The Capital Market Authority approves Middle East Paper Company's request to increase its capital through shares offering with the suspension of preemptive rights

The CMA announces its resolution approving Middle East Paper Company's request to increase its capital through offering (19,999,999) shares with the suspension of preemptive rights valued at SAR (629,999,968.50). The shares offering resulting from the capital increase will be limited to investors categories stipulated in the Rules on The Offer of Securities and Continuing Obligations and as specified in the prospectus.

The approval of the extraordinary general assembly of the Issuer must be obtained within six months from CMA's approval date and the Issuer must satisfy all related regulatory requirements and applicable laws.

After reviewing the Issuer's application in light of the governing regulatory requirements, and the quantitative and qualitative criteria applicable to all Issuers requesting a capital increase, the CMA has issued its resolution approving the Issuer's capital increase request highlighted above. The shares issuance with the suspension of preemptive rights prospectus will be posted and made available to the public at a later time.

The Shareholder's voting decision to increase the Issuer's capital with the suspension of preemptive rights based on an announcement of the Issuer's capital Increase, whether the announcement is a recommendation from the Issuer's board of directors or in a form of CMA's approval, without carefully reading the shares issuance with the suspension of preemptive rights prospectus and fully reviewing its content, may involve high risk. Therefore, Shareholders must carefully read the prospectus, which contains detailed information on the Issuer, the offering and risk factors, to make an informed vote at the relevant extraordinary general assembly. If the prospectus proves difficult to understand, it is recommended to consult an authorized financial advisor.

The CMA's approval of the prospectus should never be considered as a recommendation to participate in the offer nor invest in the Issuer's shares. The CMA's approval of the prospectus merely means that the legal requirements as per the Capital Market Law and its Implementing Regulations have been met.