Are televisions manufactured in Saudi Arabiathe first wave of imports in the Arab Free Trade Era?
By Ahmed Namatalla Until recently, the Pan Arab Free Trade Area (PAFTA) had resulted in little more than the exchange of delay tactics and distrust. Even since the agreement fully came into effect this past January, imports have not exactly flooded in. Mohamed Kassem, a leader in the textiles industry and vice-chairman of the Egyptian Exporters Association, blames the glacier-like progress on logistical problems and poor communication. Pointing out that implementation doesn t happen with a push of a button, he adds that the government has already created a climate to encourage free trade, the rest is the responsibility of major market players to take advantage of the establishment of a free market. El-Shorouk Home Appliances Chairman Laila El-Far plans to be one of the first to step up to the plate. When El-Far brought the LG brand to Egypt back in 1996, no one had heard of it. I took a huge risk, she says. People didn t even know what LG was. They thought it stood for Laila Group But
