MEDIA RELEASE

TO CITY EDITORS, February 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PUNJ LLOYD RAISES USD 50 MILLION FROM PRIVATE CONSORTIUM
Targets 70% revenues from overseas markets

New Delhi, February 2005: Punj Lloyd, a leading transnational engineering construction company, today announced that the company has raised USD 50 million through a private consortium led by Standard Chartered Private Equity. The consortium includes Temasek Holdings, Merlion India Fund, New York Life and Jacob Ballas.

Commenting on the development, Mr Atul Punj, CMD, Punj Lloyd said, “We already have a strong presence in Middle East, South East and Central Asia. The partnership with this consortium of highly respected global investors will further help us strengthen our international presence and expand operations in untapped markets. Their investment is testimonial to the strength and potential of our company. Our enhanced financial capabilities would also consolidate our position as a strong global player to undertake large-scale infrastructure projects. We are aggressively looking at capitalizing on these emerging opportunities and expect 70% of our revenues being generated from overseas market within the next three years.”

Mr Manish Kejriwal, Managing Director of Temasek Holdings Advisors India Pvt. Ltd. and Mr Karamjit Butalia, Global Head of Standard Chartered Private Equity and Managing Director of Merlion India Fund have been inducted on the Board of Directors of Punj Lloyd.

Commenting on the partnership, Mr Karamjit Butalia said, “We believe that Punj Lloyd, with its world-class management team and vast experience in handling large scale infrastructure projects, has the potential to emerge as one of the leading engineering construction companies in the world. We will continue to add value to this partnership by leveraging the strong networks, market knowledge and financing capabilities that Standard Chartered Bank enjoys as the leading bank in Punj Lloyd’s markets in Asia, Middle-East and Africa.”

Mr Manish Kejriwal said: “This investment in Punj Lloyd fits in well with our investment themes in India: investing in Indian companies that mirror the growth of the domestic economy and companies that capitalise on India’s competitive advantage as a globally competitive resource base for products and services. As an active investor in many of the key industries that constitute Punj Lloyd’s clientele in the regional markets, we hope that Punj Lloyd would be able to add value as well as benefit from the Temasek network.”

- Release Ends -

NOTES TO THE EDITOR

About Punj Lloyd
One of the leading engineering and construction companies in Asia, Punj Lloyd operations span laying Onshore and Offshore Pipelines, designing and constructing Cryogenic Tanks & Terminals, Process Plants, Civil Construction, turnkey Telecom & Broadband Services, Power, Engineering Services and Plant & Facility Management. With a revenue of INR 1629 crore for the financial year 2004, PLL is currently undertaking 29 projects in Hydrocarbon & 12 in Infrastructure sectors. Some of its prestigious projects include the Dahej-Vijaipur pipeline; Baku Tbilisi Ceyhan Pipeline (the pipeline of the century); India’s first LNG terminal at Dabhol; LNG tanks for Shell at Hazira etc. PLL has currently bagged 48” pipeline project in Oman worth USD 56 million for PDO. PLL is committed to quality, health, safety and environment and its systems conform to ISO 9001, 14001 and 18001.

For further information please contact:
Louise Sharma
Email: louise@punjlloyd.com

About Standard Chartered Private Equity Limited (SCPEL)
As the private equity arm of Standard Chartered Bank, SCPEL makes investments of US$ 50-100m in mid to late stage companies in need of expansion capital or acquisition finance, and in management buy-outs. SCPEL has offices in Singapore, Hong Kong and India and invests in companies located in Greater China, Korea, South East Asia or India. SCPEL is an active partner that provides board-level strategic advice and access to the international network of Standard Chartered Bank.
For further information please contact:
Karam Butalia
Email: karam.butalia@sg.standardchartered.com

About Standard Chartered
Leading the way in Asia, Africa & the Middle East
Standard Chartered employs 30,000 people in over 500 locations in more than 50 countries in the Asia Pacific Region, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, the United Kingdom and the Americas. It is one of the world’s most international banks, with a management team comprising 70 nationalities. Standard Chartered is listed on both the London Stock Exchange and the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong and is in the top 25 FTSE-100 companies, by market capitalization.

It serves both Consumer and Wholesale Banking customers. Consumer Banking provides credit cards, personal loans, mortgages, deposit taking and wealth management services to individuals and small to medium sized enterprises. Wholesale Banking provides corporate and institutional clients with services in trade finance, cash management, lending, custody, foreign exchange, debt capital markets and corporate finance. Standard Chartered is well-established in growth markets and aims to be the right partner for its customers. The Bank combines deep local knowledge with global capability. The Bank is trusted across its network for its standard of governance and its commitment to making a difference in the communities in which it operates.

Standard Chartered Bank, India is the country's largest international bank with 74 branches in 27 cities. It serves 2.4 million retail customers and over 800 top corporate relationships - banking half of India's top 300 corporations.

For further information please contact:
Neel Chatterjee
Tel: +91 (0) 22 22634574
Email: neel.chatterjee@in.standardchartered.com

About Merlion India Fund
Merlion India Fund is a private equity fund sponsored by Standard Chartered Private Equity and Temasek Holdings. Its mandate is to invest in leading Indian companies across sectors. The Merlion India Fund makes investments in mid to late stage companies in need of expansion capital to grow their business within India and beyond, and in management buy-outs. The Fund will also invest in regional companies seeking to participate in opportunities in India to build their business. The Fund will focus on companies in most growth sectors with the exception of infrastructure, real estate and trading. Recent investment includes US$20 million into Aurobindo Pharma. Merlion plays an active role in helping its portfolio companies achieve their objectives.

For further information please contact:
Karam Butalia
Email: karam.butalia@sg.standardchartered.com

About Temasek Holdings
Temasek Holdings is an Asia investment company headquartered in Singapore. It is committed to maximising long-term shareholder value as an active investor and shareholder of successful enterprises. Established in 1974, it manages a diversified global portfolio of S$90 billion, spanning Singapore, Asia and the OECD economies. Its investments are in a range of industries: telecommunications and media, financial services, property, transportation and logistics, energy and resources, infrastructure, engineering and technology, as well as pharmaceuticals and biosciences. Singapore-based Temasek-linked companies include well-known listed firms such as Singapore Airlines, SingTel, DBS Bank, SMRT Corporation and Neptune Orient Lines. Its recent investments include ICICI Bank, Matrix Laboratories and the Apollo Hospital group in India, Bank Danamon and Bank Internasional Indonesia in Indonesia, Quintiles Transnational Corp in the US, as well as Telekom Malaysia.

For further information, please contact:
Rachel Lin
Tel: +65 6828 6766
Email: rachellin@temasek.com.sg

About New York Life
New York Life International Investment Asia Ltd ("NYLIIA") is a subsidiary of New York Life Insurance Co. New York Life Insurance Company, a Fortune 100 company founded in 1845, is the largest mutual life insurance company in the United States and one of the largest life insurers in the world. Headquartered in New York City, New York Life's family of companies offers life insurance, annuities and long-term care insurance. New York Life Insurance Company entered the Indian insurance market through a joint venture with Max India Ltd. in 1999. NYLIIA will seek to invest in Indian companies across various sectors and is advised by Jacob Ballas Capital.

About Jacob Ballas Capital
Set up in 1996, Jacob Ballas Capital is a Delhi based boutique investment banking & private equity advisory company headed by Rajan Jetley, ex-CEO of Air India, its Chairman and Rajeev Thakore, an experienced banker, its Managing Director. In less than 9 years of its existence Jacob Ballas has been advisor to 3 International private equity funds, one promoted by the Singapore Government linked Temasek, and the other two by New York Life with investments in diverse industries such as telecom, port infrastructure & printing with some of India’s leading companies. It was also responsible for arranging the Joint Venture between New York Life Insurance and Max India. On the Corporate Finance side, Jacob Ballas Capital has been responsible for placing approximately INR 350 crores worth of private equity with international investors.