News

August 25, 2004

Crown Corporation Appoints IFC Metropol as Financial Adviser in Russia. New offices opened in Moscow and St. Petersburg

Crown Corporation Appoints IFC Metropol as Financial Adviser in Russia
- New offices opened in Moscow and St. Petersburg
-
London, U.K., August 24, 2004: Crown Corporation Ltd ("Crown" or "the Company"), the active management group, announces today that it has appointed IFC Metropol ("Metropol") as financial adviser within the Russian market, Metropol will both advise on and facilitate Crown‘s Merger and Acquisitions activities and the appointment comes at a crucial stage in Crown‘s development when it is reviewing several exciting opportunities within Russia.

Crown recently announced the formation of Crown Oil Corporation, which will be the holding company for a number of operating businesses within the oil and gas sector, incorporating related exploration, transportation and construction activity on a global basis. The Company believes that the present outlook for the oil and gas sector offers the potential for high growth, particularly in Russia, and has signified its commitment to developing a strong presence in the country by opening two new offices; one in Moscow and the other in St. Petersburg.

Metropol is one of the leading financial advisory firms in Russia and will form an integral part of Crown‘s investment strategy by helping to identify undervalued assets or companies. Metropol will undertake due diligence on target acquisitions and advise Crown throughout negotiations with target companies.

Dr. Mariusz Rybak, Executive Chairman of Crown, comments "We are delighted to appoint an adviser of IFC Metropol‘s calibre and firmly believe that they will be of great importance to Crown‘s future. Their expertise and experience within Russia is proven and will undoubtedly help to raise Crown‘s profile within this market. Crown is moving forward with its strategy and we look forward to extending our footprint in the Russian market."

Mikhail Slipenchuk, CEO of IFC Metropol, comments "The appointment of IFC Metropol as financial adviser to Crown is an endorsement of our strategy to work closely with all our clients and make their interests of the highest priority. We look forward to a highly capital-productive partnership with Crown, utilising our expertise, long-term experience and deep understanding of the Russian investment industry, and we aim to retain a long term affiliation."

About Crown;
Crown is an independent investment and management company which intends to tap into high return opportunities within emerging markets. The Company will only invest in opportunities in which it can obtain a controlling interest and seeks geographical and sector diversification of its investment portfolio, in order to fully mitigate risks for shareholders. Underlying Crown‘s strategy is the aim to maximise total return to investors through the issue of dividend payments.

About IFC Metropol
Investment Financial Company Metropol has been operating on the Russian Stock
Exchange Market since 1995 and now ranks in 5th place on the RTS classical market with turnover of US$517m. The company has an office in Tokyo, Japan and a representative office - Metropol (UK) Limited - in London, Great Britain. Metropol is a member of the Russian-British and Russian-American Chambers of Commerce and a member of Investor Protection Association (IPA). In 2001, IFC Metropol was awarded the highest rating, an A+, by the National Association of Stock Market Participants (NAUFOR).

The company is one of the most competitive companies on the Russian stock market, which maintains partnerships with the top-ranked Russian issuers and international financial structures. IFC Metropol‘s highly professional team is always ready to seek new solutions to the ever-changing challenges of the financial markets.

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