RBC Capital Markets expands Global Infrastructure Finance platform into Australia

SYDNEY, August 23, 2006 — RBC Capital Markets today announced the next major step in the expansion of its Global Infrastructure Finance platform with the establishment of a dedicated team in Australia. Comprised of four senior professionals in the infrastructure business, the team is headed by Dominic Hudson and will be based in RBC’s Sydney office.

Mr. Hudson joins as managing director and head of infrastructure. Accompanying him are Stan Nikiforou, who joins as a director; Tim Foy, vice president; and Matthew McKenna, manager. All were formerly with Rothschilds. They report to Wayne Jarman, Vice Chairman of RBC Capital Markets, Australia and Adrian Bell, Global Head of Infrastructure Finance.

The initiative comes on the heels of RBC Capital Markets’ recent and ongoing expansion of its U.S. infrastructure finance business and builds on the firm’s longstanding infrastructure capabilities in the UK, Europe and Canada. RBC has operated in Australia for many years and RBC Capital Markets is the leading underwriter of Euro-A$ and Kangaroo bonds.

The new team will concentrate on both domestically originated and global deals, and will enable RBC Capital Markets to provide local expertise to its international client base looking to bid for Australian/New Zealand assets and projects. In addition, it will enable the firm to offer investment banking services to the local public and private sectors for financing infrastructure, transport, utilities and essential services.

“We are delighted that Dominic and his team are joining us to develop the infrastructure business in this part of the world,” said Mr. Jarman. “It reinforces our global infrastructure platform by establishing a regional presence in the Australian and New Zealand markets. Australia in many ways has led innovation in this business and in providing opportunities for inward investment.”

Globally, RBC Capital Markets has been involved in a multitude of recent infrastructure transactions, including advising the French national rail infrastructure operator and owner Réseau Ferre de France on the 1.2 billion new rail bypass from Nîmes to Montpellier. The firm has been active in financing the acquisition of infrastructure assets in Europe, including the privatization of the Brussels and Copenhagen airports, the M1/Westlink road in Ireland and the M77 motorway in the UK. In Canada, the firm has acted as lead arranger and advisor on the 407 toll road in Toronto and lead underwriter for the Blue Water Bridge.

In the U.S., RBC Capital Markets was recently co-arranger for the debt financing of Macquarie Bank’s acquisition of Connecticut-based water utility company Aquarion and was appointed as financial advisor in Tampa in what should be the first public/private partnership (P3) deal in Florida. The toll road project has received the attention of the U.S. private sector industry as a model for other potential P3s in the state.

About RBC Capital Markets Global Infrastructure Finance
RBC Capital Markets is the corporate and investment banking arm of RBC Financial Group, and a leader in infrastructure finance. It provides public and private sector clients across the globe with an integrated service including asset advice, structuring and capital underwriting, as well as advice to organisations operating in the infrastructure and essential services sectors. The firm is a specialist in the oil and gas, renewable energy and waste, transportation and utilities sectors with more than 60 dedicated executives across Europe, North America, Asia and Australia.

RBC Capital Markets is a business name used by Royal Bank of Canada Europe Limited, 71 Queen Victoria Street, London EC4V 4DE (registered in England 995939), which is regulated by the FSA and a member of the London Stock Exchange.

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Kevin Foster

RBC Capital Markets

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