Orange unit sets up Qatar joint venture

Orange Business Services, the business services arm of France Telecom-Orange, has announced the launch of a joint venture company in Qatar to capitalise on the Gulf state's expansion plans.

EGN LLC, which will trade in Qatar as Orange Business Services, has been established in partnership with Sheikh Fahad Bin Ghanem [Al Abdul Rahman] Al Thani as the majority shareholder.

Through the new company, Orange Business Services will address "significant ICT market opportunities" in Qatar, the company said in a statement.

The launch of the new joint venture company in Qatar is the most recent local company established by Orange Business Services in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region and is the first of its kind dedicated to large systems integration programmes and operations.

It follows the launch of a company in Saudi Arabia last year under a growth strategy focused on the developing markets in MEA.

Orange Business Services said it has a strategic focus on emerging markets where it seeks to generate one billion euros in revenues by 2015.

Orange Business Services has also announced the appointment of Antoine Farah as general manager of the company in Qatar, along with a team of senior professionals to qualify, design and build targeted projects.

It said the new team will target business sectors including oil and gas, government sector projects, telecom company systems integrators, new cities and large infrastructure projects.

Sheikh Fahad said: “This new joint venture company is a very significant step that will support the development of world class ICT infrastructure in Qatar, and the broader economy, as a partner for the long term, bringing new technology and complex integration capability.”

Philippe Koebel, senior vice president, Emerging Markets and Indirect, Orange Business Services, added: “We are delighted to announce the launch of this joint venture company in Qatar, which comes as Orange is accelerating its growth strategy in the Middle East, following another strong performance in 2012.

"This new local company is a clear sign of our commitment to the Qatari market and to developing the ICT infrastructure of Qatar by offering and supporting new and advanced ICT services and solutions to the public and private sectors.”

Orange Business Services supports more than 500 multinational companies in Middle East and Africa, the statement added.