CITIBANK LAUNCHES 5.5 MILLION BAHT CITIBANK IT CLASSROOM FOR YANNAWATE WITTAYAKOM SCHOOL

Bangkok--Feb 27--Aziam Burson-Marsteller Citibank Thailand, in collaboration with the National Council on Social Welfare of Thailand (NCSWT)under Royal Patronage and the United Way International, has launched the Citibank IT Classroom valued at 5.5 million baht (US$ 125,000) for the Yannawate Wittayakom School. This is the pilot school in the program. Construction, computer installation, and systems and application arrangements are underway and expected tobe completed by May 2002. "The program is an excellent example of our long-standing commitment to Thai people. It also reflects our contribution to Thailand's educational and human resource development, which will be a great benefit to the long-term economic growth of the country," said Mr Terence Cuddyre, Country Corporate Officer of Citibank. "This year, the Citibank IT Classroom was launched to complement the Thai educational reform policy which aims to improve Thailand's educational system by leveraging technology. Citibank has been acclaimed for its leadership position in IT and use of advanced technology. We are proud to bring together our strength and talents to deliver important educational tools that will help to prepare Thai students for the new economy." The IT Classroom project has been implemented since 2001, with the ultimate goal of extending IT learning opportunities to all secondary schools that are short of funds. To ensure the success of the program, Citibank will also offer additional resources including branded computers, hardware, applications and Internetfacilities as well as technical expertise that will provide students and school staff with IT related skills and knowledge. Following a meticulous review and pre-screening process involving 30 schools that were initially proposed by the Department of General Education and the NCSWT, the selection committee chose Yannawate Wittayakom School as a pilot project for the IT Classroom program. Citibank provides full support in designing and building the IT Classroom at Yannawejwittayakom School, which will become the prototype for the IT Classroom in the future. The design concept is focused on maximum functionality, energy efficiency, and easy maintenance under the do-it-yourself concept. In addition, Citibank has also planned to contribute the integrated equipment and peripherals required for the IT Classroom including a network server, based on the Intel Pentium III Xeon processor at 1GHz with 256MB memory and two hot-plug 18.2GB hard disks for disk shadowing to provide high availability and redundant systems against hard disk failure. Citibank will provide 50 PCs with a standard 128MB memory, 20GB hard disk drive, graphic and audio capabilities, and the MS-Windows XP operating system. Standard headphones are also provided with each unit for private listening. The Local Area Network (LAN) Speed is 100Mbps and there will be two high-speed printers as well as one scanner. Anti-virus software is installed in all units to provide virus protection since the IT classroom is connected to the Uninet and the school's existing Internet connection. Citibank is committed to fostering educational development on an on-going basis, which is in accordance with its slogan of "Banking on Education". Earlier educational contributions included a wide range of educational materials, infrastructure, facilities and funds, which have gone to needy public schools. In 2001, the Citigroup Foundation granted a fund of 1,371,544 baht to six Thai schools including, Baan Ton Mamuang School, Kanchanaburi; Wat Prachanart School, Nakhon Pathom; Chomnimit School, Samutprakarn; Sakhla Community School, Samutprakarn, Klong Suan School, Samutprakarn and Posop Pholcharoen School, Pathumthani. During 1999-2000, Citibank has provided 100 scholarships valued at 5 million baht for 3rd and 4th year students of five state universities. This initiative was designed to help students whose sponsors had been affected by the country's economic crisis. In 2001, Citibank, in cooperation with NCSWT, announced the 1.5million baht Citibank Scholarship program which offered 190 scholarships to poor secondary, high school and university students nationwide. In the same year, the Youth Development Camp was also established to stimulate awareness about social contributions among more than 100 Citibank scholarship students. Citibank also donated computers and peripherals to many schools throughout the kingdom. Citibank has operated the banking business in Thailand since November 1985. Currently, it provides a wide range of financial services including Consumer Banking, Corporate Banking and Private Banking. Its assets as of December 31, 2001 were more than 107,123 million baht. Mr. Terence Cuddyre is Country Corporate Officer and Mr B.T. Lau is Country Business Manager of Citibank Thailand. For more information, please contacts: Charusuda Ruangsuwan/ Porntip Lertvetchakul Cleopatra Chittalarn Aziam Burson Marsteller Citibank, N.A. Thailand Tel: 02 252 9871 Tel: 02 232 2904 Fax: 02 254 8353 Fax: 02 639 2551 Email: [email protected] [email protected] Following is Citibank release for your consideration. Best regards, Satida Sritunyatorn Aziam Burson-Marsteller 0 2252 9871 End. -AN-

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