Joint-venture entity to be registered in BVI by China-based and Australian companies

Sino-Global Shipping America, Ltd., a non-state-owned provider of shipping agency services operating primarily in China, announced that it has signed a joint-venture agreement with Australian company Rocklands Richfield Limited (RCI). The agreement is to provide Sino-Global new opportunities to serve coal-carrying ships from Australia to China, and to allow Rockland Richfield to leverage Sino-Global's established non-state-owned shipping agency services network in China, to distribute goods domestically.

The proposed joint-venture company will be structured as a British Virgin Islands company, and each of the partner companies will own 50% of it. The BVI entity will serve as a shipping operator for cargo ships carrying imported goods to China. Both RCI and Sino-Global have agreed to contribute US$250,000 as needed to operate the company and support its business development activities.

The joint venture was funded by Sino-Global's internal cash position. The transaction has been approved by the board of directors of Sino-Global, and is expected to close in March 2009.

The main businesses of RCI are coal exploration in Queensland, Australia and coke processing in China. In China, RCI's fully controlled subsidiary Coke & Chemicals processes coking coal and other by-products, with total revenues of approximately AU$100 mln in year 2008. Sino-Global Shipping America, Ltd. was registered in the United States in 2001, and is operating primarily in Mainland China, having local branches in six of China's 76 ports, and contractual arrangements in all those where it does not have branch offices.

BVI-registered RAK Real Estate Ltd. to acquire Kuwait-based business

RAK Real Estate Ltd., a company registered in the British Virgin Islands and having office in Dubai, UAE, has announced that it has entered into a conditional agreement for the acquisition of the entire beneficial interest in RAFCO business, which is part of Rafco International Real Estate Company K.S.C.C., of Kuwait City, Kuwait. The total amount payable for this acquisition is US$927,129,210. This consideration will be satisfied by the issue of new shares at a price of US$5.00 each, and totaling amount of 185,425,842 shares.

In addition, a Kuwait based institution has conditionally agreed upon admission to acquire from the principal shareholder, Rafed A.M. Al Khorafi, a total amount of 18,357,158 shares representing approximately 9.9% of the Enlarged Share Capital, at a price per share of $5.00. Total amount of this transaction will to make $91,785,790.00.

Speaking on behalf of the board of directors, the chairman Ahmed Al Omani said that the proposed acquisition represents an important opportunity for the company to strengthen its growth prospects and accordingly enhance shareholder value.

The British Virgin Islands-based RAK Real Estate Ltd. floated on PLUS as an investing company in August 2008, and consists primarily of Kuwaiti shareholders.

Egyptian, BVI and UAE investors offer to buy Alexandria Medical Services

The Egyptian investor has made an offer to medical equipment firm Alexandria Medical Services with purpose to buy it for 102.9 mln Egyptian pounds, meaning that all the 1.4 million shares of the firm will be bought at a price of 73.5 pounds per share.

This is the highest bid for the company, earlier this month an Indian investor who runs healthcare business in the United Arab Emirates offered to buy Alexandria Medical Services for 100.8 mln pounds , or 72 pounds per share. Also, the previous offer of 100 percent takeover made by the British Virgin Islands-based company Short Hills Development was 65 pounds a share.

The current offer of the investor, who is the chairman of the board of Egyptian pesticide firm Agrochem, also based in Alexandria, brought the number of offers for the medical firm to three.