SCA to establish company in the Middle East

SCA to establish company in the Middle East

SCA is forming a joint venture company together with Jordan-based industrial
group Nuqul. The new company, in which SCA will own 50%, will manufacture and
sell feminine hygiene products in the Middle East and Egypt. The operation will
span eighteen countries in the region. SCA's purchase price for its 50% stake
amounts to USD 18.5 million.

Nuqul is a leading industrial group in the Middle East, with operations that
include tissue and personal hygiene products. The Group's annual sales total
approximately USD 400 million. Nuqul is the leading supplier of tissue in the
region and has a substantial and fast-growing hygiene business with strong
positions in all Middle East markets.

The new joint venture company will gain immediate access to Nuqul's production
facilities and broad distribution network. SCA will bring to the joint venture
its own feminine product range, world-leading technology and marketing
expertise. Nuqul's Feminine Care business - with annual sales of approximately
USD 15 million - will form the base of the joint venture company. 

”This joint venture gives us a unique platform for entering Egypt and the main
markets of the Middle East with our successful feminine hygiene products," says
Gunnar Johansson, President of SCA Personal Care. "These markets have immense
growth potential, and we expect to grow our sales in the region substantially.
We aim to complement Nuqul's product range, sold under the Cinderella and Lady
Fine brands, with our own product range. Our ambition is to eventually extend
our joint venture to other personal care categories in the future.”

SCA's sales of personal care products in Africa, Middle East and South Asia
(India, Pakistan and Afghanistan) today amount to approximately USD 70 million. 

The market outlook is positive, with a young female population. In the key
markets as much as a third of the population is 14 years or younger. These
markets are identified as Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, the United
Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and Egypt. The purchasing power of
people in the region is also expected to grow.


Stockholm, 2 October 2007  


For further information please contact
Bodil Eriksson, SVP Corporate Communications, +46 8 788 52 34
Pär Altan, VP Media Relations, +46 8 788 52 37

About Nuqul Group
Established in 1952, Nuqul Group (a conglomerate of 27 companies) is one of the
leading industrial groups in the Middle East. Its line of business covers a wide
range of products, including raw material and converted hygienic tissue paper,
non-woven fabrics, processed meats, aluminium profiles, ready-mix concrete,
synthetic sponge/foam, plastic pipes, stationery, and printed packaging
materials.


Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget SCA is a global consumer goods and paper company
that develops, produces and markets personal care products, tissue, packaging
solutions, publication papers and solid-wood products. Sales are conducted in
some 90 countries. SCA has annual sales in excess of SEK 101 billion (c. EUR 11
billion) and production facilities in more than 40 countries. SCA had
approximately 51,000 employees at the beginning of 2007. SCA shares are traded
on the Stockholm, London and New York stock exchanges. For more information,
visit www.sca.com