closing will be endowed with $250 million in equity, enabling it to potentially accumulate more than $600 million asset base constructed from the over $300 million of current deal flow that are being negotiated for early closing. Primary targets for development are gated communities, with a 20% allocation target from the final fund; however greenfield developments, apartment hotels, new hotels and secondary homes are each slated to receive between 15% and 20% of the fund. The first closing of the fund will be achieved in June 2007.

“Balancing the allocation of funds will ensure that the investments drive social and economic growth, as well as creating employment opportunities, at the same time as offering attractive rates to our GCC investors,” commented Rachid Alami, General Manager, Actif Invest, The Maghreb Siyaha Fund. “As the first fund to be fully dedicated to investing in a wide range of diversified yet complementary products in the tourism sector, we hope that it will act as a platform to attract investors taking their first step into successful investments in Morocco. Our experience in other real estate and private equity funds allow us to target a 20% yearly net IRR over the 7 years life of the fund.

The Moroccan Government has also indicated a strong commitment to the tourism sector by recently signing an “Open Sky” agreement with Europe to boost tourist numbers, targeted for 10 million arrivals by 2010. With a current growth rate of 12% 6.5m tourists visited Morocco in 2006. This growth is driving the injection of additional investment in the tourism sector from the government and both foreign and local private initiatives, BMCE is confident of strong rates of return for investors considering this sector.

In a statement of support H.E. Adel Douiri, Minister of Tourism, Handicraft and Social economy commented “I am delighted to notice and fully support the strong interests from foreign investors and especially from the Middle East in our burgeoning tourism sector. Maghreb Siyaha Fund will play an important role in financing those innovative projects that are likely to re-shape our Moroccan Tourism sector.”

-Ends-

About BMCE Capital
BMCE Capital is the largest private investment banking firm in the Kingdom of Morocco with more than $ 2 billion of a diversified portfolio of assets under management. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of BMCE Bank , the second largest Moroccan Private Bank. BMCE Capital has been pioneering new and creative financial products catering to both local and international investors and professionally managed in accordance to international standards, In 2005, BMCE Capital has successfully launched the first professionally managed real estate fund in the Kingdom of Morocco. Today, Actif Capital 1 is fully invested in 5 diversified real estate assets with a market value of $ 70 million.

For more information, please contact:
Samantha Bartel
Buchanan Middle East
Tel: +971 4 369 8561
Mob: +971 50 656 8851
Fax: +971 4 369 8556
Email: samantha.bartel@buchananme.com

Wasseem S. Kabbara
Placement Advisor
Maghreb Siyaha Fund
Mob: + 212 61 19 11 00
Fax : +212 22 43 46 88
Email:w.kabbara@morconsult.com

© Press Release 2007