Consortium Product Launch

Commercial Intnl Bank (Egypt) SAE
9 October 2000


                         CONSORTIUM OF MIDDLE EASTERN
                           BANKS TO LAUNCH REGIONAL
                          ELECTRONIC B2B MARKETPLACE

A consortium of leading Middle Eastern banks is developing a regional B2B
electronic marketplace with integrated financial services servicing the Middle
East & North Africa. The consortium members include Arab Bank plc,
(www.arabbank.com) Citibank, UAE (www.citicorp.com), Commercial International
Bank (Egypt) www.cibeg.com, National Bank of Dubai (www.nbd.com), National Bank
of Kuwait (www.nbk.com) and Saudi American Bank (www.samba.com). KPMG Consulting
has been selected to provide business and technical advice on several aspects of
this initiative, including the business planning, the technology solution and
assessing the investment requirements.

E-marketplaces are creating large communities of buyers and sellers and
automating any of the processes to conduct business online. This marketplace
will bring corporate customers of the banks together to trade regionally &
internationally in a secure environment. This activity will be supported by a
set of financial services, including payment and settlement services, delivered
online by the banks.

Simon Clements, General Manager eBusiness, National Bank of Kuwait, speaking on
behalf of the Consortium, stated: 'These banks are leaders in their domestic
markets and have strong relationships with most of the major corporate entities
within their respective countries. The creation of the marketplace will
reinforce the banks' relationship with corporate customers by helping them
realise the benefits of e-commerce'.

Recognising the enormous potential of a regional financial services B2B market
place, the consortium is moving quickly to establish a separate legal entity
that will provide the e-marketplace through a series of partnerships with value
added services providers including logistics & warehousing & insurance.

'This initiative is right at the leading edge and shows the way the Banks in the
region can take a substantial role in bringing the local economies into
eCommerce. The key difference is the regions ability to co-operate rather than
compete in old marketspaces. This bodes well for the future economy', said Simon
Clements of NBK, speaking on behalf of the Consortium.

'The work we are doing with the Consortium represents the nature of work that
KPMG Consulting is carrying out in this space. We are focussing on exchanges as
they will be a major part of the business scene as they launch, consolidate and
mature', said David Jarrett, Partner in charge of Financial Sector Exchanges,
KPMG London.  'We are particularly delighted to be involved with this
opportunity.'


For further information corporate customers please contact the following

Saudi Arabia, Abdullah Alawami, [e-mail]
Dubai, John Dolton,   [e-mail] or 
                      Sankar Krishan  [e-mail]
Egypt, Hisham Hassan  [e-mail]
Jordan, Hamdi Zarro   [e-mail]
Kuwait, John Finch    [e-mail]


All other enquiries should be addressed to [e-mail]


Notes to Editors:

KPMG Consulting is one of the world's leading e-business consultancies. The firm
combines leading-edge management thinking with the latest technologies to
'e-enable' its clients' businesses. KPMG Consulting's goal is to help its
clients shape their own futures and to achieve sustainable competitive advantage
in the new economy.

KPMG World Wide Web address:http://www.kpmg.com