Page 16 - Arabian Business

ARAB WORLD

Foreign direct investments, 3G services and Oscar nominations

Beirut

Cairo
West Bank
EGYPT PALESTINE LEBANON

Egypt gets Firms plan to First Lebanese

biggest FDI fi nally offer 3G fi lm nominated Cairo
deal since mobile services for Oscar
Pound fl oat The Insult, Ziad Doueri’s
Beirut-set courtroom thriller,
Egypt secured its biggest last Tuesday became the first
non-oil foreign direct Lebanese film to nominated
investment deal since in the Oscars’ foreign-
it floated the pound, language category.
Investment Minister The film, which picked up
Sahar Nasr said. The the best actor award for Kamel
announcement came as El Basha in Venice, was the
Dubai-based Al Ghurair u 3G services will be a big boost 14th film to be submitted by
Group had agreed to put to the Palestinian economy Lebanon since 1978.
$333m into a new sugar The Insult deals with the
factory and farm. Palestinian mobile fi rms in the story of Lebanese Christian
Canal Sugar Co, a occupied West Bank hope to Tony (Adel Karam) and
subsidiary of family-run fi nally be able to offer 3G services Palestinian refugee Yasser
conglomerate Al Ghurair, to customers beginning Tuesday, (Yasser El Basha) who
will hold a 33 percent stake years after much of the rest of the exchange harsh words q IT’S SUCH GREAT
in the project about 265km world began using it. after Yasser tries to repair a NEWS FOR US AND FOR
south of Cairo, rising to 51 Talks on 3G mobile have long drainpipe on Tony’s balcony.
percent when it is finished in dragged on, with Israel having The fallout leads to violence, LEBANON. IT’S BEEN A
three years, the government previously blocked Palestinian courtroom confrontations VERY, VERY LONG AND
said last Monday. Egyptian mobile companies’ access to the and national attention. DIFFICULT ROAD TO
companies, including Al Ahly necessary frequencies. The other nominees for the
Capital Holding, will hold There were still concerns that best foreign language film GET WHERE WE ARE.
the remaining stake, Nasr fi nal arrangements would not be Oscar, which will be handed IT SAYS THAT IN SPITE
said at a press conference. completed in time, with offi cials out on March 4 in Hollywood, OF ALL THESE THINGS,
Egyptian officials were saying they were awaiting a fi nal include A Fantastic Woman
hoping for a revival in foreign technical step from Israel. (Chile), Loveless (Russia), THERE IS A HOPE OF
investment to boost growth “Everything is ready and we left On Body and Soul (Hungary) RECONCILIATION”
when they floated the pound it to telecom companies to choose and The Square (Sweden). Ziad Doueiri, fi lmmaker
and secured a $12bn loan the right times,” Palestinian deputy
deal with the International telecommunications minister
Monetary Fund (IMF) in Suleiman Al Zuheiri told AFP.
November 2016. “We are launching this service,
which is a big achievement, but
we are launching it 12 years late.”
The service will be available only
4.4% in the West Bank for now and not
the blockaded Gaza Strip.
The lack of 3G access and
Egypt’s economic growth in its data capacity has been seen
2018, according to estimates as a signifi cant brake on the
by Moody’s Palestinian economy. u The Insult was put up in the Best Foreign Language Film Category
16 Vol. 19/04, January - February 2018