Dubai, 23 February 2012: - In a sterling recognition of its Corporate Governance efforts,du announced that it won the prestigious 2012 Corporate Governance Award from UK's World Finance magazine. With this recognition, du joins an elite ranking of only 53 companies world-wide, and the only company from the UAE, to have received this award.

The award is an endorsement of du's ability to set an industry-wide example of best practices in Corporate Governance and lead by example. du was evaluated on a wide range of criteria that included quality of policies and procedures adopted, quality of disclosures, elements of innovation in Corporate Governance practices and excellence in client representation.

On this occasion, Osman Sultan, CEO, du, said: "We feel deeply honoured to be recognised for our practices in Corporate Governance by World Finance. As a company we believe transparent Corporate Governance practices enhance our corporate image and shareholder value. It gives me great pride to see the giant strides we have made in enhancing Corporate Governance efforts within the company and community. We are committed to upholding and pursuing the best practices in Corporate Governance as MENA's most compliant company."

In addition to winning the 2012 Corporate Governance Award by World Finance, du topped the S&P/Hawkamah Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) Index 2011 as MENA's most compliant company.

Information disclosure has always been a key focal point for du. The telecommunications company upgraded its website to better disclose its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities, including Environment, Health and Safety-related activities. Part of this process was revamping the company's CSR Policy, and improving the Corporate Governance and investment relations websites.

Additionally, du launched its first Sustainable Development report, a landmark independently-audited document that gives an in-depth insight into the company's activities from inception to present.

du has been involved in several corporate governance initiatives in the UAE, Middle East and the USA, promoting best practice through a number of workshops, sponsorships and many more initiatives. Included among these is the sponsorship of the Abu Dhabi Corporate Governance Conference, and the Hawkamah-OECD 6th annual regional corporate governance conference, at the latter of which Mahmood Hussain Ali Ahmad, VP - Board Relations, Corporate Governance & Compliance, du, was a speaker. Ahmad also participated as a panelist at sixth annual Yale Governance Forum, held in Connecticut, USA, in June 2011; he has also addressed the audience as a keynote speaker at the DLA Piper and PwC Kuwait corporate governance seminar in November, in Kuwait, and is a speaker at the Dubai Chamber event, Dubai Dialogue: Corporate Governance Conference 2011, in December. du has also applied systematic compliance, embedded within the Corporate Governance system of the company, with increased environmental initiatives following energy savings directives, as directed by Ahmad Bin Byat, Chairman of du.

Various policies introduced by du have boosted the efficiency and performance of the telecommunications company's board. These include Directors' Access to Independent Professional Advice Policy, Board of Directors Evaluation and Communications with Shareholders and Disclosure Policy.

Further efforts to improve corporate governance include training and development, such as DLA Piper workshop on Corporate Governance, du's Sustainable Development Report - Materiality Session Briefing and quarterly industry trends.

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For further information, please contact:
Saugat Chatterjee
du Mobile: +971 55 9367045
Email: saugat.chatterjee@du.aeReka Sepsy

Manning, Selvage & Lee
Tel: +971 4 367 6154
Mobile: +971 55 220 68 20
Email: reka.sepsy@dubai.mslpr.com