SEATTLE - December 19, 1996 - Airborne Express announced a $2.0 million investment in the Common Stock of Aramex International, Limited, giving Airborne 8.9% ownership of the Middle East express delivery and freight forwarding company.

Aramex provides services from its main hubs in Dubai, London, New York, and Amman primarily to, and from and within destinations in the Middle East and the Indian Sub-Continent. It is the leading wholesale provider of express services to the Middle East. It also holds a majority interest in a direct marketing and mail order business, Middle East Direct Marketing ("MED"), which operates five Shop the World Direct catalog centers.

"The investment by Airborne demonstrates the commitment we have to Aramex and expanding business in the Middle East," said John Birds, Airborne vice president of Europe, South Africa and the Middle East. "We are firmly committed to solidifying a relationship with Aramex that has been ongoing since 1982."

Recently, Aramex teamed up with Saudi TAL to launch "TAL ARAMEX", a company offering total solutions for all express, cargo and transportation needs in Saudi Arabia. Currently, the company operates out of three offices in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dhahran. Ten new offices around the kingdom are planned for the near future.

TAL ARAMEX operates under a necessary and required license to operate in Saudi Arabia which allows it to clear and export express material at the private aviation terminals in Jeddah and Riyadh airports. Accordingly, the company has set up and staffed two offices at both airports to handle custom clearance. Backed by Aramex’s worldwide network and Saudi TAL’s license which includes landing rights at major airports in Saudi Arabia, the new license guarantees Airborne customers efficient, timely and quality service.

Aramex International, Limited has been operating in the Middle East since 1982. It has over 800 full-time employees and operates through a network of 36 stations/offices and 11 service providers located in 29 countries.

For more than 50 years, Airborne Express has served shipping needs of business customers around the world. Today, Airborne offers total distribution solutions by providing time-sensitive delivery of documents, letters, small packages and freight to virtually every U.S. ZIP code and more than 200 countries. Customers can select from a variety of services including same-day, next-morning, next-afternoon or second-day delivery, air freight, ocean service and logistics management.