Jun, 07, 2004

Fastlink announced today that its migration to the Oracle Financial system was completed with total success. The move is part of Fastlink's strategy to harmonize accounting practices and develop financial and procurement operations to fulfill the rising needs of clients.

The new system will help reduce the cost of back-office operations such as accounting and procurement, by cutting down manual operations and reducing the time necessary to complete these procedures. The new system will also improve the quality of financial reports, and raise the staff's performance and productivity levels, which will reflect in improved services to customers.

Chief Financial Officer Omar Al-Sa'eed said that the migration to the new system was done by Fastlink staff under supervision from Oracle Middle East. It was completed in record time, and it is now used in most of Fastlink's operations and financial applications.

The new system includes applications for financial, procurement, and sales operations, as well as stock control and cash-flow planning.

Al-Sa'eed added that Fastlink has always worked to keep apace with the cutting edge technology that enhances the company's development and growth, such as the Oracle system.

Fastlink has set a world precedent in the efficient migrating to the new system, which was done by Fastlink staff in a record time of four months.

Fastlink's Financial Supervisor Haitham Bata said that the new system will reduce the time needed to complete procurement procedures by 30%, and streamline the process of closing financial periods and issuing financial reports on time. It will also facilitate budget control and the preparation of reports comparing projections with real figures.

Bata said: "We aim to reduce the operational costs of our accounting and procurement procedures by conducting a number routine operations on the internet."

Project Director, Engineer Eihab Hafez said that the success of the experiment is due to many factors, mainly the cooperation and harmony between members of the team responsible, as well as the unlimited support given to them by the company's administration.

The project was completed by a team of Fastlink staff that included Project Director Eihab Hafez, Hala Jaber, Samah Al-Issa, Zein Sweiss, Amjad Sweiss, Mo'tasem Al-Khalili, Firas Hawarneh, Eihab Al-Sheikh Hassan, Mo'taz Al-Moghrabi, Ala' Nasser, and Mohammad Freihat.

-Ends-

MTC Group
Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC) was founded in 1983 and today is one of the largest mobile operators in the Middle East and Africa, with more than 8.5 million customers in Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and 13 countries in Africa. MTC is listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange.

In September 2002, MTC entered into a Partner Network Agreement with Vodafone, the world's leading mobile community, in Kuwait creating MTC Vodafone Kuwait. In 2003 MTC continued its expansion with the acquisition of 96.4% of Fastlink in Jordan.

MTC's aspiration did not slow down and in 2003 MTC-Vodafone Bahrain was launched with the first 3G/EDGE nationwide network in the world. In 2004 the MTC Atheer service was launched in Southern Iraq, and today covers Baghdad as well.

2004 also witnessed the government of Lebanon handing over the management of LibanCell to the MTC Group. Most recently in March of 2005 MTC acquired Celtel International, a Duch communications network company with major interests in 13 Sub-Saharan African countries, in one of the biggest telecom deals in the Middle East and Africa worth $ 3.36 billion.

MTC Group now operates in 18 countries. With this deal MTC Group has completed its first phase of its 3x3x3 strategy which entails becoming a global operator with more than 20 million customers by 2011. MTC will continue to expand internationally through acquisitions, partnerships and green-field opportunities.

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Suha Halaseh
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Email: suhah@fastlink.com.jo

© Press Release 2005