The Kingdom's representative shows the way with an 18.8 per cent return on model portfolio

Jeddah, 04 April 2006: Saudi Arabia's National Commercial Bank (NCB), the one trusted investment partner in the Kingdom, today announced its success - against 'blue chip' global institutions - in winning a title that recognizes it as one of the world's top stock pickers.

NCB's Amer Al Karnous, Head of Strategic Business Planning, took first place in the Wellington Institute Investment Challenge, an international competition pitting some of the world's most astute institutional investors against each other. Representatives from mainstream investors such as General Motors Asset Management, Hong Kong Monetary Fund, Citigroup Private Banking, and Government of Singapore Investment Corporation took part in the competition.

The contestants tested their skills against each other over a four-month period during which the performance was measured of share portfolios they had assembled. At the end of the period they were ranked in order of the returns made on investment. Karnous, with an impressive 18.8 per cent return on his portfolio selections, came out ahead of the field to take the prize.

The Wellington Institute Investment Challenge was founded in 1998 as way to recognise excellence in investment.

NCB was the first Saudi Arabian bank to introduce mutual funds in the Kingdom in 1979 and remains the leader of the industry because of its extensive experience and expertise in the field. The bank is acknowledged internationally as the pioneer and innovator in Islamic Shariah-compliant mutual funds. This achievement was recognized when NCB was awarded the Euromoney International Award for the Best Islamic Asset Management House for two consecutive years in 2003 and 2004.

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For Further information:
Amr Banaja,
Head of Marketing,
Investment Services,
The National Commercial Bank,
Tel: +966 2 2633636 Ext. 3231;
Email: A.Banaja@alahli.com

For further press information:
Noha Habib,
Promoseven Weber Shandwick,
Dubai,
Tel: +971 4 3210077
Email: noha.habib@promoseven.com

© Press Release 2006