Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 23 - 29 November 2000 Issue No.509
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875

	Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters

OT in Niger

ORASCOM Telecom (OT) has announced that Telecel International, the mobile phone company of which OT is a majority shareholder, has won a $5.8 million GSM 900 license in Niger.

The 15-year-license will be renewable every five years. Telecel Niger, the operator which will be formed to carry out this venture, will be affiliated to Telecel International. It is expected to serve 18,000 subscribers by the end of 2001.

Telecel Niger will be 85 per cent held by Telecel International and three other minority shareholders.

The acquisition of this new license in Niger raises OT's holdings to 19 GSM licenses in the Middle East and Africa, according to OT chairman Naguib Sawiris.

Expensive gold

THE WORLD Gold Council (WGC) says that demand on gold in the Egyptian market fell by four per cent during the third quarter of 2000, compared to last year. Demand was hit by the decline of the Egyptian pound against the dollar which had caused local gold prices to rise. Another reason cited was the drop in the number of tourists, specifically from the Arab countries, who are an important source of demand. "Demand is expected to remain weak during the next few months, although the abolition of customs duties on raw gold will probably boost the local market," said Moez Barakat, Regional Director of WGC for the Middle East.

More tea?

INDIAN tea exporters met in Cairo with Egyptian tea traders to discuss how India, one of the largest tea producer in the world, can regain a foothold in Egypt. The consumption of Indian tea has declined in the face of cheaper brands coming in from Sri Lanka and Kenya. Overall market consumption is assessed at 50 million kilograms, of which the previous figure of 18 million kilograms of Indian tea dropped over the past two years to 5 million kilograms in the current year, according to the director of the Tea Board of India Gautm Bhalla. The determining factor here, says Bhalla was price, due to lower customs imposed on Sri Lankan and Kenyan tea.

A Monem, vice president of Williamson Magor Company for tea production, said that the Indian delegation met with the major Egyptian tea companies Al-Gawhara and Al-Arousa. Indian tea exporters are hoping that discussions on the matter will lead to tariffs exemptions similar to those afforded their competitors.

Arabic Compaq

COMPAQ Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa regions, (MEMA) has announced the launch of its new Arabic Web site. The site will provide Compaq clients with the latest information about the company's activities and products

The company's Arabic web site, , will also include Compaq Internet solutions for enhancing e-commerce in the Arab region, said Karen Bill-Right, marketing and e-commerce director in Compaq MEMA.

Online recruitment

SKILL Link Electronic Commerce, an Internet-based recruiting company, has signed a cooperation agreement with the Egyptian Society for Youth and Computer (ESYC) last week.

Skill Link, established last April, is a subsidiary company of LinkdotNet.

Under this agreement, ESYC, a non-profit organisation established to provide youth with information concerning computers and the Internet, will receive technical support from Skill Link. This support will mainly consist of training ESYC's members in using computers and the Internet as well as in posting their resumes on the company's Web site, thus providing them with a variety of job opportunities.

According to Sherif Sami, chairman of Skill Link, "Career advisory services have existed in the US for many years, but they are a novelty in our society." He added that the company has been established with the aim of addressing the needs of experienced professionals and new graduates as well as easing the pressure on professionals required to make critical business decisions.

"More than 120 classifications of jobs are found on our Web site. We also provide career advice and consultancy services. Our presence in the Arab region aims at facilitating job opportunities to those who aim to get employed in Arab countries," Sami said.

Sami explained that resumes usually take a few days in order to be processed to verify their contents.

Afterwards, the company's subscribers browse the Web site to find their needed candidates and contact the company, which then organise an interview between the two parties.

© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved

	weeklyweb@ahram.org.eg