Vodafone has won the best overall performance in fostering employee share ownership award at the annual ProShare Awards. The award was presented in recognition of Vodafone’s AllShares initiative, through which every employee of the Vodafone Group was granted 350 shares.

ProShare is a UK-based independent, non-profit organisation, which champions financial education and promotes employee share ownership. Its annual awards, which are now in their 12th year, recognise excellence in

private investment and employee share

ownership initiatives among the top 100

listed on the London Stock Exchange. Vodafone also received a commendation for most successful international expansion of employee share ownership at the awards.

“The group believes that share ownership is a powerful tool in creating an effective partnership between employees, shareholders and the company. Everyone at Vodafone, including the 300 plus employees here in Malta, has benefited from this scheme and we are of course delighted that its success has been recognised at these important industry awards,” said Vodafone Malta’s chief executive officer, Joseph C. Grioli. “The issue of AllShares in July of last year encourages us all to strive towards contributing towards further success of the company in the hope that future similar awards will be made.”

Vodafone Group plc is the world’s largest mobile telecommunications company. At 30 September 2004 the Group had approximately 146.7 million customers. The

company’s shares are listed on the London and New York stock exchanges. The

company had a total market capitalisation of approximately £93.7 billion at 12 November 2004.