Fidelity Fund Management ties up with State Bank of India

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Fidelity Fund Management has entered into an agreement today with State Bank of India, the country's largest public sector bank, for the distribution of its products. Mr. S.K. Mishra, General Manager - Marketing and Cross-Selling, State Bank of India, and Ms. Ashu Suyash, Managing Director and Country Head, Fidelity Fund Management, signed the agreement. Fidelity Fund Management's entire suite of mutual funds will now be available at the branches of State Bank of India throughout the country.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Mishra said, "In keeping with State Bank of India's growth plans into new strategic initiatives like wealth management, we are adding a new fund partner - Fidelity Fund Management - whose products we will be distributing. With the signing of the agreement with Fidelity, our customers will get easier access to Fidelity's range of funds. We are committed to bringing to our customers a wide range of financial services and our aim is to cross-sell more financial products to our customers according to their needs. Mutual funds are the best investment vehicle for retail investors to participate in the equity markets. We continue to be focussed on providing the necessary training to our staff at branches to equip them with the skills required to advise our customers."

Ms. Suyash added, "We are delighted to partner State Bank of India to take our products out to a larger number of investors. We have long believed that growth in the Indian mutual fund industry will be driven by an increasing number of investors coming into the mutual fund fold. State Bank of India's unrivalled branch network of over 9500 branches provides a trusted platform to reach new investors. We look forward to working with State Bank of India to help customers understand the role mutual funds can play in achieving their financial goals."

About State Bank of India

State Bank of India (SBI) is India's largest commercial bank. SBI has over 90 million customers and a vast domestic network of over 9500 branches (approximately 14% of all bank branches) in India and abroad, of which over 5800 are networked over CBS (core banking solution). The State Bank Group also has the largest ATM network in the country with over 7000 ATMs. It commands one-fifth of deposits and loans of all scheduled commercial banks in India. The State Bank Group includes a network of eight banking subsidiaries and several non-banking subsidiaries offering merchant banking services, fund management, factoring services, primary dealership in government securities, credit cards and insurance.

Today, SBI has spread its arms around the world and has a network of branches spanning all time zones. SBI's International Banking Group delivers the full range of cross-border finance solutions through its four wings - the Domestic division, the Foreign Offices division, the Foreign Department and the International Services division.

About Fidelity Fund Management

Fidelity Fund Management Private Limited is the Indian arm of Fidelity International Limited, one of the world's leading global investment management companies with operations in 23 countries. Fidelity International provides mutual funds, retirement services, including defined benefit and defined contribution pension schemes, and specialist institutional mandates to individual and institutional investors outside the Americas. In 2006 alone, Fidelity won 2771 awards for investment excellence - an outcome of consistently following its philosophy of 'bottom-up' stock picking that focuses on the core strengths of a company based on first-hand, 360-degree research. Fidelity International along with its US affiliate, Fidelity Management and Research Co., actively covers 95%2 of the world market capitalization through its unrivalled research network of over 7003 investment professionals. Central to Fidelity's success is a pioneering spirit, a commitment to innovation that sets new industry standards and an unmatched investment in research, talent and technology. Driven by an entrepreneurial culture, Fidelity is known to actively pursue investor education and distributor training, which it has also begun in the country.

Sources:

-- Fidelity. All awards have been won by Fidelity International Limited and its affiliates. Past performance is not a guide to future returns. The value of investments, and the income from them, can go down as well as up and an investor may not get back the amount invested.

-- Fidelity, 2006.

-- FMR Corp., Pyramis Global Advisers, FIL, 2006. Data is unaudited. These figures reflect the resources of FMR Corp., a U.S. company and its subsidiaries, and the resources of Fidelity International Limited, a non-U.S. company and affiliate and its subsidiaries.

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Risk factors: ▪Mutual funds, like securities investments, are subject to market risks and there is no guarantee against loss in the Scheme or that the Scheme's objectives will be achieved.

-- As with any investment in securities, the NAV of the Units issued under the Scheme can go up or down depending on various factors and forces affecting capital markets.

-- Past performance of the Sponsor/the AMC/the Mutual Fund does not indicate the future performance of the Scheme. Please read the Offer Document of the schemes before investing.

Statutory:

Fidelity Mutual Fund ('the Fund') has been established as a trust under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882, by Fidelity International Investment Advisors (liability restricted to Rs. 1 Lakh). Fidelity Trustee Company Private Limited, a company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956, with a limited liability is the Trustee to the Fund. Fidelity Fund Management Private Limited, a company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956, with a limited liability is the Investment Manager to the Fund.

Source: Fidelity Fund Management (Business Wire India)

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