Eco (atlantic) Regulatory News (ECO)

16 Nov 2006 08:00

EcoSecurities Group plc (LSE:ECO), a leading company in thebusiness of sourcing, developing and trading carbon credits fromgreenhouse gas emission reduction projects, and Standard Bank, aninternational investment bank, have signed an agreement to worktogether in South Africa to provide carbon credit advisory services,finance carbon credit projects, and broker and buy carbon credits. £ EcoSecurities has been working with Standard Bank since bothparties established the EcoSecurities-Standard Bank Carbon Facility in2003, an initiative to assist the Danish government and industry tosource emission reductions for compliance with the Kyoto Protocol andother emission reduction programs (such as the EU Emissions TradingSystem). This agreement will see EcoSecurities and Standard Bankstrengthen their association by reinforcing their joint effortsrelated to the acquisition, development and sale of carbon creditprojects to aid in the fight against global warming. £ EcoSecurities will officially launch their operations inJohannesburg in early 2007, deploying a team of carbon finance expertsto pursue opportunities in the region. EcoSecurities already has avast number of projects in the pipeline (e.g. over 50% of the carboncredits to be generated in the region by 2012 according to the SouthAfrican Designated National Authority (DNA) figures), in a variety ofdifferent sectors. £ Country Director of EcoSecurities South Africa, Henk Sa, hopesthat this new agreement with Standard Bank along with a strong localEcoSecurities presence will significantly assist the development ofthe carbon credit market in the country, stating that "our objectiveis to open doors to others who can participate and benefit from thisemerging market." £ Editor's Notes: £ About EcoSecurities: £ EcoSecurities is one of the world's leading companies in thebusiness of originating, developing and trading carbon credits.EcoSecurities structures and guides greenhouse gas emission reductionprojects through the Kyoto Protocol, acting as principal intermediarybetween the projects and the buyers of carbon credits. £ EcoSecurities works with companies in developing andindustrialising countries to create carbon credits from projects thatreduce emissions of greenhouse gases. EcoSecurities has experiencewith projects in the areas of renewable energy, agriculture and urbanwaste management, industrial efficiency, and forestry. With a networkof offices and representatives in over 20 countries on fivecontinents, EcoSecurities has amassed one of the industry's largestand most diversified portfolios of carbon projects. Today, the companyis working on 273 projects in 26 countries using 17 differenttechnologies, with the potential to generate more than 146 millioncarbon credits. £ EcoSecurities also works with companies in the developed world toassist them in meeting their greenhouse gas emission compliancetargets. Utilising its highly diversified carbon credit portfolio,EcoSecurities is able to structure carbon credit transactions to fitcompliance buyer's needs, and has executed transactions with bothprivate and public sector buyers in Europe, North America and Japan. £ EcoSecurities Group plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange AIM(ticker ECO.L). Additional information is available atwww.ecosecurities.com. £ About Standard Bank £ The Standard Bank Group is the largest South African banking groupranked by assets and earnings. The Group had total assets of overR940 billion (approximately US$131 billion) as at 30 June 2006 andemploys more than 40,000 people worldwide. The group has a widerepresentation which spans 18 African countries and 21 countriesoutside of Africa with an emerging markets focus. £ Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking division providescommercial and investment banking services to larger corporates,financial institutions, governments, parastatals and internationalcounterparties. With its South African heritage, the Standard BankGroup has particular expertise in natural resources and debt andcurrency products. £ Through Standard Bank's extensive network of operations around theworld, the Corporate and Investment Banking division is well placed tooriginate and execute financial transactions for its clients. Copyright Business Wire 2006