Orange Business Services, the business services arm of France Telecom-Orange, has announced the launch of a joint venture company in Qatar, through the establishment of EGN LLC, which will trade in Qatar as Orange Business Services. The new local Qatari company 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 the significant ICT market opportunities in Qatar, one of the world’s fastest growing economies with ambitious investment programs in place, as host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup finals and with a strategic national vision to diversify the economy by 2030.

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 programs and operations.

It follows the launch of a new local company in Saudi Arabia in 2012 under a growth strategy focused on the developing markets in MEA, as companies are poised to translate economic growth into business opportunity. Orange Business Services 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. The new team will comprise program directors, senior architects, project managers, subject matter experts and operations directors, and will focus on target business sectors including oil and gas, government sector projects, telecom company systems integrators, new cities and large infrastructure projects.

Commenting on the new Qatar joint venture, Sheikh Fahad Bin Ghanem [Al Abdul Rahman] Al Thani 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. Qatar has already developed leading ICT systems in the areas of e-government and border security, and through this new joint venture company, Orange Business Services will bring the global experience and capabilities of France Telecom-Orange to Qatar. This will help accelerate our progress towards achieving the economic vision laid out in the Qatar National Vision 2030, for the development of a competitive and diversified economy capable of creating and sustaining a high standard of living for all our citizens.”

The official launch of Orange Business Services in Qatar took place at the Hilton Doha, on Jan. 8, 2013 at a reception hosted by Sheikh Fahad Bin Ghanem [Al Abdul Rahman] Al Thani and Vivek Badrinath, CEO of Orange Business Services, and attended by Qatari VIPs and senior representatives of Orange Business Services and the extended business community.

Philippe Koebel, senior vice president, Emerging Markets and Indirect, Orange Business Services, commented: “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, bringing proven experience with implementing large projects globally and regionally, and as a systems integrator serving high profile companies including 3M, JTI, Sorin and Sagemcom. In the Middle East, Orange Business Services has been generating strong growth in revenues as the regional economy continues to achieve robust growth.

About Orange Business Services

Orange Business Services, the France Telecom-Orange branch dedicated to B2B services, is a leading global systems integrator and outsourcing programs provider for multinational corporations. With the world's largest, seamless network for voice and data, Orange Business Services reaches 220 countries and territories with local support in 166. Offering a comprehensive package of communication services covering cloud computing, enterprise mobility, M2M, security, unified communications, videoconferencing, and broadband, Orange Business Services delivers a best-in-class customer experience across a global landscape. Orange Business Services was awarded three of the telecom industry’s highest accolades at the annual World Communication Awards (WCA) 2012 – Best Global Operator, Best Cloud Service and the User’s Choice Award. Learn more at www.orange-business.com.

France Telecom-Orange is one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators with sales of 45.3 billion euros in 2011 and has 170,000 employees worldwide at Sept. 30, 2012. Orange is the Group's single brand for Internet, television and mobile services in the majority of countries where the company operates. France Telecom (NYSE:FTE) is listed on Euronext Paris (compartment A) and on the New York Stock Exchange.

Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trademarks of Orange Brand Services Limited, Orange France or France Telecom.