I am pleased to announce that BlackRock and Barclays Global Investors (including BGI's iShares exchange traded fund business) combined on 1 December 2009 to form one of the world's pre-eminent investment management firms. Trading strategies The new company, which will operate under the BlackRock name, manages over $3Tr in assets and offers a full range of investment and risk management capabilities with the scale to deliver globally. I attach a letter from Rob Fairbairn, Vice Chairman and Head of BlackRock's Global Client Group, which announces the completion of the merger and highlights some of the benefits of the merger as a result of our highly complementary businesses. > Click here for Rob Fairbain's letter I am very excited to work with BlackRock in taking the iShares business forward, as are the other members of the iShares global management team. A seamless transition There will be very few overall changes for our clients as a result of this transaction and there will be no changes to the following: Product set and management Fund names Management costs Website addresses Your client relationship managers will have BlackRock email addresses as of 1 December, but the old BGI addresses will run in parallel for a brief transitional period. Client focus remains Finally, the success of iShares has always been built on our commitment to serving investors around the world. Moving forward, we will continue to build on this foundation through: Commitment to providing outstanding service to clients Product excellence Firm belief in local market expertise Employing industry's top talent Recognition of the value of a strong brand Passion about the global ETF opportunity I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support to date and to say that we look forward to further building our relationship with you in the future. We will continue to keep you informed of developments through our ongoing communications programmes, such as our regular newsletters. Should you have any questions, please call your dedicated iShares sales representative or the local Client Service line. Nick Good CEO, iShares Asia-Pacific