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Khazanah Nasional of Malaysia Lists $850 Million Sukuk on DIFX

- Raises Exchange's Share of Global Listings To 46%

- DIFX 's 10th Sukuk and first from outside its region
Khazanah Nasional Berhad, the investment holding arm of the Malaysian government, today listed its $850 million Sukuk (Islamic bond) on the Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX) . It is the first Sukuk from outside the exchange's region to be listed on the DIFX and underlines the DIFX 's stature as the world's largest exchange for Sukuk by value, now at $12.78 billion.

Per E. Larsson, Chief Executive of the DIFX , said: "The listing of Khazanah's Sukuk, the first from outside the Middle East on the DIFX , is a landmark event for the exchange, which now has 46% of all listed Sukuk by value. The Sukuk market continues to show dramatic growth and innovation on the DIFX , positioning Dubai and the Dubai International Financial Centre as the global hub for Islamic finance."

Khazanah said about 50% of its Sukuk was allocated to investors in the Middle East.

Hamed Ali, Executive Officer of the DIFX , said: "Over $15 billion of Sukuk have been issued globally so far this year, more than the whole of 2005. The investor base is international as well as regional and we expect this asset class to maintain its rapid growth."

Khazanah's Sukuk is the 10^th Sukuk listed on the DIFX . The other nine are from the DIFX region, from issuers in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The DIFX region includes the whole of the Middle East, North Africa and the Indian subcontinent.

Khazanah's Sukuk was oversubscribed by 13 times. It was issued via an independent special purpose company, Cherating Capital Ltd of Labuan, and has a maturity of five years. Sukuk holders will have an option to exchange it into ordinary shares of PLUS Expressways Bhd at the end of the maturity period.

Khazanah has also applied to list the Sukuk on the Labuan International Financial Exchange and the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong.

CIMB Investment Bank Bhd, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan were the joint bookrunners and joint lead managers, while CIMB Islamic Syariah Committee acted as the Shariah adviser for the issuance.
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About DIFX
The DIFX is the region's first international financial exchange for equities, bonds, Islamic products, funds, index products and (subject to regulatory approval) derivatives. The target areas of the DIFX for seeking issuers include the Middle East and North Africa, as well as South Africa, Turkey and the Indian sub-continent.

The exchange launched in September 2005 and currently has 18 Members - ABN AMRO, Arbuthnot Securities, Barclays Capital, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank , EFG-Hermes, Hichens, Harrison & Co, HSBC, ING Bank NV, Jefferies International, KAS BANK, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Mashreq Capital (DIFC), NBD Investment Bank , SHUAA Capital and UBS.

Issuers on the DIFX : Equities - Albaraka Banking Group (ordinary shares), Boulder Steel (ordinary shares), Citigold Corporation (ordinary shares), Fortune Management (ordinary shares), Gold Fields (American depositary shares), Hikma Pharmaceuticals (global depositary receipts), Kingdom Hotel Investments (ordinary shares), Man Industries (India) (global depositary receipts), Monarch Gold Mining Company (ordinary shares), Rana Sugars (global depositary receipts); Bonds - DP World (Medium Term Notes), Dubai Holding Commercial Operations Group (Medium Term Notes), MashreqBank (Medium Term Notes), National Bank of Dubai (Medium Term Notes); Islamic products - Aabar Sukuk (Sukuk), Cherating Capital (Sukuk), DAAR International Sukuk (Sukuk), DIB Sukuk (Sukuk), DIFC Investments (Sukuk), Dubai World Sukuk (Sukuk), IIG Funding Ltd (Sukuk), Nakheel Development (Sukuk), Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (Sukuk), TID Global Sukuk (Sukuk); Structured Products - Deutsche Bank (certificates over indices).

The regulator of the DIFX is the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). The DIFX is located in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and its owner is DIFC Investments. www.difx.ae

© Press Release 2007

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