12 - 18 September 2002 Issue No. 603 Economy	Current issue Previous issue Site map
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875		Recommend this page

Siemens invests in Egypt

HEINRICH Von Pierer, CEO and chairman of Siemens AG has been appointed as honorary president of the German Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce (GACIC). Von Pierer, who was in Cairo this week to receive the award, is the first Siemens CEO to visit Egypt since the company's founder Werner Von Siemens was here in 1859. Siemens's operations, the company has been in Egypt for over 100 years, include engineering, local manufacturing, installation, commissioning, after-sales service and maintenance.

While in Egypt, Von Pierer also signed, on behalf of Siemens, an agreement with the Egyptian ministry of communications and information technology (IT) for the modernisation and development of Egypt's IT industry.

The five-year agreement involves the establishment of a number of centres for training and support of Siemens's activities in the region. Siemens is expected to invest 72 million euros over the next five years. It is expected that the company will establish the first centre in the region, which will include the development of multimedia applications in co- operation with Egyptian entrepreneurs. It is estimated that some 120 million euros of telecoms exports will be realised as a result of this collaboration.

Addressing GACIC members during the award ceremony, Von Pierer spoke of the challenges facing the global economy. He said that even "short and medium term forecasts are extremely risky these days." However, "there are opportunities and the potential is enormous," he added. He also pointed out that some signs in the Middle East and North Africa region are encouraging. "Business has grown roughly 20 per cent in the region in the past nine months," he said.

Von Pierer stressed that there are three key elements that could help improve the situation for global businesses. These are innovative technology, true global reach and social responsibility.

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