Dubai, 24 August 2009 – Depa Limited (ticker DEPA) (‘Depa’ or ‘the Company’), one of the world’s leading interior contracting companies, today announces that it has entered the Angolan market through an initial contract to fit out all 202 guest rooms and public areas of the Talatona Convention Centre Hotel in Luanda, Angola. This first contract in Angola has a value of AED 9.2 million.
Mohannad Sweid, Chief Executive Officer, Depa Limited commented:
“Depa’s strategy has always been forward-thinking and, as we did in South East Asia, we enter markets which we identify as having significant long-term growth opportunities. Typically this means entering a market when it is at an early stage of development in order to form the right relationships and understand more about market dynamics and local working culture. After successfully undertaking an initial project in any new market, we then focus on firmly establishing our presence and selectively pursue a range of prestigious projects with clients we have already identified as having a solid reputation and track record.
He continued:
“We see Angola, a major oil producer, as a key growth market for us in the long term due the massive transformation it has undertaken in recent years and the government’s significant efforts to reinvest the vast revenues generated by natural resources into developing the country. We are also looking closely at Libya, and working on plans to enter countries which are undergoing significant economic reforms and we believe, like Angola, are politically stable and set to attract significant foreign direct investment over the coming years.”
Whilst this is the first contract win in sub-Saharan Africa, Depa has a firmly established presence and significant experience in North Africa. In Egypt, Depa has, to date, fitted out ten luxury hotels including the Fairmont in Cairo and the Four Seasons in Sharm El Sheikh. Similarly in Morocco, Depa worked on the Hyatt Regency and Golden Tulip Farah Hotel in Casablanca. Depa has also worked in Sudan, completing a turnkey project, including design, construction and interior works for the Al Salam Rotana hotel in Khartoum.
Depa has, for a number of years, taken steps to diversify the business geographically to ensure the long term continued success of the company and to reduce the risk of overreliance on any one country. Depa now operates in 17 countries worldwide.
For further inquiries, please contact:
Depa Limited
Noor Sweid
Managing Director, Strategy
Tel: +971 4 224 3800
Brunswick Gulf Ltd
Azadeh Varzi
avarzi@brunswickgroup.com
Tel: + 971 4 365 8260
About Depa Limited
Depa Limited is a leading interior contracting company in the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia regions. Operating principally in the luxury fit-out industry, its main areas of business cover luxury hotels, infrastructure and public sector amenities such as hospitals and airports, high-end residential properties, retail outlets, as well as yachts. Depa is listed on the NASDAQ Dubai (ticker DEPA) and has Global Depositary Receipts on the regulated market for listed securities of the London Stock Exchange plc (ticker DEPA and DEPS).
The range of business activities performed by Depa comprises:
· Interior contracting: which focuses on luxury interior fit-out services, which include installation and finishing of floors, walls, ceilings, fixed joinery, panelling, wood-works, doors and frames;
· Manufacturing: which comprises a network of factories and joineries which produce customized furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E);
· Procurement: which involves the procurement of supplies and materials from third parties to support and complement Depa's interior contracting and manufacturing operations as well as third party procurement contracts for specific FF&E projects.
By integrating these services into a single package, Depa provides clients with comprehensive and customized interior contracting solutions.
With more than 8,000 employees worldwide, the company operates through an integrated network of subsidiaries, affiliates and representative offices located in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Libya, Morocco, India, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Singapore, UK, the Netherlands, and the United States. Through this network, Depa has successfully executed large and complex projects in over 16 countries including the Burj Al Arab Hotel (Dubai), Emirates Palace (Abu Dhabi), the Museum of Islamic Art (Doha), Four Seasons Hotels (Sharm El Sheikh & Mumbai) and Mazagan Resort (Casablanca).
For more information, please refer to the corporate website: www.depa.com
