Nikko Asset Management and Ambit Announce Plan for Asset Management Joint Venture in India.

Tokyo, Japan, Dec 14, 2006 - (JCN Newswire) - Nikko Asset Management Co., Ltd. ("Nikko AM") and Ambit RSM Private Limited ("Ambit") today announced that they have reached an agreement to work towards the establishment of an asset management joint venture between the two companies in India. Nikko AM and Ambit formalized their commitment in a memorandum of understanding, signed today in Tokyo in the presence of Mr. Kamal Nath, India's Commerce Minister. Today's announcement marks the first initiative to build an asset management joint venture by a Japanese asset management company and an Indian financial services group in India.

Nikko AM is expected to acquire 74.9% of the ordinary stock of the joint venture company while Ambit will own the remainder. Nikko AM and Ambit have already agreed to many of the key terms of their cooperation and anticipate entering into a definitive agreement in early 2007. The two firms plan to commence the formal licensing process for the joint venture with the Indian financial regulators and plan to rapidly build operational infrastructure in anticipation of the formal launch of investment activities.

Nikko AM President and CIO Bill Wilder commented, "We are delighted to announce this exciting new partnership. With its vast people resources, progressive regulators, favorable demographics and an economy growing more than eight per cent per annum, India is not only an attractive destination for foreign capital in general but also is a promising market for asset management in particular. Drawing upon Ambit's extensive local market knowledge and distribution reach and utilizing Nikko AM's proven asset management expertise, the two firms seek to build over time a successful domestic asset management business."

Ambit Partner and CEO, Ashok Wadhwa commented that "The concept of growth for Ambit with a collaborative strategy was further emphasized by the partnership with Nikko AM who are the best in class in the asset management business."

The Nikko AM group has been active in the offshore Indian asset management market for over a decade and was an early adopter of the Foreign Institutional Investor ("FII") designation in India via the group's regional base in Singapore. Since 2004, Nikko AM has invested in additional offshore infrastructure, most notably by establishing a regulated group company in Mauritius and a dedicated India fund management team in Singapore, that has enabled the group to expand its Indian investment management capacity rapidly, in particular by facilitating the successful launch of Nikko BRICs Equity Fund in March 2006.

Ambit is a leading financial services group in India with interests in investment banking, private equity, stock broking and consulting. Since its establishment in Mumbai as a boutique investment bank in 1997 by Managing Director Ashok Wadhwa, a former Managing Partner of Arthur Andersen in India, the Ambit group has grown rapidly and now has offices in three other Indian cities as well as Singapore.

About Nikko Asset Management Co., Ltd. and "Nikko AM"

Nikko AM(1) is a leading asset management group headquartered in Japan. Established over 45 years ago, Nikko Asset Management Co., Ltd. ("Nikko AM Tokyo") has been offering investors a full array of investment management products and advisory services. Its investment trusts are distributed through a network of approximately 200 partner securities companies and banks. The firm offers investors access to both Nikko AM's funds that invest mainly in Japanese equities, fixed income, and REITs and, through its third-party sub-advisory platform, "World Series" access to a global range of top-performing, independent asset managers over a diverse range of asset classes.

Nikko AM International Inc., our overseas office located in New York, provides a wide range of products lineup, under In-house management such as Global bond, and sub-advisory management, capitalizing on the excellent performance of external asset management firms.

In February 2005, Nikko AM's expertise in asset management was recognized when Nikko AM Tokyo received the Lipper Award for Best Fund Group, based on its outstanding performance in three asset class categories: equity funds, fixed income funds and mixed asset funds. In April 2006, Nikko AM won Asian Investor's 2006 Achievement Award in Japan Equity in the five year risk-adjusted performance category.

Additionally, Nikko Alternative Asset Management, Inc. ("NAAM"), a Nikko AM company, provides alternative investments expertise and solutions to investors. NAAM provides investors access to internally developed products, as well as to external, individual hedge funds and fund of hedge funds, through its "AlphaPlus" line of products. NAAM's alternative investments experience spans over a decade.

Nikko AM has assets totaling 10.694 trillion ($90.7billion) under management, as of Sep 30, 2006.(2) It offers approximately 230 public investment trusts, ranging from basic to innovative products, to meet the diversified needs of retail and institutional investors. Nikko AM(1) employs over 500 people in Tokyo, New York, London and Singapore.

For further information, please visit: http://www.nikkoam.com/english/

(1) "Nikko AM" stands for Nikko Asset Management Co., Ltd. and its group companies.

(2) Consolidated Nikko AM Tokyo and its overseas subsidiaries' assets under management (includes advised assets).

About Ambit RSM Private Limited ("Ambit")

Ambit RSM group is a well established Indian group, engaged in providing financial and professional services such as investment banking, financial consultancy, stock broking, tax & business advisory services and investment advisory services. Its group companies include Ambit Corporate Finance, a leading investment bank in India. Over last 3 years, Ambit has consistently ranked amongst the top 3 I-Banks on India's Bloomberg M&A league tables by deal count. Ambit has advised on some large transactions such as the Bank of Punjab merger with Centurion Bank, Heidelberg's entry into India with the acquisition of Mysore Cements, DHL's acquisition of Blue Dart and United Breweries JV with Scottish & Newcastle.

In early 2006, Ambit launched its securities business Ambit Capital. In December, 2006, Ambit announced a joint venture with TV18, a leading Indian business media group and CBoP, a leading private sector bank. Apart from catering to Institutional and High Net Worth clients, the venture will launch an online broking business for retail clients.

In 2001, the group, along with HDFC (Housing Development Finance Corporation), promoted India Value Fund, which has been very successful in the mid market private equity segment in India. For further information, please visit: http://www.ambitrsm.com/

For further information, please contact:

Naho Yohda and Aiko Takemiya,

Corporate Communications Dept.,

Nikko Asset Management Co., Ltd.

Tel.: [phone]

E-Mail: [e-mail]

Vivek Pandey,

Ambit RSM Private Limited

Tel.: [phone]

E-Mail: [e-mail]

Source: JCN http://www.japancorp.net

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