Stewart Title Honors President Oscar Arias Sanchez
http://www.stewart.com/page/stewart-title-honors-president-oscar-arias-sanchez

HOUSTON (Dec. 20, 2006) – Stewart Title Latin America honored Dr. Oscar Arias Sánchez, president of Costa Rica and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, during a luncheon at the Four Seasons Hotel in Mexico City on Dec. 2, 2006.

"This effort is a reflection of our desire to constantly promote‘cross-border’ investment, by enhancing the real estate transaction environment,” said Carlos Gonzalez, chairman of Stewart Title Latin America.

Arias traveled to Mexico City to attend the inaugural ceremony of President Calderon, who officially took office on Dec. 1. Arias was honored at the luncheon promoting foreign direct investment in Costa Rica and spoke to Mexican businessmen and entrepreneurs concerning these foreign endeavors.

“Costa Rica has been investing in education for almost 60 years, after we constitutionally abolished the army. We now have a highly skilled and educated labor force that has helped us attract companies in the technology sector like Hewlett Packard, Boston Scientific and Intel. A few months ago, as you all know, Intel announced an agreement with Apple to produce chips for its line of computers. All this has helped the country to evolve from a ‘Banana Republic’ to an ‘Apple Republic’,” Arias said.

A significant amount of Intel’s major manufacturing and technology development takes place in Heredia, Costa Rica, including two manufacturing plants and one distribution center for assembly, testing and distribution of its processors.

Guests included Minister of Foreign Trade Marco Vinicio Ruiz, Minister of Finance Guillermo Zúñiga, Minister of Transportation Karla González, General Director of Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency Edna Camacho, and Ambassador of Costa Rica in Mexico Gioconda Ubeda.
Stewart Title Latin America provides a suite of products and services, enhancing local real estate transaction processes. The office's products and services include title guarantees, escrow services, closing coordination, online file management and other administrative services necessary for real estate closing.
“Our services have become a key driver to attract foreign direct investment to the region, which will ultimately promote much needed growth and prosperity in these emerging markets," said Gonzalez.

About Stewart Title Latin America

Stewart Title Latin America, with offices in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, provides customers with a suite of services that add transparency, security and peace of mind to real estate transactions. Stewart Information International, Inc., the overseeing body of Stewart’s international operations and a wholly owned subsidiary of Stewart Information Services Corp., has an ownership interest in Stewart Title Latin America. www.stewarttitlelatinamerica.com

About Stewart

Stewart Information Services Corp. (NYSE-STC) is a customer-oriented, technology-driven, strategically competitive, real estate information and transaction management company. Stewart provides title insurance and related information services required for settlement by the real estate and mortgage industries through more than 9,500 policy-issuing offices and agencies in the United States and international markets. Stewart also provides post-closing lender services, mortgage default management solutions, automated county clerk land records, property ownership mapping, geographic information systems, property information reports, flood certificates, document preparation, background checks and expertise in tax-deferred exchanges. More information can be found at www.stewart.com.