Orascom Telecom Holding

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Orascom Telecom or Orascom Telecom Holding S.A.E. ("OTH") (LSE: OTLD) is telecommunication company established in Egypt in 1998 and owned by Naguib Sawiris. The first multinational Egyptian corporation, it is one of the core Orascom Group companies.

Orascom Telecom is a mobile telecommunications company with GSM operations in seven countries in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. It has a total population under license of approximately 460 million with an average mobile telephony penetration of approximately 19%. It is considered among the largest and most diversified network operators in the Middle East, Africa and Pakistan. Orascom Telecom operates GSM networks in Algeria (Djezzy GSM), Egypt (MobiNil), Pakistan (Mobilink), Iraq (IraQna), Bangladesh (Banglalink), Tunisia (Tunisiana) and Zimbabwe (Telecel Zimbabwe). Orascom Telecom subscriber number reached over 40 million subscribers as of June 2006.

It obtained a deal in post-Saddam Iraq, through Nadhmi Auchi's General Mediterranean Holdings.

Orascom has a majority stake in WIND, which is based in Italy. It made the acquisition for 12.1 billion Euros, making it one of the largest deals that has taken place in Italy.

Orascom has also expanded into the 2G business of Hutchison International and has a 19.3% stake within the company. Orascom executives have 2 places within the Board of HTIL.

Orascom has also extended their operation into Brussels, Belgium through subsidiaries that are controlling and developing WiMax techonology, the future successor of the current WiFi wireless internet system.

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