Bahrain, 13 May 2008 -- Unicorn Investment Bank (Unicorn) announces the successful close of capital raising for Turquoise Coast Investment Company, a real estate investment company established to provide investors with an opportunity to benefit from the thriving vacation homes market on Turkey's Aegean Coast. The company will invest in vacation homes developments that are currently being planned on the Bodrum Peninsula.

Turquoise Coast Investment Company allows investors to capitalize on the strong demand for vacation homes in Turkey, which is emerging as one of the fastest growing markets for international buyers seeking either a holiday home or an attractive real estate investment abroad. The demand growth has been fuelled by a number of different factors, which include attractive pricing relative to other Mediterranean markets, the recent introduction of mortgage products targeted at foreign buyers and growth in direct international flight routes.

Commenting on the successful close of fundraising for the company, Mohamed Marei, Director - Asset Management at Unicorn, said: "We are pleased at the very positive response to this investment opportunity. In recent years, the Bodrum Peninsula has emerged as the most high profile coastal tourism and vacation homes destination in Turkey due to year-round pleasant weather, a peaceful and tranquil atmosphere and excellent infrastructure facilities including a well served international airport. This has resulted in a strong real estate market and attractive rental yields. Furthermore, the development sites identified by the Company are ideally situated in prime locations along the coast and target a range of buyer segments, from medium priced units to luxury homes geared towards the higher end of the market."

Turquoise Coast Investment Company is the latest product offering by Unicorn's Asset Management division which has recently been restructured to offer investment products within two distinct streams: real estate and listed securities. The restructuring included the hiring of several new specialists with extensive regional and international experience in real estate, listed equities and fixed income products.

Najib Fayyad, Head of Asset Management at Unicorn, commented: "The restructuring will see the division expand its real estate focus to include both real estate private equity opportunities and real estate funds, with an initial focus on the GCC region and Turkey. The division will also offer listed securities products as part of our commitment to providing investors with Shari'ah-compliant equity and fixed income funds and discretionary portfolio services offering returns that are competitive with those of conventional products in similar asset classes."

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ABOUT UNICORN INVESTMENT BANK
Founded in May 2004 and based in Bahrain, Unicorn Investment Bank B.S.C. (c) (Unicorn) is an Islamic investment bank, with an international presence in the United States, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey. Unicorn is built around six core business lines: Corporate Finance, Capital Markets, Private Equity, Asset Management, Strategic Mergers & Acquisitions and Treasury. To date, Unicorn has advised, structured and successfully placed deals with a total value of over US$3.3 billion. The Bank has achieved consistent growth since its inception and has received widespread industry recognition for excellence and vision. In 2007, the Bank achieved earnings of US$122.0 million, an increase of 82% from US$66.9 million in 2006. Net profit increased by 66%, from US$30.1 million in 2006 to US$50.1 million in 2007.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Mai Aljishi
Corporate Communications
Unicorn Investment Bank
Phone: +973 17566071
Email: maljishi@unicorninvestmentbank.com
Samantha Bartel
Buchanan Middle East
Phone: +9714 3698561
Email: samantha.bartel@buchananme.com

© Press Release 2008