BLOMINVEST BANK S.A.L.

Economic Research Department

“The Brief” can be accessed via Internet at the following web address: http://www.blom.com.lb

The Lebanon Brief Issue No. 426 4 April, 2005 – 9 April, 2005

Highlights of the Week

Economic Statistics…...………………..…..……….p.6-10

q Total Money Supply (M3) Down $151m q Airport Activity Up by 2.3% up to March 2005 q Sales of New Cars Dropped by 22% up to March 2005 q Trade Defi cit Up by 29.3% up to February 2005 q BoP Registers $784m Deficit in February 2005 q Coincident Indicator Down 0.4% in January 2005 q Bank Loans to Private Sector Down by 1.3% in January 2005 q Consumer and Food Basket Prices Up by 1.39% in January 2005 q Cement Deliveries Down 17% in January 2005

Weekly Developments………….....…..………….…………...p.11

q $278m Advances to EdL and MoE q Lebanon Wins 17 out of 45 Pan Arab Web Awards

Lebanon in the World....……….....…..……...……....p.12

q Lebanon Ranks 11th in Competitiveness Among Arab Countries

Corporate News ……………….....…..……....……....p.13

q BLOM Distributes 2004 Dividends q Solidere’s Net Profits Reached $54.1m in 2004 q BLOM Contributes $1m to the Assistance Fund q Credit Libanais Signs a Credit Line Agreement with ATFP q Lebanese Canadian Bank Offers Joint Account with ADCB q MDSL Launches New Banking Software

BLOMINVEST Bank S.A.L. 1

The Lebanon Brief Issue No. 426 4 April, 2005 – 9 April, 2005

EQUITY MARKET

Stock Market 08/04/05 01/04/05 % Change BLOM Stock Index † 680.49 688.01 (1.09%) Total Volume Traded 182,103 1,186,061 (84.65%) Total Value Traded $2,515,783 $11,796,603 (78.67%) †22 January 1996 = 1000

BLOM STOCK INDEX Yearly Evolution Hi 710.12 730 700 670 640 610 580 Lo 498.38 550 520

490 460 430 400 04 04 04 04 04 04 04 04 04 05 05 05 05 Apr - May - Jun - Jul - Aug - Sep - Oct - Nov - Dec - Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr -

Activity on the Beirut Stock Exchange retreated this week as the total value of traded shares dropped to nearly $2.5m dispersed among nine different stocks. Accordingly, the BLOM Stock Index

Markets took a similar path retreating week-on-week by nearly 8 points to close at 688.01 amid four losing stocks, three non-movers and two gainers.

Banking Sector Mkt 08/04/05 01/04/05 % Change BLOM (GDR) BSE $31.00 $30.00 3.33% BLOM (GDR) LSE $30.01 $30.01 0.00% Audi (C) BSE ------Audi (GDR) BSE $29.50 $29.50 0.00% Audi (GDR) LSE $28.50 $28.50 0.00% Byblos (C) BSE $1.58 $1.58 0.00%

Byblos Preferred BSE $104.00 $104.00 0.00% Bank of Beirut (C) BSE $8.00 $7.96 0.50% Bank of Beirut Pref. BSE $11.35 $11.35 0.00% BLC (C) BSE $2.94 $2.94 0.00% BLC (GDR) Lux ------Fransabank (B) OTC $1.30 $1.30 0.00% BEMO (C) BSE $3.45 $3.45 0.00%

On the banking front, BLOM’s GDR price increased by 3.33% to $31 on total value of around $115,000. Similarly, Bank of Beirut’s common shares’ price rose by 0.50% to $8.00 on a single trade worth $960. On the other hand, the price of Byblos common shares stabilized at $1.58 on one trade worth $1,580. Internationally, both BLOM’s and Audi’s GDRs stabilized at $30.01 and $28.50 respectively.

Financial

BLOMINVEST Bank S.A.L. 2

The Lebanon Brief Issue No. 426 4 April, 2005 – 9 April, 2005

Real Estate Mkt 08/04/05 01/04/05 % Change

Solidere (A) BSE $8.74 $8.91 (1.91%) Solidere (B) BSE $8.68 $8.90 (2.47%) Solidere (GDR) LSE $9.58 $10.50 (8.76%)

Financial

Both classes of Solidere ended losing ground this week. The “A” shares saw their price edging down by 1.91% to $8.74 on a total value of approximately $1m. In turn, the price of the “B” class retreated by 2.47% to $8.68 on a value approaching $403,000. It is to note that Solidere’s net profits reached $54m in 2004. This rise in profits was largely attributable to the new selling strategy adopted by the company where shareholders could buy property at a discount through stock payments. Internationally, the company’s GDR regressed by 8.76% to $9.58.

Manufacturing Sector Mkt 08/04/05 01/04/05 % Change

HOLCIM Liban BSE $0.78 $0.78 0.00% Ciments Blancs (B) BSE $1.15 $1.15 0.00% Ciments Blancs (N) BSE $1.50 $1.50 0.00%

Uniceramic (A) BSE $1.40 $1.40 0.00% Uniceramic (C) BSE $1.75 $1.75 0.00%

None of the five stocks in the manufacturing sector exchanged hands this week.

Mkt 08/04/05 01/04/05 % Change

Funds Lebanon Holdings BSE $4.75 $4.75 0.00% Beirut Interbank Fund BSE $99.00 $101.00 (1.98%) Markets Beirut Global Income BSE $99.00 $99.50 (0.50%) Beirut Lira Fund BSE LP99,500 LP99,500 0.00% BSE LP99,500 LP99,500 0.00% Beirut Golden Income Retail Sector

RYMCO BSE $1.10 $1.10 0.00% ABC (New) OTC $13.50 $13.50 0.00% Sector Casino Du Liban OTC $165.00 $165.00 0.00% SGHL OTC $5.00 $5.00 0.00%

The price of locally listed fund Beirut Global Income declined by 0.50% to $99.00 on one single trade worth $128,250. Similarly, the share price of Beirut Interbank Fund declined by 1.98% to $99.00 on a trade of 825 shares. As for LBP-dominated funds, both the share prices of Beirut Lira Fund and Beirut Golden Income stabilized at LBP 99,500 ($66) on a total volume of 11,200 and 206 shares respectively.

On the retail front, car retailer RYMCO did not register any trade this week.

BLOMINVEST Bank S.A.L. 3

The Lebanon Brief Issue No. 426 4 April, 2005 – 9 April, 2005

FOREIGN EXCHANGE MARKET

Foreign Exchange Market 08/04/05 01/04/05 % Change

LP / Dollar 1,507.5 1,507.5 0.00%

Dollar / Euro 1.2936 1.2907 0.22% Yen / Dollar 108.19 107.58 0.57%

Dollar / Sterling 1.8850 1.8811 0.21%

The local foreign exchange market remains affected by the ambiguous political situation, however at a much lower pace amid the slightly positive signs of adjustment on the national level. The Central Bank maintained its intervention policy selling the US dollar at the highest band range of LP/$1,514. In Interbank trading, the green currency was exchanged at LP/$ 1,514-1,515.

MONEY MARKET

Money Market Rates 08/04/05 01/04/05 b.p. Change Interbank Average‡ 11.50% 10.40% 110 BDL 45-day CD 4.40% 4.40% 0

BDL 60-day CD 4.89% 4.89% 0

Treasury Yields 31/03/05 24/03/05 b.p. Change

3-M TB yield 5.22% 5.22% 0 6-M TB yield 7.24% 6.31% 15 12-M TB yield 6.69% 6.69% 0 24-M TB coupon 7.74% 7.74% 0 36-M TB coupon 8.68% 8.68% 0 ‡day-to-day rate

Markets Trading activity in the money market increased by 110 b.p. with the

interbank overnight rate averaging 11.50% this week compared to 10.40% last week, still indicating a shortage in local currency liquidity at commercial banks.

March 24th TB auction resulted in a LP2.57bn ($1.7m) surplus of purchase subscriptions over maturities, with nominal subscriptions amounting to LP4.4bn ($2.9m) in short, medium and long-term papers. This surplus came despite a 57% decrease in the value of maturing bills to LP1.85bn ($1.23m).

3-years papers dominated 81% of total subscriptions during the March 24th auction, at a rate of 8.68%. They were followed by 2- years papers which covered 15.5% at 7.74%, while 2.5% were in 6-M TBs at 6.31%, and 0.5% were in 12-M TBs at 6.69%. Accordingly, the weighted effective yield decreased by 37b.p. on a weekly basis to 8.69%.

For the sixth consecutive week, the Central Bank did not sell any Certificates of Deposits. It is worth noting that the portfolio of outstanding CDs sold by BDL nearly stands at LP9,750bn.

Financial

BLOMINVEST Bank S.A.L. 4

The Lebanon Brief Issue No. 426 4 April, 2005 – 9 April, 2005

EUROBOND MARKET

Reuters Lebanese Government Bond Index 08/04/05 01/04/05 % Change Reuters Bond Index 150.77 149.50 0.85%

Lebanese Government Eurobonds

Maturity-Coupon Currency 08/04/05 Weekly Mid-Yield Financial Mid-Price Change % 2005 -8.750% USD 100.875 0.00% 6.37% 2005 -9.375% USD 100.625 0.00% 5.94% 2006 -9.875% USD 103.250 0.00% 6.55% 2006 -10.500% USD 103.750 0.00% 6.78% 2006- 8.875% EUR 103.250 0.00% 8.87% 2007 -8.625% USD 103.250 0.00% 7.15% 2008 -10.125% USD 107.500 0.00% 7.52% 2009 -7.25% EUR 99.750 0.00% 7.32% 2009 -10.25% USD 108.500 0.00% 7.96% 2009-5.885% USD 98.250 0.00% 6.32% 2009 -7.00% USD 98.000 0.00% 7.51% 2010 -7.125% USD 98.250 0.00% 7.56% 2011 -7.875% USD 99.000 0.00% 8.08% 2012-7.75% USD 98.250 0.00% 8.07% 2016 -11.625% USD 114.500 0.00% 9.48%

BLOM Bond Index

Maturity-Coupon Currency 08/04/05 01/04/05 Weekly Change % BLOM Bond Index † 97.93 97.93 0.00% Total Volume Traded 0 0 Total Value Traded $0 $0

†7 April 2004 = 100

In the Eurobond market, the government short, medium and long- term bonds experienced a decline in their prices earlier this week and

rose gradually thereafter. Consequently, the prices of Eurobonds Markets remained identical to those registered last week. As for the corporate eurobonds, they showed no price variation this week. As a result, the average offer-yield on all traded bonds dropped slightly by 6 basis points to 6.39% on Friday. Locally, the BLOM Bond Index maintained its lowest level at 97.93 registering no trade for the third consecutive week.

Lebanese Corporate Eurobonds Issuer Maturity- 08/04/05 Weekly Mid-Yield Coupon Mid-Price Change % Crédit Libanais 2005-9.000% 102.125 0.00% 0.83% Méditerranée 2005-9.750% 103.125 0.00% 1.90% BLOM 2005-9.000% 103.750 0.00% 3.12% Crédit Libanais 2006-6.750% 101.625 0.00% 5.38% HOLCIM Liban 2006-10.000% 106.500 0.00% 4.60% Méditerranée 2006-6.375% 100.875 0.00% 5.75% First National Bank 2007-6.875% 101.250 0.00% 6.10% Fransabank 2007-8.500% 105.815 0.00% 6.10% Audi 2010-10.75% 116.000 0.00% 6.95% Byblos 2012-9.000% 108.000 0.00% 7.51%

BLOMINVEST Bank S.A.L. 5

The Lebanon Brief Issue No. 426 4 April, 2005 – 9 April, 2005

Total Money Supply (M3) Down $151m

th Figures released by the Central Bank for the week ending March 24 , 2005 indicated that LP deposits decreased by an estimated LP385bn

($255m) week-on-week, whereas foreign currency deposits increased by $120m in the same period. On the other hand, TBs’ subscriptions by the public stabilized at LP3,328bn ($2.2bn). As for money supply (M3), which includes deposits in foreign currencies, it decreased by $151m week-on-week to reach LP69,256bn ($45.9bn), while rising by 6.5% year-on-year.

Money Supply(M 3)

69,256 70,000 65,051

57,822 60,000 52,633 49,499 in billions of LP 50,000

40,000 24 Mar 24 Mar 24 Mar 24 Mar 24 Mar '01 '02 '03 '04 '05

Airport Activity Up by 2.3% up to March 2005

Activity at the Beirut International Airport (BIA) posted a 2.3% yearly increase up to March 2005, as the total number of passengers (including transit passengers) reached 680,724. Furthermore, the number of flights (departures and arrivals) reached 9,115 for the first three months of 2005. For the month of March alone, the total number of passengers decreased by 2.9% to 184,843, compared to 190,314 in March 2004.

Airport Passengers Up to March

750,000 665,449 680,724

650,000 547,912 546,404 551,108 550,000

450,000

350,000 250,000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Economic Statistics

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The Lebanon Brief Issue No. 426 4 April, 2005 – 9 April, 2005

Economic Statistics Sales of New Cars Dropped by 22% up to March 2005

Figures released by the Association of Car Importers in Lebanon revealed that the total number of new vehicles sold in Lebanon up to March 2005 reached 3,176, down 22% year-on-year, of which 2,891 were passenger cars compared to 285 sold for commercial use. BUMC, distributor of Toyota and Lexus brands, topped the list with a market share of 12.5%. Sidia, distributor of Peugeot and Tata brands, distributor of Nissan, GMC and Infiniti came in second place. Rasamny Younis Motor Co. (RYMCO), ranked third followed by Natco s.a.l. distributor of Kia cars. For the month of March alone, the number of new cars sold increased by 6% to 887 from 835 cars in February.

Ten Most Sold New Vehicles* up to Mar. 05

BRAND No. of New Vehicles Sold TOYOTA 396 PEUGEOT 341 NISSAN 292 KIA 240 RENAULT 207 179 HONDA HYUNDAI 170

VOLKSWAGEN 165 CHEVROLET 114 MITSUBISHI 103 *Including passenger & commercial vehicles Source: Association of Car Importers in Lebanon

Trade Deficit Up by 29.3% up to February 2005

Statistics issued by the Higher Customs Council reveal that the trade deficit edged up by 29.3% year-on-year to approximately $1.2bn up to February 2005. Exports amounted to $246m, down 22% from those of 2004, while imports for the same period rose by 16% to $1.4bn. France topped the list of exporters with 7.37% of total imports followed by Italy with 7.16%, China (7.02%), Saudi Arabia (6.18%), and the U.S.A (5.68%). As for exports, Syria came in first purchasing 11.38% of Lebanese products for a total of $28m. Turkey came in second with 9.35% share of total exports followed by by 8.13% then the UAE by 7.32%, Saudi Arabia by 5.69%, and Jordan and Kuwait by 4.47% each. For the month of February, the trade balance deteriorated from a deficit of $489m in February 2004 to one of $614m in February 2005.

Trade Deficit Up to February

1,400 1,179 1,200 958 969 1,000 830 912

$m 800

600

400 200 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

BLOMINVEST Bank S.A.L. 7

The Lebanon Brief Issue No. 426 4 April, 2005 – 9 April, 2005

BoP Registers $784m Deficit in February 2005

Figures released by the Central Bank revealed that Lebanon’s balance of payments (BoP) registered a deficit of $784.2m in February 2005

compared to a surplus of $7.2m in January 2005 and a surplus of $123.6m a year earlier. February’s BoP deficit resulted from approximately $1bn drop in the net foreign assets of the Central Bank, coupled with a $219m increase in the banks’ net foreign assets. Up to February 2005, the country’s BoP accumulated to a deficit of $777m compared to a surplus of $203m in the same period last year.

Balance of Payments up to February

$699 800

500 $244 $203 200

$m (100)

(400) ($390) (700) ($777) (1,000) 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Coincident Indicator Down 0.4% in January 2005

The BDL’s coincident indicator, a broad measure of economic activity in Lebanon, decreased on a monthly basis by 0.4% to 174.1 in January 2005, unlike last year where it rose by 1.01% to 169.9 in January 2004. The indicator was modified in April 2001 to better reflect the economic activity by accounting for seasonal and inflationary effects. As its main components include electricity production, import of petroleum products, cement deliveries, airport passengers, imports, exports, cleared checks and money supply (M3), the indicator represents a strong correlation with economic growth. Although the coincident indicator highlights the direction of economic activity, it does not measure economic growth.

Coincident Indicator

200 174.1 169.9 158.0 147.9 150 144.5

100

Economic Statistics

50 Jan.'01 Jan.'02 Jan.'03 Jan.'04 Jan.'05

BLOMINVEST Bank S.A.L. 8

The Lebanon Brief Issue No. 426 4 April, 2005 – 9 April, 2005

Economic Statistics Bank Loans to Private Sector Down by 1.3% in January 2005

According to the Association of Banks in Lebanon, bank loans to the private sector retreated by 1.3%, compared to December 2004, amounting to $17.6bn in January 2005. Trade and services sector topped the list of debtors with loans totaling $7.8bn, followed by contracting and construction sector with $3bn, then manufacturing and agriculture with $2.7bn. Similarly, bank loans to individuals went down by 2.9% to a total of $2.8bn in January 2005. Furthermore, bank loans to the private sector are expected to draw back in February and March following the upgrade of the interest rates on the local currency and the uncertainty reigning over the country since the dramatic assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri.

Consumer and Food Basket Prices Up by 1.39% in January 2005

Statistics released by the Ministry of Economy and Trade show that the average prices of consumption goods, based on a typical consumer basket, appreciated on a monthly basis by 1.39% in January 2005, compared to an increase of 4.17% in December 2004. The prices of vegetables witnessed the largest rise, increasing from last December by 23.58%, followed by a 1.49% rise in the prices of seeds and nuts and a 1.44% increase in the price of meat and related items. The overall climb in the consumer prices is mainly attributable to the relative escalation in the value of European goods amid the appreciation of the Euro against the Lebanese Pound in addition to the increase in petroleum prices, which led to higher transportation costs.

Cement Deliveries Down 17% in January 2005

According to the Central Bank’s monthly bulletin, a total of 133,816 tons of cement were delivered during the month of January 2005 down 34% from 201,396 tons registered in December 2004 while decreasing by 17% from the same month last year. It is to note that the major importers of the Lebanese cement are Syria and Iraq.

Cement Deliveries January

179 162 160 147 130 134 s of tons

000 ' 105

50 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

BLOMINVEST Bank S.A.L. 9

The Lebanon Brief Issue No. 426 4 April, 2005 – 9 April, 2005

$278m Advances to EdL and MoE

T he government agreed to advance LP90bn ($60m) and LP130bn ($86m) to the Ministry of Energy and Water (MoE) and the Electricite du Liban (EdL) respectively to pay for the purchase of petroleum derivatives. Additionally, a LP199bn ($132m) advance was given to EdL to fulfill its loan disbursements. This announcement was published in the latest issue of the O fficial Gazette.

Lebanon Wins 17 out of 45 Pan Arab Web Awards

Lebanon won 17 out of 45 awards at the first pan-Arab web design competition organized by Dubai Internet City (DIC) in collaboration

with the Assembly of Professionals and Technicians in Lebanon

(APTL) and Business Software Alliance (BSA). The fields involved in

this competition varied from banking and financial institutions, to commerce, education, fashion, airlines, travel agencies, embassies and others. Among the Lebanese winners: the Lebanese Canadian Bank (www.lebcanbank.com), which won the first Golden Prize and the Diamond Prize, Al Rifai (www.alrifai.com), which won the second Golden Prize, For Lebanon (www.forlebanon.net), which won the special award for the Best Strategy and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at LAU (www.arts -sciences.beirut.lau.edu.lb), which won the special award for Encouragement.

Weekly Developments

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The Lebanon Brief Issue No. 426 4 April, 2005 – 9 April, 2005

Lebanon Ranks 11th in Competitiveness Among Arab Countries Lebanon in the World

Lebanon ranked 11th in competitiveness among twelve Arab countries. This ranking, which is the first of its kind, was published in the Arab World Competitive Report 2005. The report, released by the World Economic Forum, highlights the challenges facing the Arab countries which are trying to integrate in the complex global economy. The report is mainly concerned with the policy and institutional requirements indispensable for medium and long run sustainable growth. The ranking of competitiveness is a composite of three indices: technology index, public institutions index, and macroeconomic environment index. Below is a table of the ranking of the twelve countries as issued in the report.

Overall Technology Public Macroeconomic Rank Index Institutions Environment Index Index Qatar 1 2 1 1 UAE 2 1 3 2 3 3 4 4 Oman 4 9 2 3 Jordan 5 4 5 7 Tunisia 6 5 6 6 SaudiArabia 7 6 8 5

Morocco 8 10 7 9

Egypt 9 7 10 10 Algeria 10 12 9 8 Lebanon 11 8 11 12 Yemen 12 11 12 11 Source: Arab World Competitiveness Report 2005

BLOMINVEST Bank S.A.L. 11

The Lebanon Brief Issue No. 426 4 April, 2005 – 9 April, 2005

BLOM Distributes 2004 Dividends

The General Assembly of BLOM Bank S.A.L. decided on April 7th, 2005 to distribute on a gross basis (subject to 5% withholding tax) LP20,711.27 ($13.613 ) per preferred share (2002 issue), $4.25 per preferred share (200 4 issue) and LP 3,000 ($1.98) per common share. The payment on preferred shares was set on Tuesday April 12th while that on common shares on Wednesday April 13th.

Solidere’s Net Profits Reached $54.1m in 2004

Solidere, Lebanon’s real estate giant, released its audited financial

statements registering a net profit of $54.1m for the year 2004

compared to one of $16.4m in 2003. The company attributed this rise in profitability to the increase in rent revenues in addition to the enormous upsurge in property sales given the new selling strategy where buyers can purchase property at a discount through stock payments. Solidere’s main source of revenue, land and real estate sales, soared sharply to a net of $82.5m in 2004 from $35.2m in 2003. In turn, net revenues from rental properties increase d from $9.6m in 2003 to $11.5m in 2004. In parallel, the company’s operating charges increased by 33% year-on- year to $13.7m in 2004. It is to note that Solidere’s loans from banks dropped from $320m in 2003 to $234m in 2004, achieving a debt-to- equity ratio of 14%, compared to one of 19.5% in 2003.

BLOM Contributes $1m to the Assistance Fund

BLOM Bank donated $1m to the special fund created for assisting the institutions damaged from the recent explosions witnessed lately in Lebanon. BLOM’s donation comes in solidarity with the damaged businesses on the industrial, commercial and touristic levels, and upon

the awareness of the difficult economic situation. This special

assistance fund aims to raise donations from Lebanese and Arab individuals and institut ions to cover the costs of damages.

Credit Libanais Signs a Credit Line Agreement with ATFP

Lebanon-based Credit Libanais and Abu-Dhabi based Arab Trade Financing Programme (ATFP) signed a credit line agreement for $15m in order to boost inter -Arab trade. The ATFP hence offers 75 credit lines to Lebanon amounting to $653m through its 21 local agencies, of which Credit Libanais. ATFP was established by the Arab Monetary Fund to provide financing of Inter-Arab trade transactions at low and competitive interest rates in order to enhance the competitive abilities of traders in the Arab World.

Lebanese Canadian Bank Offers Joint Account with ADCB

The Lebanese Canadian Bank launched a joint account with Abu Dhabi

Corporate News Commercial Bank (ADCB) under the “Expatriate Consumer Loan” scheme. This latter, recently launched in 2004, under which ADCB, in partnership with foreign banks, expands the facility to other countries whose nationals are living in large numbers in the UAE. Now, ADCB and the Lebanese Canadian Bank will jointly offer consumer loans to Lebanese expatriates in the UAE.

BLOMINVEST Bank S.A.L. 12

The Lebanon Brief Issue No. 426 4 April, 2005 – 9 April, 2005

MDSL Launches New Banking Software Corporate News

Mideast Data Systems Lebanon (MDSL), a leading provider of application software solutions and specialized hardware, launched new specialized products for the banking sector. These banking applications, products of SunGard Treasury Systems, include Asset Liability Management tools for balance sheet modelling and planning and asset/liability analysis as well as Profitability Analysis and Performance Measurements for the delivery of profitabilit y and risk- adjusted performance measures. In addition, the company launched solutions for capital management in conformity to the Basel II requirements. It is worth noting that MDSL recently received the ISO

9001:2000 certificate for “Provider and Developer of IT solutions and

Services”.

BLOMINVEST Bank S.A.L. 13

The Lebanon Brief Issue No. 426 4 April, 2005 – 9 April, 2005

Lebanon’s most unique Landmarks

Tyre

BLOMINVEST Bank S.A.L.

Rachid Karameh Street – Verdun

P.O.Box: 11-1540 Riad El Solh Beirut 11072080 BLOM Bldg. - 2nd Floor Tel: 961 1 743 300, 738 938 Fax: 961 1 738 916 e-mail: [email protected]

This report is published for information purposes only. The information herein has been compiled from, or based upon sources we believe to be reliable, but we do not guarantee or accept responsibility for its completeness or accuracy. This document should not be construed as a solicitation to take part in any investment, or as constituting any representation or warranty on our part. The consequences of any action taken on the basis of information contained herein are solely the responsibility of the recipient.

BLOMINVEST Bank S.A.L. 14