News Releases

London, 30 April 2007:   Barclays Capital, the investment banking arm of Barclays Bank PLC and one of the leading investment banks in the Middle East, has ranked number one in the Islamic bonds Underwriter League Table with 23% market share according to the Bloomberg 2007 Q1 European Fixed Income Rankings.

Cyrus Ardalan, Vice Chairman and Head of Middle East, Central Europe, Russia and North Africa Investment Banking at Barclays Capital, commented: “Building up our Middle East franchise has been one of Barclays Capital's key objectives over the past year. We have significantly expanded our investment banking and sales team in line with our strategy and by bringing in the best talent to work with our Middle East clients, including the development of the leading platform for Islamic Finance. These rankings reflect these achievements and the fact that Barclays Capital was hired to be involved in such a significant number of landmark transactions in the Middle East.”

Two of these transactions were awarded Deals of the Year 2006 by Islamic Finance News:

• Deal of the Year, Ports, Customs & Free Zone Corporation (PCFC), US$3.50 billion Musharakah Pre-IPO Sukuk
• Ijarah Deal of the Year, Nakheel, US$3.52 billion Ijarah Pre-IPO Sukuk
• United Arab Emirates Deal of the Year, Ports, Customs & Free Zone Corporation (PCFC), US$3.50 billion Musharakah Pre-IPO Sukuk

Barclays Capital recently also acted as joint lead managers and bookrunners on US$3.3bn of sukuk in Q1 2007 (Aldar Properties US$2.53bn and DIB US$750m). In total for full year 2006, it was involved in a total of US$7bn of sukuk and US$10.3bn over the past 15 months.

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For further information please contact:

Dubai
Florence Goodman, Head of PR and Corporate Relations
Tel: + 971 4 362 6785, Mobile : +971 50 651 0871
Email: florence.goodman@barclays.com

London
Jon Laycock, Barclays Capital Corporate Communications
Tel : +44(0) 207 773 4324, Mobile : +44 (0) 7769 885 906
Email : jon.laycock@barcap.com

Notes to the Editors:

About Barclays Capital

Barclays Capital is the investment banking division of Barclays Bank PLC which has an AA long-term credit rating and a balance sheet of over £996 billion. With a distinctive business model, Barclays Capital provides large corporate, government and institutional clients with solutions to their financing and risk management needs.  Barclays Capital has offices in 26 countries, employs over 13,200 people and has the global reach and distribution power to meet the needs of issuers and investors worldwide.

In the Middle East, Barclays Capital is licensed to operate from the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC). Since spring 2004, Barclays Capital has significantly expanded the resources devoted to the Middle East, bringing the firm’s expertise in debt financing and risk management to the region. The Barclays Capital team in the Middle East & North Africa region is headed by Cyrus Ardalan, Vice Chairman.

Barclays Capital was recently involved in 2 landmark transactions which were awarded Deals of the Year 2006 by Islamic Finance News:

• Deal of the Year, Ports, Customs & Free Zone Corporation (PCFC), US$3.50 billion Musharakah Pre-IPO Sukuk
• Ijarah Deal of the Year, Nakheel, US$3.52 billion Ijarah Pre-IPO Sukuk
• United Arab Emirates Deal of the Year, Ports, Customs & Free Zone Corporation (PCFC), US$3.50 billion Musharakah Pre-IPO Sukuk

Other recent transactions by Barclays Capital in the Middle East include:

• EUR 500m FRN for Emirates Bank,
• Subordinated Issue of US$500m for National Bank of Dubai
• US$300m FRN for Arab Banking Corporation.
• Etisalat US$3bn Syndicated Loan
• Etihad Airways US$ 849m Aircraft Financing
• Project Finance mandates for Qatar Gas IV and Qatar Gas Transport Company
• USD 2.4bn Acquisition Finance for MTC of Kuwait
• USD 1.0bn Ijarah Facility for Dolphin Energy Ltd of Abu Dhabi USD 800m
• Syndicated Loan for GIB of Bahrain USD 300m
• Syndicated Loan for Investcorp of Bahrain EUR 475m
• Acquisition Financing for Mubadala Development Company of Abu Dhabi