Expiration of QInvest JV Agreement

EFG Hermes and QInvest Confirm Expiration of JV Agreement

Business as usual as both firms look to separate avenues for value creation going forward

1 May 2013

Cairo, Egypt and Doha, Qatar - EFG Hermes, the leading investment bank in the Arab world, and QInvest, Qatar's leading investment bank, announced today that the long-stop date for the satisfaction of the conditions precedent for their joint venture agreement to proceed had been reached without receiving the necessary regulatory approvals from the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA). As a result of the long stop date being reached, the joint venture agreement will automatically terminate.

The parties received the necessary financial services regulatory approvals in all other markets in which the joint venture was initially to operate including Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan, among others. EFG Hermes and QInvest co-operated fully with all regulators, met all of their requirements and exercised the utmost diligence in addressing any regulatory requests in a timely and comprehensive manner.

Both institutions look forward to separately creating value for their shareholders and remain open going forward to capitalizing on their complementary strengths to pursue together suitable business opportunities in a less-structured framework.

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Notes for Editors:

About QInvest

QInvest was licensed by the Qatar Financial Centre Authority in April 2007 and is authorised by the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority. The firm has authorized capital of USD 1 billion and paid up capital of USD 750 million.

The QInvest shareholder structure includes Qatar Islamic Bank and other institutional investors, as well as prominent high net worth individuals from across the region. The platform offers a broad range of expertise which enables QInvest to deliver a high value service to clients, seamlessly covering advisory, financing and investment needs. The firm's talented team of investment bankers brings a valuable mix of both international experience and regional knowledge, enabling the firm to pursue opportunities across its chosen markets of the Middle East, Africa, Turkey, South Asia and South-East Asia.

For further information about QInvest, please visit www.qinvest.com.

About EFG Hermes

Established in 1984, EFG Hermes is the leading investment bank in the Arab world. The Firm specializes in Securities Brokerage, Investment Banking, Asset Management, Private Equity and Research. EFG Hermes is listed on both the Egyptian and London stock exchanges. The recent acquisition of a 65% stake in Credit Libanais marks the first step towards EFG Hermes's transformation into a universal bank and will enable it to rapidly expand into retail and commercial banking.

Through its operations in Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, with around 900 employees of 25 nationalities, EFG Hermes serves a considerable and diversified client base from the Middle East and North Africa to Europe, Africa and the United States. Our clients include governments, corporations, financial institutions, high net worth clients and individual customers. For further information about EFG Hermes, please visit www.efghermes.com.

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