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Empresas y finanzas

SES Extraordinary General Meeting Appoints Robert W. Ross and Dr Ashok Ganguly to Board of Directors


    Shareholders of SES S.A. (Paris:SESG) (LuxX:SESG), at an
    Extraordinary General Meeting held at the Company's headquarters in
    Betzdorf on June 28th, 2007 appointed leading business figures Mr
    Robert W. Ross and Dr Ashok Ganguly to the Board of Directors, and
    approved certain modifications to the Company's Articles.

    Dr Ganguly is currently the Chairman of Firstsource Solutions Ltd
    (formerly ICICI OneSource Ltd) and ABP Pvt Ltd (Ananda Bazar Patrika
    Group) and has been a Director on the Central Board of the Reserve
    Bank of India since November 2000. He is a member of the Prime
    Minister's Council on Trade and Industry as well as the Investment
    Commission and the India-USA CEO Council, set up by the Prime Minister
    of India and the President of the USA. He is also a member of the
    National Knowledge Commission to the Prime Minister. He is a former
    member of the Board of British Airways Plc (1996-2005) and of New
    Skies Satellites (2002 - 2006).

    Mr Ross is the former CEO of New Skies Satellites (1998-2002) and
    served as consultant to the company from 2002 until 2004. He has
    extensive executive experience in the media industry, having held
    senior positions at the National Cable Television Association and at
    Turner Broadcasting System Inc., where he was instrumental in the
    introduction of CNN to Europe and the Middle East, subsequently being
    appointed Executive Vice President with responsibility for strategic
    planning for launching international TV networks, and ultimately
    President of Turner International, Inc. He presently provides
    consultancy services in the broadcasting communications sphere.

    The General Meeting also approved modifications to the Articles of
    Incorporation. These included:

    1. The adaptation of the Articles to the changes made in the
    Concession Agreement between SES ASTRA and the Luxembourg state
    (Article 5).

    2. Deletion of all references to Shares of Class C, these shares
    (formerly owned by General Electric) having been repurchased and
    cancelled.

    3. Other minor modifications taking into account the two above
    items.

    Rene Steichen, Chairman of the Board of Directors, said:

    "SES is pleased to welcome Dr Ashok Ganguly and Robert W. Ross to
    the Board of Directors. Their enormous industry knowledge and broad
    business expertise brings further depth to our Board and will help to
    support SES's growth initiatives. This is particularly relevant for
    our activities in new markets and business sectors. We look forward to
    benefiting from their contributions to our continued success."

    Notes to Editors

    Background to the amendment of Article 5

    In December 2005, the European Commission started a procedure
    based on concerns that the special rights of the Luxembourg Government
    under the terms of the Concession Agreement (under which SES ASTRA has
    access to Luxembourg orbital positions and frequencies) might
    represent a disproportionate restriction on the movement of capital
    and freedom of establishment. Following the Luxembourg Government's
    proposals to amend the Concession Agreement between the state and SES
    ASTRA, the Commission closed the file on March 21, 2007. The
    Concession Agreement refers to the ownership threshold of 20.1%. Any
    increase of shareholding above this threshold had to be authorized by
    the Government. The amended Concession Agreement identifies three
    thresholds of 20%, 33% and 50%; between these limits shareholdings may
    be freely managed. Accordingly, the SES S.A. Articles have been
    amended to conform with the new Concession Agreement and Article 5 now
    provides for three ownership thresholds where permission must be
    sought from the Luxembourg Government as regulator.

    About SES

    SES (Paris:SESG) (LuxX:SESG) wholly owns three market-leading
    satellite operators, SES ASTRA in Europe, SES AMERICOM in North
    America, and SES NEW SKIES, which provide global coverage and
    connectivity. The Company also holds strategic participations in SES
    Sirius in Europe, Ciel in Canada and Quetzsat in Mexico. SES provides
    outstanding satellite communications solutions via a fleet of 36
    satellites in 25 orbital positions around the globe. Additional
    information on SES is available at: www.ses.com