Citibank & the Korea Small Business Institute Honor Korea's Top Female Entrepreneurs

Citi
Citi, the leading global financial services company, has some 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries, providing consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Citi’s major brand names include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Smith Barney, Banamex, and Nikko. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.

Citi Foundation
The Citi Foundation is committed to enhancing economic opportunities for underserved individuals and families in the communities where we work throughout the world. Globally, the Citi Foundation is focusing its giving on Microfinance and Microentrepreneurship, which helps individuals become economically self-sufficient; Small and Growing Businesses, leading to economic expansion and job creation; Education, which prepares young people for personal and professional success; Financial Education, which helps individuals make informed financial decisions; and the Environment with a focus on sustainable enterprises that generate jobs and stimulate economic growth while preserving the environment. Additional information can be found at http://www.citigroupfoundation.org/.


	Printer Friendly Page		FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) April 22, 2008 Citibank & the Korea Small Business Institute Honor Korea's Top Female Entrepreneurs Seoul – Korea's top female entrepreneurs were recognized and honored at the inaugural Woman Entrepreneur Awards event organized by Citibank Korea and the Korea Small Business Institute (KOSBI) on April 17. "Thanks to a funding grant from the Citi Foundation, we are proud to partner with KOSBI to launch these awards. The objective of this program is to highlight the success stories of Korea's leading female business owners and hopefully, inspire other women to start enterprises of their own," said Mr. Jin-Hei Park, Senior Executive Vice President, Citibank Korea. "It is also designed to bring female entrepreneurs together to create contact networks and establish education and training programs in the future," he added. More than 40 companies submitted entries to the competition that in addition the entrepreneurship award included accolades for excellence in human resources; the implementation of environmentally friendly best practices; and contributions to the community. The inaugural winners were: Dason (Entrepreneurship Award) Senoco (Environment Achievement Award) HanBiron (Human Resource Award) DowGene (Social Contribution Award) The judging panel comprised Mr. Jin Hei Park from Citibank Korea; KOSBI President, Mr. Suk Woo Hong and Mr. Hong Gun Choi from the Small and Medium Business Administration. The Women Entrepreneur awards are part of a four pillar program to promote leadership and participation from more females in the business world. The other initiatives include: regular surveys to ascertain new trends; finding and publicizing related success stories and hosting regular public forums and roundtables to discuss new issues and opportunities. The development of a formal educational program for woman CEOs and middle managers is one of KOSBI's long term goals. More About the Award Winners Dason (Entrepreneurship award) develops environmentally-friendly fermentation materials and processes which provide high value add opportunities for food producers in Korea. In 2007 its accumulated exports totaled US$650,000. Selection benchmarks – Creativity, innovation and business growth in and outside of Korea. Senoco (Environment Achievement award) manufactures high quality and environmentally friendly dye products using natural products only. Selection benchmarks – The implementation and impact of environmentally friendly best practices. DowGene (Social Contribution award) develops new processes and techniques that significantly lower the cost for blood type and DNA testing to make these services open to more members of the community. Selection criteria – Impact to the community in the near and long term future. HanBiron (Human Resource award) is renowned as a pioneer in a range of employee programs promoting talent development, productivity, education and innovation. Selection criteria – Recognizing managerial excellence in all facets of human resources including recruitment, training and development. # # # Citi Citi, the leading global financial services company, has some 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries, providing consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Citi’s major brand names include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Smith Barney, Banamex, and Nikko. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com. Citi Foundation The Citi Foundation is committed to enhancing economic opportunities for underserved individuals and families in the communities where we work throughout the world. Globally, the Citi Foundation is focusing its giving on Microfinance and Microentrepreneurship, which helps individuals become economically self-sufficient; Small and Growing Businesses, leading to economic expansion and job creation; Education, which prepares young people for personal and professional success; Financial Education, which helps individuals make informed financial decisions; and the Environment with a focus on sustainable enterprises that generate jobs and stimulate economic growth while preserving the environment. Additional information can be found at http://www.citigroupfoundation.org/.