BAC has 178 branches in
countries including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras,
Nicaragua and Panama. CCA works throughout
the agricultural sector sourcing and distributing fruit, vegetables and grain
purchased from more than 1,000 small producers in Costa Rica and other Central
American countries.

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"We believe the combination of GE Consumer Finance's broad global
experience and BAC's established position in Central America will
allow us to accelerate growth opportunities for both of us in this
strategically important emerging market," said Mark W. CARHCO has
approximately 23,000 associates. "We also want to emphasize that CARHCO's
strong relationships with suppliers throughout Central America will be
strengthened in the future by Wal-Mart Central America," Duke said. He noted that during 2006, Wal-Mart
Central America plans to invest in building new stores and remodeling existing
facilities.

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Terms of the original investment or the additional purchase from
the other CARHCO partners were not disclosed.
CARHCO was formed in 2001 with equal investment from the major shareholder
of La Fragua S.cr .walmart.

agencies four

7
billion in consumer credit card loans, mortgages, and auto, small
business, corporate and commercial loans; and has over 8,000
employees.
"By combining with one of the world leading financial services
companies, and one of the world's most respected brands, we believe we
can expand our offerings of products and services to consumers across
Central America," said BAC Chairman Carlos Pellas. Upon the completion of
the rights offering, the Company had 28,354,499 outstanding shares of
common stock.
PriceSmart now operates 23 warehouse clubs in 11 countries and one U.com


This press release may contain forward-looking statements concerning the
Company's anticipated future revenues and earnings, adequacy of future cash
flow and related matters. Formats include
Mas X Menos, Hiper Mas, Pali, La Union and Maxi Bodega.

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----GE Consumer
Finance, one of the largest consumer lending businesses in North
America, today announced that it would acquire a 49.ge.com

www.pricesmart. Wal-Mart Acquires Majority Interest in Central American Retail Holding
Company, Operator of Supermarkets in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras,
Nicaragua, and Costa Rica

BENTONVILLE, Ark.A.A. "This will
enable the corporation to provide a larger assortment, better service and
prices to consumers in Central America," he said.

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GE Consumer Finance to Acquire 49.99 Percent Interest in BAC International Bank Inc.; BAC is a Leading Credit Card Issuer in Central America

"This additional investment demonstrates our confidence in the partnership
and in the future of this business in Central America ," Duke said.
Paiz emphasized that Wal-Mart Central America will stimulate the export of
products grown or manufactured in the region.V.

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S.

"Our leadership in Central
America is the result of our customer's loyalty and with Wal-Mart we will
reinforce our commitment to them.
CCA participates in the poultry industry through more than 450 small
independent producers and develops private label grocery and health and beauty
aid products, working with local and regional industries.

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geconsumerfinance . With products and services ranging from
aircraft engines, power generation, water processing and security
technology to medical imaging, business and consumer financing, media
content and advanced materials, GE serves customers in more than 100
countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide . These statements are subject to
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially, including the following risks: the Company had a substantial
net losses in fiscal 2003, 2004 and 2005, and may continue to incur losses
in future periods; if the Company fails to comply with covenants governing
its indebtedness, the lenders may elect to accelerate the Company 's
indebtedness and foreclose on the collateral pledged to secure the
indebtedness; the Company 's financial performance is dependent on
international operations which exposes the Company to various risks; any
failure by the Company to manage its widely dispersed operations could
adversely affect the Company's business; although the Company has taken and
continues to take steps to improve its internal controls, there may be
material weaknesses or significant deficiencies that the Company has not
yet identified; the Company faces significant competition; the Company
faces difficulties in the shipment of, and inherent risks in the
importation of, merchandise to its warehouse clubs; the Company is exposed
to weather and other risks associated with international operations;
declines in the economies of the countries in which the Company operates
its warehouse clubs would harm its business; a few of the Company's
stockholders have control over the Company's voting stock, which will make
it difficult to complete some corporate transactions without their support
and may prevent a change in control; the loss of key personnel could harm
the Company's business; the Company is subject to volatility in foreign
currency exchange; the Company faces the risk of exposure to product
liability claims, a product recall and adverse publicity; a determination
that the Company's long -lived or intangible assets have been impaired could
adversely affect the Company's future results of operations and financial
position; and the Company faces increased costs and compliance risks
associated with compliance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of
2002; as well as the other risks detailed in the Company's SEC reports,
including the Company's Form 10-Q filed pursuant to the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934 on January 17, 2006. It produces breads and pastries and processes and
distributes beef, pork and seafood products from hundreds of small suppliers. More information
about La Fragua, CSU and CCA can be obtained on-line at
http://www.

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The transaction ,
which requires regulatory approvals, is expected to close in the next
few months. BAC's Credomatic subsidiary is a leading debit and credit
card issuer in the region.

Wal-Mart Announces Additional Central American Investment

Vice chairman will be Fernando Paiz,
whose family founded La Fragua , S., also a CARHCO partner. community involvement is available online at
http://www.

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9 billion in deposits; $1.com

About GE

GE (NYSE: GE) is Imagination at Work -- a diversified technology ,
media and financial services company focused on solving some of the
world's toughest problems .S., one of the original CARHCO partners, will be chairman of Wal-Mart
Central America's board of directors.
Uribe expressed his optimism about Wal-Mart's investment. More than 6,000 jobs are expected to be created in the next two
years in order to meet the personnel needs of this new store program.

About Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.Works.

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For more
information, visit the company's Web site at www.

About PriceSmart

PriceSmart, headquartered in San Diego, owns and operates U.
CARHCO is Central America's leading retailer, with 375 supermarkets and
other stores in the following five countries: Guatemala (124), El Salvador
(58), Honduras (35), Nicaragua (33) and Costa Rica (125). Its sales during 2005 were approximately
$2. CARHCO was formed as a joint venture
in 2001 with three equal partners: Ahold and two Central American groups: the
Paiz family, the major shareholders of La Fragua, with headquarters in
Guatemala, and Corporacion de Supermercados Unidos (CSU), with headquarters in
Costa Rica. In addition, Wal-
Mart purchases goods from many suppliers with farms and factories in Central
America. As of February 28, La Fragua operated
217 stores in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

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PRESS RELEASE PriceSmart Sells $19.7 Million of Common Stock During $8 Rights Offering Exercise Period

"
"The improvements we anticipate in this company will further strengthen
the economy of the region," Uribe said. CSU operated 160 stores in Nicaragua and Costa Rica.samsclub.

stan agencies

7 million pursuant to the exercise of
subscription rights during the $8 exercise period of its previously
announced rights offering.2 billion." Uribe added, "Wal-Mart Central America will
bring more development opportunities to our Associates and Vendors,
maintaining our characteristic sense of social responsibility.cca.co.walmartfacts.

costa guatemala

Ernesto Castegnaro, BAC president and CEO, added, "We look forward
to immediately starting work with GE Consumer Finance on this exciting
new chapter in BAC's growth and development."
"BAC has a strong and respected management team, and they have
built a solid financial services business in Central America," said
Glen Wakeman, president and CEO for GE Consumer Finance in Latin
America. acquired a 33 1/3% interest in
CARHCO N. operates Wal-Mart Stores, Supercenters, Neighborhood
Markets and SAM'S CLUB locations in the United States. The company's securities are listed on the New York and
Pacific stock exchanges under the symbol WMT.

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99 percent stake
in BAC International Bank Inc.
BAC is one of the largest banks in Central America and has been
operating in the region for over 50 years.
This partnership is a great opportunity to add our global perspective
and know-how to the local communities served by BAC. (USA), offers a
range of financial products, including private label credit cards,
personal loans, bank cards, auto loans and leases, mortgages,
corporate travel and purchasing cards, debt consolidation and home
equity loans and credit insurance. Uribe and Paiz
said they and other family members would remain active in management of the
company. CARHCO has three operative companies:
La Fragua, founded in Guatemala in 1928 by Carlos Paiz Ayala; CSU, founded in
Costa Rica in 1960 by Enrique Uribe Pages; and Corporacion de Companias
Agroindustriales (CCA), a supplier to CARHCO of meat and seafood, fruit,
grain, vegetables and bakery products. Its formats include Paiz,
Hiper Paiz, Despensa Familiar, Club Co, La Despensa de Don Juan and Maxi
Bodega. The SAM'S CLUB Web site can
be accessed at http://www.

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The new partnership between GE Consumer Finance
and BAC will enable the two companies to deliver enhanced consumer
credit products to the growing Central American financial services
market. Certain prior period amounts may have
been reclassified to conform to the current period presentation., Mike Duke, Vice
Chairman of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. An example of this is a recent
agreement signed for shipment of pineapples from Costa Rica to Wal-Mart stores
in the United States, and other export agreements are under development, Paiz
said.

About Wal-Mart Central America
In September 2005, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
The name was changed to Wal-Mart Central America in March 2006 when Wal-Mart
increased its ownership to 51%. Online merchandise
sales are available at http://www.com .

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PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ: PSMT) today
announced that it sold approximately 2,463,603 shares of its common stock
for aggregate proceeds of $19.
In September 2005, Wal-Mart acquired the 33 1/3 percent interest in CARHCO
owned by Dutch retailer Royal Ahold NV.A.

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8 million pursuant to exercise of subscription rights during the $7
exercise period which ended on January 24, 2005.
On August 12, 2005, PriceSmart completed the sale of its interest in its
PriceSmart Philippines subsidiary. (NYSE: WMT), and head of Wal-Mart
International, announced today the company has made an additional investment
in Central American Retail Holding Company (CARHCO), bringing its share of the
firm to 51 percent.
Rodrigo Uribe, whose family founded Corporacion de Supermercados Unidos,
S., the leading supermarket and hypermarket chain in Central America. The company operates
in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Germany,
Guatemala, Honduras, Japan , Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, South Korea and
the United Kingdom.walmartfoundation.

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Business Editors

STAMFORD, Conn. "This new partnership
will help us expand our business in Central America, and we're excited
to be able to work with a team as successful and respected as BAC."
Founded in 1952, BAC has about $1.-style
membership shopping warehouse clubs in Central America and the Caribbean ,
selling high quality merchandise at low prices to PriceSmart members. He added
that the name CARHCO would be replaced by Wal-Mart Central America, but that
no immediate changes were planned in the names of any of the store formats
operating throughout the region.A., of Guatemala, Corporacion de Supermercados Unidos S.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

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"
Credit Suisse First Boston advised BAC in the deal. GE Consumer Finance, based in Stamford, Conn. More information can be found
online at www . We assume no obligation and expressly
disclaim any duty to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events
or circumstances after the date of this presentation or to reflect the
occurrence of unanticipated events.
(CSU) of Costa Rica, and Royal Ahold.com .

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"We're excited about the bank 's prospects for future growth. The $8 subscription period began on January 25,
2005, and ended on January 31, 2006.
territory (four each in Panama and Costa Rica; two each in Dominican
Republic , El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Trinidad; and one each in
Aruba, Barbados, Jamaica, Nicaragua and the United States Virgin Islands). These forward-looking statements include, but are
not limited to, statements containing the words "expect," "believe,"
"will," "may," "should," "project," "estimate ," "scheduled," and like
expressions, and the negative thereof.

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(BAC), a privately held retail bank and
credit card issuer based in Panama City, Panama.

About GE Consumer Finance

With more than $151 billion in assets, GE Consumer Finance, a unit
of General Electric Company, is a leading provider of credit services
to consumers, retailers and auto dealers in 41 countries around the
world .
Currently Wal-Mart directly imports more than $350 million in goods from
Guatemala, Honduras , El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.org .

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The terms were not disclosed. The Company had previously sold
approximately 6,827,542 shares of common stock for aggregate proceeds of
$47. More information about Wal-Mart
can be found by visiting http://www.com . And more information about Wal-Mart's
Good .

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Begor,
president and CEO, GE Consumer Finance-Americas.

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---

- - kjjkjk

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