SALAMA, the world’s largest Takaful and Re-Takaful Group ties up with BNP Paribas Investment Partners, one of the leading asset managers, to offer BNP Paribas’s flagship Islamic Fund, the Global Equity Optimiser, with investor returns linked to Shariah compliant global equity markets, including Asia, Europe and the USA. The fund uses an actively managed optimization strategy which has consistently outperformed the global benchmark, the Dow Jones Islamic Market Titans 100 Index. SALAMA is pleased to provide it’s customers with Shari’ah compliant insurance together with value added investment services that can cater to clients long term investment needs, which are compliant to Shari’ah principles. SALAMA presents an assembly of diverse Shari’ah compliant unit linked insurance products to its discerning clients and with BNP Paribas’s asset management services it is possible to offer the best of class Shari’ah compliant investment opportunities.

Mr. Noel D’Mello, the Head of Family Takaful, SALAMA, commented, “SALAMA has entered into several tactical tie ups with renowned Islamic Fund Investment companies and distributor alliances to spread Shari’ah compliant savings and insurance products within the UAE. We are particularly delighted to have entered into collaboration with BNP Paribas Investment Partners to allow the public to have access to a gloablly recognized and award winning Islamic fund through our local presence.”

BNP Paribas has taken the lead, and has been the first to develop a Shari’ah compliant global equity optimisation strategy, that has historically always outperformed the benchmark, not only during bull markets of 2006 and 2007, but also during the recent bear market conditions in 2008.

On the occasion, Muneer Fulayfil, Director – Middle East & Africa of BNP Paribas Investment Partners, commented: “We are committed to the development of local products and Islamic funds, like the Shari’ah compliant Global Equity Optimizer, which won the Failaka award for Best Global Fund in 2007 for its strategy and excellent performance track record. Since its inception, the fund has returned close to 25% to its investors.’’ He added: “We are very pleased to collaborate with SALAMA, the largest Takaful and Re- Takaful player in the region Their offering of BNP Paribas linked investments, is one of a series of ties aimed at providing innovative solutions for our growing customers seeking Takaful and Re-Takaful solutions.”

About SALAMA Islamic Arab Insurance Company

SALAMA, pioneers of Shari’ah compliant insurance enjoys both Arab and international presence. Established in 1979 in Dubai, SALAMA has become the largest Takaful & Re-Takaful group in the world with a paid up capital of USD300 million (AED 1.1 billion). It enjoys strong credit rating of ‘A-’ from A.M. Best and ‘BBB+’ from S&P. These ratings clearly reflect the Company’s growth, financial strength and investor confidence. SALAMA offers customized and high quality yet affordable Takaful solutions to individuals, families and companies.

About BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas (www.bnpparibas.com) is a European leader in global banking and financial services and is one of the 4 strongest banks in the world according to Standard & Poor’s. The group is present in over 85 countries, with almost 168,000 employees, including 129, 500 in Europe. The group holds key positions in three major segments: Corporate and Investment Banking, Asset Management & Services and Retail Banking. Present throughout Europe in all of its business lines, the bank’s two domestic markets in retail banking are France and Italy. BNP Paribas also has a significant presence in the United States and strong positions in Asia and the emerging markets.