This ranking underscores Bupa's strong market presence and solid position as the preferredpartner of the health insurance industry.Founded by The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority's National CompetitivenessCenter, Al-Watan newspaper and Next Economics with Strategic Partner the NationalCommercial Bank (NCB), the Saudi Fast Growth 100 is an annual ranking of the fastest-growingemerging companies in Saudi Arabia. Its objective is to build momentum for a robust andsustainable entrepreneurial culture.

For his part, the Managing Director of Bupa, Tal Nazer thanked the award organizers for theireffective role in promoting the company's confidence in the market at the regional and globallevels.
'The appealing aspect behind our success is the realization that we are doing good things',continued Nazer. 'This success is directly attributable to Bupa's employees who are among thebest and brightest in the region. This incredible talent base has enabled us to become a leadingInsurance company in Saudi Arabia. Today, successful entrepreneurial companies send apowerful signal to the next generation of entrepreneurs. Nothing is more important thanenergizing youth to take part in creating the future of their country.'

Next Economics, the partner who prepared the list, also announced plan whereby entrepreneursand representatives of the top 20 companies on the Saudi Fastest 100 list will visit HarvardBusiness School in May 2009 to meet with their US counterparts from fastest US companies.This will not only serve as an excellent opportunity for Saudi companies to learn from USexperience, but also as a chance to create a community of entrepreneurs in the two countries
with long term benefits for both.

The awards were presented by Amr Al-Dabbagh, Governor of Saudi Arabia General InvestmentAuthority at the 3rd Global Competitiveness Forum. The Forum hosted by the Saudi ArabianGeneral Investment Authority is an annual meeting of top business executives, internationalpolitical leaders, selected intellectuals and academics who share an interest in global competitiveness.