Chola DBS launches first personal finance branch at Anna Nagar, Chennai

June 10, 2006: Cholamandalam DBS Finance Limited (Chola DBS), the financial services joint venture between the Rs 7,300 crore Muruggapa Group and DBS Bank of Singapore has announced the launch of its first personal finance branch at Anna Nagar, Chennai today.

"This branch, offering personal loans to customers in the neighbourhood is the first in the series of 5 branches planned for launch in Chennai this month. The branches will be fully equipped to handle the entire loan process — from loan enquiry to cheque disbursement," said Mr Atul Pande, Managing Director, Chola DBS.

Inaugurating the branch, Mr MA Alagappan, Chairman, Chola DBS said, "I am pleased to launch the first dedicated personal finance branch. Chola DBS has a wide geographical presence in India, spread across 125 locations. To this spread we aim to add penetration and cater to the personal finance requirements of customers in every neighbourhood ".

Mr Pande said, "We aim to extend this service of offering personal loans through neighbourhood branches to other cities in India, namely Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Coimbatore.

We have had encouraging response for our Personal Loans product which was test-launched in Chennai, Bangalore and Coimbatore earlier this year."

Note to Editors:

About Murugappa Group

The Rs 7300 crore Murugappa Group is one of India's largest family-promoted, professionally managed corporate with over 28,000 employees. A pioneer and market leader in several fields with over 40 manufacturing operations across 12 states in India, the group has a strong presence in farm inputs, engineering and cycles, sugar, abrasives, finance, general insurance, sanitaryware, plantations, bio-products and nutraceuticals. (www.murugappa.com)

About DBS
Headquartered in Singapore, DBS is one of the largest financial services groups in Asia. The largest bank in Singapore and the fifth largest banking group in Hong Kong as measured by assets, DBS has leading positions in consumer banking, treasury and markets, asset management, securities brokerage, equity and debt fund raising. Beyond the anchor markets of Singapore and Hong Kong, DBS serves corporate, institutional and retail customers through its operations in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, India and The Philippines. In China, the Bank has branches and representative offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Fuzhou, Tianjin, Dongguan and Hangzhou. The Bank's credit ratings are one of the highest among banks competing in the Asia-Pacific region, and the highest among banks in Singapore. (www.dbs.com).

For more information, please contact:
Atul Pande Managing
DirectorCholamandalam
DBS Finance LimitedI Floor,
Dare House, 2, NSC Bose Road,
ParrysChennai 600 001.
Tel: 00 91 44 2530 7172