Paris, 26 March 2008

Crédit Agricole Cheuvreux has been granted a license from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) to operate from its newly established branch in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). This enables CA Cheuvreux Middle East to formally launch its equity research, sales and execution arranging services from the DIFC.

The Middle East equities research team, based at the DIFC, will initially cover about 50 regional stocks in the banking, telecommunications, transportation, real estate and industry sectors of the GCC region (Gulf Cooperation Council). The sales team will sell GCC equities to regional and global institutional clients, as well as European equities to regional institutions, historically active in the Euro-zone.

Heading up the regional team will be Mr Shehzad Janab, who previously spearheaded HSBC's Middle East equities business before joining CA Cheuvreux. The Dubai research and sales team currently consists of 4 analysts, 1 strategist / economist and 2 regional salespeople. This team will rapidly increase with the planned arrival of 1 salesperson in London, 1 salesperson in New York and 1 trader in Dubai.

Mr Francois Simon, CEO of CA Cheuvreux, said: "International investors have an increasing interest for the GCC markets, based on strong macro picture, high corporate profitability and excellent growth prospects. Our new DIFC team will offer our clients the same standards of independence and quality that underpin CA Cheuvreux's reputation globally, to bring them the very best investment services on these exciting markets."

Nasser Al Shaali, CEO of the DIFC Authority said: “As the world's fastest growing financial centre the DIFC has enjoyed phenomenal expansion and development in a short space of time. This growth has been fuelled by the number of regional and international companies who have decided to take advantage of the ideal location, the state of the art facilities and the world-class regulatory environment that the DIFC has to offer. As one of the world's leading financial institutions, we are delighted to welcome Crédit Agricole Cheuvreux to the DIFC and we are confident that their services will prove to be highly beneficial to the region's investor community.”

A key launch event will be held by CA Cheuvreux in Dubai in mid-April in which analysts will be presenting their views both from a regional and sector perspective.

About CA Cheuvreux
CA Cheuvreux is Crédit Agricole Group's European equity broker, and is wholly-owned by CALYON, the Group's Corporate and Investment Bank. The Asia-Pacific equity markets are covered by CLSA, a Crédit Agricole Group entity headquartered in Hong Kong. Crédit Agricole ranks amongst the world's largest financial institutions and is the 8th largest bank in the world and the 3rd largest bank in Europe in terms of Tier-1 capital.

CA Cheuvreux's team currently comprises 110 research analysts covering 760 stocks (87% of European market capitalisation). CA Cheuvreux offers execution services on 20 European markets, as well as in 13 US and Canadian markets through CA Cheuvreux North America; it will soon expand its research offer to Turkey, Austria and Central Europe.

Its research offices have been consistently ranked among the top 5 research institutions in Europe over the years by Institutional Investor and Thomson Extel, amongst others. In recent developments, CA Cheuvreux was ranked No.1 in Western Europe Country Research by US financial news magazine Institutional Investor in February 2008. In 2007, CA Cheuvreux won the prestigious Farsight Award for its sustainability research (SRI), and is recognised as a pioneer in the development of SRI issues in equity research. The firm is also renowned for its electronic execution services, algorithmic and program trading, and handles an average trading volume of EUR5bn daily. Its client base consists of 1,100 of the world's leading institutional investors, and includes the top 100 institutions worldwide.

About the DIFC
The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) is an onshore hub for global finance. It bridges the time gap between the financial centres of Hong Kong and London and services a region with the largest untapped emerging market for financial services.

In just three years, over 550 firms have registered at the DIFC. They operate in an open environment complemented with world-class regulations and standards. The DIFC offers its member institutions incentives such as 100 per cent foreign ownership, zero tax on income and profits and no restrictions on foreign exchange. In addition their business benefits from modern infrastructure, operational support and business continuity facilities of uncompromisingly high standards.

Media enquiries

• CA Cheuvreux Paris
  Press Relations - Julie Fardoux
  T. : +33 1 41 89 71 16 - Email: jfardoux@cheuvreux.com

• CA Cheuvreux Middle East
  702, 7th Floor, Precinct Building #2
  The Gate District, Dubai International Financial Centre
  P O Box 506611, Dubai, UAE
  T: +971 4 428 3600 - F: +971 4 428 3644

• DIFC
  Amira Abdulla - PR Manager
  Dubai International Financial Centre
  T: +971 4 362 2433 - Email: amira.abdulla@difc.ae

Iman Ahmad - Regional Media Relations Manager
Dubai International Financial Centre
T: +971 4 362 2685 - Email: iman.ahmad@difc.ae

Shaima Al Zarouni - Assistant PR Manager
Dubai International Financial Centre
T: +971 4 362 2432 - Email: shaima.alzarouni@difc.ae