KUWAIT CITY: MTC Group announced that it is sponsoring the WSA Gala (World Summit Award) for best e-content Award 2005 being held during the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Summit in Tunis Nov 16-18, 2005. WSA is embedded in the United Nation's WSIS. The first phase was completed in December 2003 in Geneva that also saw the celebration of the first WSA Gala where 136 countries participated. For the 2005 event, a total of 168 nations have submitted projects of which 40 will be rewarded based on innovative applications and outstanding e-content, thus having a positive impact on the emerging Information Society. Dr Saad Al-Barrak, Director-General and Vice-Chairman at MTC Group stated, "MTC holds close to its heart the value of benevolence and this means we are concerned with the communities and societies in this world and we believe that enhanced mobile communications does not only benefit local economies but also improve the lifestyles of societies as well."

He added, "Our sponsorship of the WSIS Award to select and promote the best e-content and creativity is another form of support for encouraging companies and governments to work together to embrace technology for the benefit of their societies." Al-Barrak explained that MTC is benefiting from the participation in the WSIS to communicate "our various activities and services that we are offering the African Continent through Celtel, the leading African mobile operator with services in over 13 countries and a customer base of over 8 million." It is no secret that MTC is interested in the African markets which holds attractive qualities for mobile communications industry. Al-Barrak added, "MTC is studying the possibility of expansion into this market and are specifically looking into Egypt and other countries through Celtel which has great experience in this market."

Kuwait expert for WSIS Engineer Manar Al-Hashash stated, "The WSA are very proud to have MTC Group, one of the fastest growing companies worldwide, participating as a sponsor of the WSA Gala, especially given that MTC is an pan-Arab operator that has recently extended its reach to 13 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa." The (WSIS) unites countries confronted with the challenges posed by the information society. From Nov 16-18, 2005, multi-stakeholders including top decision-makers from the private sector, governments, civil society, United Nations Organizations and the media meet to provide concrete action to reduce the "digital divide" between countries with access to information and those with limited access by developing and fostering the plan of action set in 2004 (phase 1, Geneva) and evaluating the progress of concrete achievements until 2005 (phase 2, Tunis).

MTC is a leading mobile and data services operator in five Middle Eastern and 13 sub-Saharan African countries with 6,500 employees providing a comprehensive range of mobile voice and data services to over 10.6 million (June 30, 2005) individual and business customers. MTC operates in Kuwait and Bahrain as mtc-vodafone, in Jordan as Fastlink, in Iraq as mtc atheer, in Lebanon as mtc touch, and in 13 sub-Saharan countries in Africa as Celtel: Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Niger, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange, MTC's market capitalization exceeded $10 billion as at Aug 1, 2005. There are no restrictions on MTC shares as the company's capital is 100 per cent free float and publicly traded. The largest shareholders are the Kuwait Investment Authority (24.6 per cent) and National Investment Company (18.5 per cent).

MTC's corporate strategy can simply be summarized as "3x3x3", an ambitious, sustainable expansion strategy that will see MTC become a leading mobile and lifestyle services provider on the global stage by the end of the year 2011. Initiated in year 2002, it is this strategy that will make MTC a global player in three stages: regional, international and global, with each stage completed in three years, with an aim of reaching a subscriber base of 30 million. In essence, through acquisitions, partnerships and green-field opportunities, MTC aims to achieve in nine years what other companies have taken more than 27 years to achieve. MTC considers itself defined by a commitment to excellence in providing world-class mobile/data services and an ethos of corporate social responsibility in supporting communities, offering employment and creating business opportunities wherever it operates. It is important to MTC that its economic, social and cultural projects have a positive impact on the people of all the countries in which we operate

© Arab Times 2005

 

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