23 May 2011

PME AFRICAN INFRASTRUCTURE OPPORTUNITIES PLC

 (AIM: PMEA.L; PMEW.L)

Trading Update and Proposed Special Dividend

The Board of PME African Infrastructure Opportunities plc,("PME"or the "Company") an investment company established to invest in sub-Saharan African infrastructure and infrastructure related industries, is pleased to provide the following update on its investments. In accordance with the Company's previously announced policy, it intends to propose to shareholders at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting a further return of cash by way of special dividend.

Update on investments

Since 30 June 2010, African economies as a whole continued to develop strongly driven by rising demand for commodities, internal consumer growth and international investment, and the Board of PME believe this positive trend is likely to continue over the near term.

Against this backdrop, PME has continued actively to manage its portfolio companies, which have started to demonstrate tangible progress.

Telecommunications investments

Africa's long awaited data revolution appears to be gaining momentum as a number of undersea cables simultaneously touch the continent. There have been significant changes in markets such as Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, with falling prices for voice services accompanied by significant growth in customer numbers and levels of data usage.

The Board believes that demand for effective data connectivity and related services will be substantial, particularly in the business market which has traditionally been under serviced by the large mobile network operators. PME has, therefore, repositioned both the Tanzanian and Ugandan businesses into the business market with some encouraging initial success. The Board believes that with a combination of the current sales momentum, the launch of new initiative, stronger financial controls and continued support, the businesses are on track to be cash positive within 12 to 18 months.

PME property

The transfer of our leasehold interest in Sasatel House in Dar Es Salaam into a separately managed holding company was completed in December 2010. Long term leases have been finalised with Helios Towers and First National Bank over the remaining unoccupied space in the building and the building is now fully let and will start to generate cash returns for PME from June 2011. The property, which will be renamed "Peninsula House", has since been independently valued by Knight Frank and the valuation indicates a strong uplift in value from the acquisition cost. A number of options exist to expand the current development given strong demand for A grade office accommodation, with reliable power and data connectivity, on the Peninsula and these options will be investigated further towards the end of this year.

Sheltam and locomotives

Sheltam continues to recover following the recent market down turn. Bulk mineral sales and transport volumes have largely recovered but it has taken time for this to be reflected in the market for locomotive services. Marketing activity and potential interest from clients has shown a marked upturn and Sheltam management are hopeful that this will manifest in firm contracts over the next few months.

By the beginning of April 2011, Sheltam had placed 28 locomotives out of its fleet of 40 locomotives. Seven of these locomotives are on contract in the DRC, two in Mozambique with the balance in South Africa. A further 2 locomotives are awaiting deployment in South Africa. Given the slower market recovery Sheltam is in arrears on its finance lease payments to PME Locomotives. PME however remains supportive and is in discussions with Sheltam to normalise the situation. Sheltam is also investigating opportunities to replace the PME lease with Rand based third party funding, which will offer lower cost and better currency matching.

The Board continues to believe that significant opportunities remain for Sheltam, both in South Africa and across sub-Saharan Africa as the need for bulk transport continues to grow. While no update is available on the privatisation of the South African branch lines or on access to South Africa's main lines, should either of these developments occur the opportunities will be considerable and we believe that Sheltam will be uniquely positioned to benefit from them.

Special Dividend and Annual Results

The Board has been informed of the resignation of the chairman of the Investment Manager, John Webley, and has not as yet been informed as to his replacement. No new investment proposals have been put to the Board by the Investment Manager, in recent times.  In accordance with previously announced policy, the Board will therefore be making a further return of cash to shareholders, subject to their approval at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting, by way of a special dividend amounting to approximately 10-15c per Ordinary Share.  No new investments will be undertaken and the Company's primary focus will be on maximising the value to shareholders of its existing investments.

It is expected that results for the year ended 31 December 2010 will be released to the market on or about 15 June 2011.

Further enquiries:

Note to Editors:

-    PME African Infrastructure Opportunities plc ('PME') is a company investing in sub-Saharan African infrastructure and infrastructure related industries. Its shares were admitted to AIM in July 2007 raising US$180 million.

-     PME was established to invest in sub-Saharan African infrastructure and infrastructure related industries with a view to generating attractive returns, principally through capital growth. It is targeting opportunities arising from years of under investment in sub-Saharan African infrastructure where that infrastructure will be instrumental in allowing the continent's economic development to continue to grow.

-     The Investment Manager is PME Infrastructure Managers Limited ('PMEIM'). The Investment Manager is responsible for identifying new investment opportunities.

-     PMEIM is a joint venture between Masazane Capital (Pty) Limited, Principle Capital Holdings S.A., Unicos Partners LLP (holding company of the Helvetica Group of companies), and the interests of Richard Bouma.