Distinguished Shareholders, Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am delighted to welcome you to the 9th Annual General Meeting of our Company, UACN Property Development Company (UPDC) Plc being held today Tuesday 15th May, 2007 at the Lagos-Osun Conference Hall, Transcorp Hilton Hotel, FCT, Abuja.

Before I present to you the performance of our company for year ended 31st December 2006, do permit me to quickly put in perspective the business environment in which your company operated during the year.

Business Environment
The Nigerian economy showed signs of improvement in 2006, compared with the previous year. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was N18.07 trillion in December 2006 as against N14.57 trillion in the preceding year. Real GDP however grew at an average rate of 5.63% as against 6.51% in 2005. The economy achieved a single digit inflation rate of 8.5% against the rate of 15.1% for last year.

The country's external debt stock was US$ 3.5 billion in December 2006, showing a significant drop from the previous US$ 21.22 billion at the same time in 2005. The country's external reserves also went up from US$ 28.29 billion in 2005 to US$ 41.39 billion in 2006. The Central Bank introduced a new interest rate regime called “Monetary Policy Rate” (MPR) in 2006 to replace the erstwhile Minimum Rediscount Rate (MRR). This has had no appreciable impact on the cost of bank borrowing, however. The official Naira exchange rate to the US Dollar remained fairly stable during the year. The BB-Fitch Ratings of the country in 2006 have further boosted its image in the eyes of foreign direct investors.

On the socio-political front, the Niger Delta continued to be a sore point with an escalation in cases of kidnap of expatriate staff of the oil companies operating in the region by militia groups. This sad development resulted in the shutting down of operations by some of the oil companies in the area which consequently led to reduction in projected oil production and revenue levels.

There were also cases of suspected political assassinations in the build up to party primaries for the nomination of candidates for the April 2007 polls.

The reform in the power sector is yet to produce the expected regular power supply. Companies have had to depend on alternative sources of power with a concomitant rise in operating costs.

Financial Performance

I am pleased to report that your Company had an impressive performance in 2006, despite the challenges in the operating environment. Turnover increased by 21% from N4.5 billion in 2005 to N5.5 billion in 2006. Profit before Tax (PBT) also rose by 36% from N1.0 billion in 2005 to N1.3 billion in 2006. In the light of these results, the Board Directors has recommended for your approval a dividend of 35 kobo per share for the year. This represents an increase of 10 kobo over the 25 kobo dividend per share paid last year.

Review of Operations

•  The Company
Operationally, your company remained strategically focused on the Lagos , Port Harcolurt and Abuja markets and plans to deepen its presence in these markets going forward. Some of the major projects commenced by your company in 2006 included Imperial Court, Park View Estate, Ikoyi; Trenchard Place, 10 Gerrard Road Ikoyi, Romay Gardens, Lekki Peninsular, and Victoria Mall & Plaza, Aboyade Cole Street, Victoria Island, Lagos; to mention just a few. Your Company completed the first phase of the implementation of the SAP software successfully during the year and plans to leverage on this to achieve operational efficiency in information management and customer service.

•  UPDC Hotels Limited
Refurbishment work on the Novotel Festac Hotel, Amuwo-Odofin, Lagos , which is to be managed by the Accor Group of France , has reached an advanced stage of completion. Unforeseen funding challenges prevented the realisation of an earlier opening date. The hotel is planned to open for business in July 2007.

•  1004 Estates Limited
Stripping/Demolition works preparatory to the redevelopment of the 1004 flats was completed towards the end of 2006. The main contracts for the refurbishment works have been awarded and contractors mobilised to site. Your Company now holds 50.5% of the shares of the Company through the acquisition of the holdings of one of the original shareholders. The flats have been fully sold to interested members of the public.

Nigerian Stock Exchange Award
For the 5th consecutive year your company won the Nigerian Stock Exchange President's Award as the best quoted company in the real estate sector of the economy. This is an endorsement of the good performance of your company and its high level of financial reporting and corporate governance. I congratulate you all for the achievement.

Looking Forward
We are very hopeful that the business climate will continue to improve. Going by the influx of foreign direct investments and investors into the country in recent times, we are optimistic that the demand for quality accommodation will increase significantly in the coming years. Your company is poised to take advantage of these emerging opportunities with the investments it has made into land acquisitions as well as strategic alliances being formed with land owners, developers and other interest groups. The ongoing reforms in the Pension and Insurance sectors and the imminent take-off of the Real Estate Investment Trust (REITS) initiative would help mobilise private capital for real estate/mortgage development.

Board Changes
Fellow Shareholders, I am pleased to inform you of a recent change on the Board of your Company. Dr. Joshua Ayodele Ajayi, a pioneer non-executive director of your Company recently resigned from the Board following his retirement as the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer o UAC of Nigeria Plc after about 35 years of meritorious service. On your behalf I wish to deeply appreciate Dr. Ajayi for his immense contributions to the establishment, sustenance and growth of our Company and wish him good health and happiness in retirement. Please join me to welcome Mr. Larry Ephraim Ettah, the new Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of UAC of Nigeria Plc who has joined your Board as a non-executive director. On your behalf, I would like to wish him a successful tenure.

Appreciation
Ladies and Gentlemen, I wish to express my profound appreciation to the management and staff of our Company for their effort in working for the sustained profitability of the company.

I thank you our esteemed Shareholders for your unwavering interest and commitment to the Company.

Finally I thank my fellow directors for providing good leadership and direction to the Company.

I thank you all for your attention.

Lt. General Mohammed Wushishi (rtd.) GCON, CFR, FSS,PSC.
Chairman