Tokyo, February 2, 2009--The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. (BTMU) announced today it will open a sub-branch in Doha, Qatar, having acquired formal approval from the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA).

BTMU aims to use the Doha sub-branch to further enhance the information gathering, financial services and other support that it provides to corporate customers active in the Middle East region. In its operations the Doha sub-branch will liaise with BTMU's Bahrain branch, which opened in 1980, and draw on BTMU's network in the Middle East, which, with three sub-branches (Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Doha) and three representative offices (Istanbul, Cairo and Tehran), comprises seven locations, the largest Middle East network of any Japanese bank. BTMU has also maintained a partnership with the Dubai-Japan Desk of the National Bank of Abu Dhabi since 2002..    

Qatar has an abundance of natural gas resources and its GDP per capita, already one of the highest in the world[RH1] , is expected to rise further with the start of operation of natural gas projects currently under development there. Other areas where BTMU aims to offer its global expertise include natural gas- and infrastructure-related project finance, governmental organization loan trading, and managing surplus funds derived from its natural gas revenue.

BTMU is one of over 100 companies that have received approval to commence operations in the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), which was established by the government of Qatar in May 2005 with the following main objectives:

Attracting foreign financial institutions that can manage revenue derived from the country's natural resource revenues;

(ii) Administering the provision of financial services for Qatari natural resource enterprises and;

(iii) Nurturing industries in Qatar that are not directly related to oil and natural gas.

The number of foreign companies expanding into the Middle East has increased rapidly in recent years, particularly in the Gulf area. Doha, the capital of Qatar, is establishing itself as a hub of transportation and commodity distribution in the region, creating a concentration of Middle East business information and expertise in Doha. The number of companies developing operations in Doha, both Japanese and of other nationalities is likely to grow further, and BTMU aims to provide assistance to such customers.

BTMU aims to further raise the quality of the financial services it provides to its customers in its business worldwide, to achieve its goal of being No.1 in service, No.1 in reliability, No.1 in global coverage.

-Ends-

About MUFG
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG) is one of the world's leading financial groups, and its main operating companies include the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. (BTMU), which is Japan's leading bank; Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation (MUTB), Japan's largest trust bank and a leader in asset management and asset administration; and Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Co., Ltd., one of Japan's largest investment banking and securities firms.

About BTMU
BTMU, a subsidiary of MUFG, is Japan's leading bank with over 800 branches in Japan, 40 million retail customers and over 400,000 corporate customers. BTMU also has offices in more than 40 countries worldwide spanning Asia, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, while BTMU's subsidiary, Union Bank, N.A. (formerly Union bank of California), has over 300 branches, mainly in California.

BTMU in the Middle East
BTMU has the largest presence in the Middle East of any Japanese bank, and serves its strong customer base through a wide-reaching network that spans branches in Bahrain and Qatar, a sub-branch in Dubai, representative offices in Cairo, Istanbul, and Tehran, an office in Abu Dhabi, and a partnership with the Dubai-Japan Desk of the National Bank of Abu Dhabi. Leveraging this network, BTMU provides a range of business support and financial services to customers operating in the Middle East. BTMU is also engaged in syndicated loans, trade finance, and project finance for natural resource projects, and plays a central role as mandated lead arranger and project advisor in the financing of major development projects in the region.

© Press Release 2009