Merger Update

Commercial Intnl Bank (Egypt) SAE
28 July 2005


                                  Announcement

In line with the strategic expansion policy which was previously announced in
2004 annual report, the Board of Directors of the Commercial International Bank
(CIB) has decided to start a preliminary due diligence process for the National
Bank for Development (NBD) which was approved by the regulator. This process
might lead at a later stage to perform a complete and comprehensive due
diligence in order to acquire NBD.

This step comes in complementary to the continuous efforts of CIB's Board and
its Executive Management to examine all the opportunities and scenarios that
would strengthen CIB's competitive edge, increase its market share, expand and
diversify its clients' base, broaden its network, and consequently maximize
shareholders' return and maintain CIB's solid capital base.


                  Commercial International Bank (Egypt) S.A.E.

                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange