17 December 2009 Hong Kong

In the interests of business continuity and succession planning, the Board of Directors of Noble Group is pleased to announce a high-level restructuring of key positions that will take effect from 1 January 2010. The Group has always been conscious of its duty to its staff, shareholders, and financiers in ensuring that plans are made well in advance and are shared publicly. On this occasion they have sought to address the issue of smooth succession planning within the company.

The founder and CEO of the Group, Richard Elman, expressed a wish some time ago to allow the senior management of the Group to grow and evolve. The goal is to enable senior management to grow into their new responsibilities while at the same time providing all stakeholders with the comfort that Richard Elman is still spearheading the Group’s strategy and intimately involved in the Group’s daily operations. As a result the Board, on the recommendation of the Nomination Committee, has appointed Mr. Elman to the role of Executive Chairman.

Mr. David Eldon, the current non-executive Chairman, who has been from the outset closely involved in planning all stages of this evolution, will remain on the Board as Senior Independent Non-Executive Director. Mr. Eldon remains deeply committed to Noble and to ensuring the Group continues to pursue the highest standards of corporate governance.

As an important step in this evolution, the current Chief Operating Officer of the Group, who is also a main Board director, Mr. Ricardo Leiman will assume the post of Chief Executive Officer of the Group and directly report to both Richard Elman and the Group’s long-time Vice Chairman Mr. Harry Banga. The Board wishes to stress that Mr. Elman is in robust health, energetic, and is keenly committed to Noble’s continued growth and prosperity.

The Board is also pleased to announce the return of Tobias Brown, formerly non-executive Chairman of the Group, who will, as a non-executive Director, add his considerable wealth of experience to the Board. Mr. Brown has also agreed, that should Mr. Elman ever become incapacitated, he would exercise stewardship over the Elman family interests in the Noble Group to ensure the company will be run in a fashion which is consistent with both Mr. Elman’s business values and long-term goals.

On behalf of the Board, Mr. Eldon said, “I believe we have created a situation that gives us the best of all worlds. We retain Richard’s knowledge, commitment, and dedication to the company he founded. Coupled with this we will benefit from his daily oversight which should be of considerable comfort to the many stakeholders in the Noble Group. At the same time we have been able to strengthen the Board with the return of Toby Brown, and we have created a superbly strong executive senior management team through the appointment of Ricardo as CEO. For Richard to assume the Chairmanship is, in my view, a totally logical evolutionary step, and I am more than happy to carry on supporting him from my new position”.

Richard Elman said, “I am delighted that the Board has put forward these proposals and I believe they not only recognize my desire to create a proper succession plan for the Group, but it also allows me in a meaningful way to ensure the process unfolds exactly as they should. I believe that the new structure is a firm foundation for our next phase of growth”.

“I would like to thank David Eldon for all that he has done so far in getting us to focus on such an important issue, and for his selflessness in stepping back from the Chairman’s role to allow me to remain as a positive influence in the company. I am also pleased to welcome back Toby Brown whose counsel will be invaluable to the Board.”

About Noble

Noble Group (SGX: N21) is a market leader in managing the global supply chain of agricultural, industrial and energy products. The Group operates from over 100 offices in more than 40 countries, serving 4000+ customers. Noble manages a diversified portfolio of essential raw materials, integrating the sourcing, marketing, processing, financing and transportation. With 2008 annual revenues exceeding US$36 billion, Noble owns and manages an array of strategic assets, sourcing from low cost producers such as Brazil, Argentina, Australia and Indonesia and supplying to high growth demand markets including China, India and the Middle East. Today, Noble has interests in grain crushing facilities, coal and iron ore mines, fuel terminals and storage facilities, sugar and ethanol plants, vessels, ports and other infrastructure to ensure high quality products are delivered in the most efficient and timely manner to its customers.

In 2009, Noble ranked #218 on the Fortune Global 500 and achieved "Investment Grade" ratings (Baa3) from Moody's Investors Service and (BBB-) from Standard & Poor's, complementing its initial "Investment Grade" rating (BBB-) from Fitch the previous year. In addition, Noble appears on the Forbes Global 2000 and Forbes Fab 50 lists of leading companies. Noble Group is among the 30 securities listed on the Straits Times Index.

For further details please contact:


Mr. Stephen Brown

Noble Group Limited

Tel: +852 2250 2060

Fax: +852 2861 0018

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Mr. Brad Smolar

Smolar Limited

Tel: +852 6339 3396

Fax: +852 2573 2473

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