Dubai, Mar.30, 2006 (WAM) --- The consortium of TECOM Investmentsand Dubai Investment Group (TECOM-DIG) - both members of DubaiHolding - which emerged the highest bidder for 35 % of TunisieTelecom, said today that the investment will be a strategic movethat will tap the growth of the Tunisian market.

The consortium yesterday emerged the highest bidder with an offerof US$ 2.25 billion. The bid outstripped all earlier ones includingVivendi's latest offer of US$ 2.04 Billion.

TECOM-DIG was pre-qualified together with 12 other internationaltelecom operators in Q3 2005. Six operators presented formaloffers in February 2006, including France Telecom, Vivendi Universal,Etisalat, Saudi Oger/Telecom Italia and MTN from South Africa.

Only TECOM-DIG and Vivendi Universal were selected for the finalbidding round. The bidding was a closed process with the offersopened at a public ceremony.

"We are proud and pleased to make this major investment in afellow Arab country," said Ahmad Bin Byat, CEO of TECOM Investments.

"We understand the region and the culture and this will helpus maximise value for Tunisie Telecom and facilitate the developmentof Tunisia.""This will be a strategic investment for us in the region andwill aid the development of the Arab region's economy. The investmentwould be the first step for TECOM's interest in Tunisia and thedevelopment of its ICT sector. We are delighted to include thisfast growing Tunisian asset in our portfolio and look forwardto seeing fast growth, notably in the mobile, enterprise anddata sectors," Bin Byat added.

Soud Ba'alawy, CEO Dubai Investment Group said, "Tunisie Telecomhas significant growth potential and is an extremely valuableinvestment. For DIG, this forms part of a long-term commitmentto the Tunisian market. We find the Tunisian economy both attractiveand sustainable. DIG believes in investing in the growing telecomsector in the region as part of its mission to diversify itsinvestment portfolio globally."Tunisie Telecom is well positioned to tap the expected rapidincrease in uptake of telecom services among Tunisia's 10.2 millionpopulation. At the end of 2005, the company already had a substantialcustomer base of 3.4 million mobile subscribers and 1.2 millionfixed line subscribers. Tunisie Telecom is the sole providerof fixed line services. In the mobile market, Tunisie Telecomcompetes against Tunisiana and has a majority market share of60% in the mobile sector. Additionally, Tunisie Telecom is amajority shareholder of Mattel, a mobile operator in Mauritania.

Tunisie Telecom is an integrated operator providing Fixed, Mobileand Data Services in Tunisia. The TECOM-DIG consortium establishedtheir International Telecom arm earlier in 2005. TECOM is a telecomoperator in the UAE and has recently gone public with its telecomoperations through its investment in EITC (Du).

Talks between the UAE and Tunisia began in 2005 when Mohammed Al Gergawi, Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs inthe UAE and Executive Chairman of Dubai Holding visited the TunisianPresident, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. At the time, Gergawi praisedTunisia for its initiatives and complimented Tunisia's thrivingand diverse economy.