March 18th 2006
Press Release

Asia Energy announces plans to list on the Stock Market in Bangladesh

Dhaka, 18 March 2006 - Asia Energy, which is developing a US$2 billion coal mine at Phulbari in Northwest Bangladesh, today announced that it is planning to list on the stock market in Bangladesh.

The group's Bangladesh subsidiary said that following several months of detailed negotiations it had signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with Equity Partners Limited, a majority foreign owned local merchant bank, for an initial public offering (IPO) later this year.

"This decision is part of Asia Energy's commitment to giving investors in Bangladesh an opportunity to share in this major development project," said Mr Gary Lye, CEO of Asia Energy Corporation (Bangladesh) Pty Ltd. "It is also a measure of our long-term commitment to Bangladesh."

The Letter of Intent was signed by Mr. Lye and Equity Partners Limited Director Saiful Islam at Asia Energy Corporation (Bangladesh) Pty Ltd office in Dhaka.

Asia Energy, which operates in Bangladesh under an existing contract with the GoB, is in the final stages of project approval and financing for its planned 15 million tonnes per annum open pit coal mine at Phulbari, in Dinajpur District.

It has established a resource of 572 million tonnes of high quality thermal and semi-soft coking coal in the Phulbari coal basin, and is waiting for GoB approval of its Scheme of Development for the mine in line with its contract. Plans for the mine were given Environmental Clearance by the GoB in September 2005.

Pre-mining activity is scheduled to start later this year with first coal expected in late 2008 and production then increasing rapidly to 15 million tonnes per annum by 2013. The company is proposing to build a 500MW power plant at the mine site.

Asia Energy expects that up to 4.5 million tonnes million tonnes per annum will remain in Bangladesh for industrial and power uses. Expressions of Interest for the marketing and distribution of this coal into the local economy will be sought shortly after Government approval. There will be similar arrangements for marketing co-products from the mine, including kaolin, sand and aggregate.

Local construction contracts will also be sought for the significant infrastructure required for the project and related community housing and services.

Shares in Asia Energy's parent company, Asia Energy PLC, are quoted on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market (AIM). Leading London based advisors for Asia Energy are JP Morgan Cazenove and Barclays Capital.

Equity Partners Limited (EPL) is a full service merchant Bank licensed by the Bangladesh Securities Exchange Commission, and it has been responsible for the listings of Lafarge Surma Cement Limited, currently the largest company by market capitalisation in Bangladesh, and several other successful listings and advisory mandates, including the cross-border acquisitions in Bangladesh by Mumbai-stock exchange listed Marico Industries Limited. EPL was also recently appointed one of the major local partners of German Development Company (DEG) to identify new business opportunities in Bangladesh.

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