Bowater Receives Softwood Lumber Duty Refund

Greenville, South Carolina, USA, 10 November 2006 --(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Bowater Incorporated (NYSE: BOW) today confirmed that its subsidiary, Bowater Canadian Forest Products Inc., has received a refund, including interest, of $103.9 million or 82% of the amount deposited with U.S. Customs pertaining to softwood lumber shipments from Canada to the United States since 2002.

The funds were received from Export Development Corporation (EDC), which purchased the company's rights associated with the refund of the duties. The amount of the refund represents substantially all of the funds that Bowater expects to receive under the terms of its agreement with EDC.

Bowater Incorporated, headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina, is a leading producer of coated and specialty papers and newsprint. In addition, the company sells bleached market pulp and lumber products. Bowater employs approximately 7600 people and has 12 pulp and paper mills in the United States, Canada, and South Korea. In North America, it also owns two converting facilities and 10 sawmills.

Bowater's operations are supported by approximately 835,000 acres of timberlands owned or leased in the United States and Canada and 28 million acres of timber cutting rights in Canada. Bowater operates six recycling plants and is one of the world's largest consumers of recycled newspapers and magazines. Bowater common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Pacific Exchange. A special class of stock exchangeable into Bowater common stock is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: BWX). To learn more, visit www.bowater.com.