Blantyre, Malawi, May 10, 2004

  Loita Investment Bank appoints Malawian as Acting Managing Director

The Board of Loita Investment Bank has appointed its head of Liability Management Mr. Aubrey Chalera as Acting Managing Director. The appointment is pursuant to the relocation of the present Managing Director, Mr. Jerome Bissay, who has been seconded within the parent company Loita Capital Partners International, as Managing Director of Loita's franchise in Kigali Rwanda.

Chairman of Loita Investment Bank, Justin Chinyanta, pointed out from Johannesburg South Africa, that Loita Investment Bank is pleased to have a Malawian appointed as the acting Chief of the Bank. “Aubrey has been with the Bank since inception and we are very proud to provide him with the opportunity to act at this senior level, which is further testimony of the group's commitment to Malawi and its Malawian staff. We are confident he will acquit himself well until the appointment of the substantive head.”

Loita Investment Bank opened in Malawi in 1999 and has led the way in innovative banking and facilities to the corporate sector. Since its inception, the Bank has jointly managed with the PTA Bank, a USD 25 million export financing facility and was the first institution to be accorded a USD 5 million facility by the African Export Import Bank, a leading provider of trade financing facilities in Cairo Egypt.

Chinyanta pointed out that the Bank was proud of the work done by Bissay in expanding upon the Loita franchise in Malawi. “We are proud that Jerome in coming to the Bank in 2001 grew the bank's deposit base to K 2 billion as at December 31 st 2003. Additionally during his tenure, Loita Investment Bank was the first institution in Malawi to successfully structure and arrange the first commercial paper in the market”, Chinyanta pointed out. A formal departure cocktail is planned in the near future for Bissay and to welcome his successor.