36353 PRIVATE PARTICIPATION IN MEDITERRANEAN INFRASTRUCTURE NEWS Programme on Private Participation in Mediterranean Infrastructure World Bank/European Commission Issue no. 19 ­ September 2003 Telecom Algeria Algeria's Regulatory Authority for Post and Telecommunications (ARPT) has invited companies to bid for the country's third GSM telephone license. The launch of a third license comes at a time when the Algerian mobile telephone market is in full expansion with an estimated potential for 10 million subscribers by 2013. Companies interested in the third license have been given until October 20 to submit their applications. Various foreign operators have shown interest in the tender, including Telefonica, Vodafone, Maroc Télécom and Qatar Telecom. (La Tribune and other sources, 30/09/2003, http://www.latribune.fr) ATM Mobilis, Algérie Télécom's mobile phone subsidiary, has announced that it will sharply increase the capacity of its GSM network by the end of 2003, in a bid to respond to its fast-growing competitor Orascom Telecom Algérie. Mobilis will use wireless equipment from equipment maker Ericsson. This will significantly improve its network capacity and will permit to boost its subscriber base by 500,000 subscribers, from the current 160,000. (Total Telecom, 30/09/2003, http://www.totaltele.com) Algeria's Regulatory Authority for Post and Telecommunications (ARPT) has completed a quality assessment of GSM services in the country. The assessment, which focuses on network coverage and service quality of Algérie Télécom and Orascom Telecom Algérie, shows that while Orascom fulfilled ARPT's coverage and quality criteria in twenty selected wilayas, industrial zones, airports, and major roads, Algérie Télécom did not fully satisfy the quality criteria in several wilayas. Algérie Télécom did also not fulfill all the network criteria in industrial zones, though it successfully completed the assessment in airports and on major roads between airports and industrial zones. (La Tribune, 01/10/2003, http://www.latribune-online.com) Egypt Telecom Egypt (TE) has announced plans to issue bonds worth up to 2 billion Egyptian pounds (US$325 million). TE has not yet specified the purpose of the issue, but it is likely to be related to its intentions to secure a stake in Egypt's mobile phone market. TE, which remains wholly state-owned despite several efforts at privatization, holds a license to set up Egypt's third mobile phone network. However, it has so far declined to proceed 1/11 with the project because of the high investment costs, and the difficulties it would face in competing with the two established operators, MobiNil and Vodafone Egypt. (Economist Intelligence Unit, 26/09/2003, http://www.eiu.com) Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak inaugurated the first phase of an Information Technology project called Smart Village. This comprehensive IT project will focus on both communications and technology investments, and will provide 30,000 job opportunities. The project is expected to help Egypt keep up with world advances in technology and facilitate the country's economic progress. (Al-Ahram weekly, 25/09/2003, issue no. 657, http://weekly.ahram.org.eg) Lebanon The Lebanese Government has prolonged the temporary operating contracts of current mobile phone operators, LibanCell and Cellis, until January 2004. The move gives Lebanon more time to launch the new tender for the two 20-year mobile phone licenses. The Lebanese Government will pay the two companies US$7.5 million a month each to run the networks, and it has retained the right to extend the deals for an additional two months until the end of March 2004. (various sources) Tunisia The number of Tunisie Télécom's mobile phone subscribers reached 1.2 million in early September. It is the first time that Tunisie Télécom's GSM subscriber base has surpassed the number of its fixed line customers. Current subscriber levels for mobile phone services are at 40,000 new customers per week. Also, the availability of GSM lines in Tunisia has greatly improved over the past year. New GSM customers can today receive a new mobile phone line on the spot, immediately following the subscription of the service in the telephone store. Tunisie Télécom has also further expanded its pre-paid mobile phone roaming service. The roaming service, which is currently available with France following an agreement with French operator Bouygues Télécom, will be extended in the next couple of weeks to include nine new operators, mostly in Europe. (various sources) Turkey The Turkish Government has announced that it planned to complete the privatization process of Turk Telekom by October 2003. According to Binaldi Yildirim, Minister of Transport and Telecommunications of Turkey, the block sale method with control right for sales of company shares and IPO will be considered simultaneously to define a strategy of privatization. (Turkey Today, 05/09/2003) The Turkish holding company Sabanci Holding plans to invest US$170-200 million in the Turkish telecommunications sector over the next five years. Sabanci Holding expects its telecommunications arm Sabanci Telekom to receive a license for voice calls and to start providing services as a telecom operator in 2004. Sabanci Holding also intends to bid in the privatization process of Turk Telekom. (Turkish News Digest, 16/09/2003) Energy Algeria Medgaz, the consortium behind a 600 million gas pipeline project between Algeria and Spain, has announced that it has agreed to incorporate Spain's second- biggest power firm, Iberdrola, into the consortium to replace Italy's Eni which holds a 12% stake in the venture. The 120-mile underwater pipeline, which will run from Beni Saf in Algeria to the city of Almeria, on Spain's southern coast, is scheduled to be 2/11 operational by the end of 2006. It will have an initial capacity of eight billion cubic meters per year. Spanish oil group Cepsa (Compañía Española de Petroleos SA) and Algeria's state energy company, Sonatrach, are the leading partners in the Medgaz venture, with a 20% stake each. Other shareholders include BP plc, Spanish utility Endesa SA, French companies Gaz de France and Total SA, with 12% stakes each. (Reuters, 30/09/2003) Egypt The Egyptian Government will publish in October a list of companies and assets which are to be sold off in the fiscal years 2003/4. The list will identify the oil and gas sectors as primary privatization targets. The Government also aims to implement a master plan for the petrochemical industry. This plan which will consist in the establishment of 14 new petrochemical complexes by the year 2020 is expected to attract US$10 billions in foreign investment. It should also generate annual revenues of US$7 billions, develop the local plastics market, and employ some 100,000 people. (Middle East Daily Financial News and other sources, 17/09/2003, http://www.ameinfo.com) Lebanon Lebanese authorities have approved a legal amendment in the country's Money and Credit Law that will allow the Ministry of Finance to borrow funds from the Lebanese Central Bank and channel them to the state-owned electricity generation and distribution company Electricité du Liban (EDL). The decision will provide the Government with the necessary authority to help the company purchase the necessary fuel for the generation of electric power and thus reduce the ongoing crippling electricity rationing. In parallel, the Arab Monetary Fund has agreed to provide EDL with a US$25 million loan to finance EDL fuel purchases. (Middle East and North Africa Today, 01/09/2003) Morocco In an attempt to reduce its US$8.3 billion debt load and divest from its non-core assets, Swiss-Swedish ABB ltd. has announced it planned to sell the 50% equity stakes it holds in the Jorf Lasfar Energy Company (JLEC). The 1320-MW Jorf Lasfar power plant, which is operated by JLEC under a 30-year BOT contract and provides 60% of Morocco's electricity supply, is a highly profitable activity for ABB with taxable earnings of US$70 million last year. (Reuters, 03/09/2003) Transport Regional Following the conclusion of a partnership agreement between Tunisia's airline Tunisair and Moroccan Royal Air Maroc (RAM), the two companies will increase their cooperation to promote airline traffic between the two countries and with other potential markets. The code-sharing agreement between Tunis and Casablanca, which is currently in operation, will be extended to some of RAM's Atlantic destinations as well as to Tunisair's Middle Eastern and Eastern European destinations, enabling the two companies to exchange seats on their respective flights. (La Presse Tunisienne, 03/09/2003, http://www.lapresse.tn) Egypt Twenty-four local and international contractors have purchased pre-qualification documents for a $400 million project to build a third terminal at Cairo international airport. Requirements for bidders include a minimum annual turnover of $100 million and previous experience on a similar construction project worth at least $250 million in 3/11 the past five years. The airport expansion scheme is the single largest component in a long-term program to upgrade Egypt's airports, which will include the renovation of existing passenger terminals at Hurghada, Luxor and Sharm el-Shaikh. The project is expected to receive financial assistance from the World Bank. Earlier this year, the government cancelled a contract with a consortium led by the European Company ABB to build and operate a second terminal at Sharm el-Shaikh. A new tender is expected to be issued in October. (MEED, 12/09/2003, http://www.meed.com) Jordan Jordan and Kuwait have agreed to exempt land transportation from fees and taxes to facilitate the movement of goods and passengers between the two countries. Under the agreement, all means of land transport registered in both counties, their drivers and luggage, are exempt from fees and taxes when entering Jordan or Kuwait. Both countries' transportation authorities will grant six-month multiple-entry visas to the drivers of buses and supply trucks, as well as passengers. (Associated Press, 23/09/2003) Water/Solid Waste Jordan Jordan's Ministry of Water and Irrigation will open bids for the US$600-700 million Disi water project in late October 2003. The two groups of bidders for the build-operate- transfer contract are a developer team consisting of Saudi Oger and American company Black & Veatch International. They are supported by a joint venture of Athens- based Consolidated Contractors International Company and Turkey's Tekfen as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor. The second group of bidders is a consortium of the Arab Bank, Housing Bank of Jordan, South Africa's Rand, London- based Edgo, Jordanian Astra and Cyprus-based Joannou & Paraskevaides. (MEED, 19/09/2003, http://www.meed.com) Lebanon The Lebanese Government announced on September 25 that the Council of Development and Reconstruction (CDR) is expected to finish drafting the tender specifications for Lebanon's solid waste operations by mid-November. The Government also stated that the CDR should launch the tender for the contract by January 15, 2004, to be followed by an evaluation report a month later. Solid waste management companies Sukleen and Sukomi, both belonging to the Averda Group, are in charge of Beirut and Mount Lebanon's solid waste since the mid-1990s, but were asked in August by the Lebanese Government to terminate their operations within six months. The group will hand over sweeping and collection of trash to municipalities, while leaving the more complicated composting and landfill operations to the government. (Daily Star, 30/08/2003,27/09/2003 http://www.dailystar.com.lb) West Bank and Gaza The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has issued a request for proposals for companies to bid for the $60 million contract to design, build and operate a desalination plant in the Gaza Strip. Offers have to be submitted by November 12. US companies Morganti Group, ABB Susa and CH2M Hill are prequalified to bid for the contract. The companies have been asked to submit proposals for a reverse osmosis plant with a base capacity of 50,000 cubic meters a day (cm/d) and alternative designs for a plant of 60,000 cm/d. The seawater intake system is required to have the flexibility to be expanded to 150,000 cm/d by 2020. (MEED, 12/09/2003, http://www.meed.com) 4/11 Bulletin EU/Regional The first seminar of the MEDA-funded Regional Euro-Mediterranean Transport Program took place on September 24-25 in Tunis, bringing together the program's national coordinators from the twelve Mediterranean Partners. The 20 million program aims at modernizing the transport sector in the MEDA region. The program's main components include a diagnosis of transport activities in the region; setting up Regional Transport Action Plans; strengthening political dialogue; launching targeted studies on topics that were identified by the diagnosis, and identifying priority infrastructure projects. A team of experts is currently preparing the diagnosis as well as a first set of studies. The program's coordinating office is being established in Tunis. The second national coordinators' meeting is due to be held in the first Quarter of 2004. (Euromed Synopsis 242, 02/10/2003, http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/euromed/news_interviews.htm) The Air Transport Working Group of the Euro-Mediterranean Transport Forum held its first meeting on September 22 in Brussels. The European Commission has asked the Euro-Mediterranean partners to put forward ideas for future MEDA funded regional project in the field of air transport by October 15. The activities of the Working Group will be reported to the Euromed Transport Forum, which is scheduled to take place in late October in Brussels. (Euromed Synopsis 241, 25/09/2003, http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/euromed/news_interviews.htm) The European Commission has approved the MEDA National Financing Plans 2003 for five Mediterranean Partners (Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Morocco). The 314-million plans include, inter alia, a modernization and technical assistance program for the Algerian Ministry of Transport, and a project to support the management of water resources in Lebanon, through the Al Meyah Program. (Euromed Synopsis 239, 11/09/2003, http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/euromed/news_interviews.htm) IFC/Regional The International Finance Corporation announced on September 15 that its commitments in the Middle East and North Africa region grew 26% in the fiscal year 2003. IFC's financing for 17 projects in the region amounted to US$279 million, covering investments such as Algeria's first private sector cement firm and an organic farming project in Egypt. (MEED, 19/09/2003, http://www.meed.com) WB/Regional The World Bank released on September 19 a report on Unlocking the Employment Potential in the Middle East and North Africa: Toward A New Social Contract. The report emphasizes that the Middle East and North Africa region will have to double today's employment levels by 2020, creating 100 million additional jobs. To meet this employment challenge - not seen anywhere in the world in the past 50 years - the region's countries must reinvigorate the private sector, integrate into the global economy, and better manage oil resources. The report points out that a new "social contract" between the governments and their citizens is needed to fuel these economic reforms. An overview of the report is available at http://lnweb18.worldbank.org/mna/mena.nsf/Attachments/EmploymentOverview/$File/E mployment-overview.pdf (World Bank Press Release, 19/09/2003, http://www.worldbank.org) The World Bank has published a report on Engaging with the World: Trade, Investment and Development in MENA. The report states that the countries of the 5/11 Middle East and North Africa (MENA) could ward off a major unemployment crisis in the coming years by expanding trade and private investment and generating millions of new jobs. The report also warns that the status quo -- public sector-driven and protected economies supported by oil, aid and workers remittances -- can no longer generate sufficient growth or jobs, as the experience of the past two decades suggest. Instead, it calls on countries to embrace trade and investment reforms, which promise much faster growth and much needed employment opportunities in the region. The Report is available at http://www.worldbankinfoshop.org/ecommerce/catalog/product?context=drilldown&item %5fid=2430578 The World Bank released on September 8 a report on Better Governance for Development in the Middle East and North Africa: Enhancing Inclusiveness and Accountability. The report argues that good governance rests on the twin values of inclusiveness and accountability. The report reveals that economic growth in the region would have been higher by as much as one percent a year had governance been as good as in similar but better performing countries in other regions. The report also calls on countries in the region to commit to formulating and implementing national programs to enhance governance, including actional measures to expand inclusiveness, to widen external accountability, and to deepen internal accountability mechanisms. The report is available at http://www.worldbankinfoshop.org/ecommerce/catalog/product?item_id=2453380. (World Bank Press Release, 08/09/2003, http://www.worldbank.org) The World Bank published a report on Gender and Development in the Middle East and North Africa: Women in the Public Sphere. The report which highlights economic costs of gender inequality in the region, states that MENA could better achieve its growth potential with greater inclusion of women in the economy. The report identifies the economic and social obstacles that women in the MENA region face in seeking employment. The report analyzes the potential economic benefits of engaging women in the work force, and suggests a plan of action that would help pave the way for expanding their role in the economy and public life. An overview of the report is available at http://lnweb18.worldbank.org/mna/mena.nsf/Attachments/GenderReport- overview/$File/GENDER-REPORToverview.pdf (World Bank Press Release, 17/09/2003, http://www.worldbank.org) Telecommunications Reform and Investment by Elisabetta Capannelli and Steven Jouy, PPMI The Programme on Private Participation in Mediterranean Infrastructure (PPMI), in cooperation with the European Commission's DG Information Society and the Policy Division (CITPO) of the World Bank's Global Information and Communication Technologies Department (GICT), organized on September 18-19 a two-day Forum on Regulatory Policies and Investments in Telecommunications in the Middle East and North Africa Region (MENA)1. The event, which was held in Rome, Italy and was 1The Telecom Forum in Rome was organized by Henriette B. Mampuya, Dominique Claeys, Jérôme Leyvigne, Manuela Chiapparino and Elisabetta Capannelli, of the PPMI Team. This article presents only some of the themes discussed during the Forum. For more information on the Forum, the program, participants, and to download individual presentations, visit the PPMI website at http://www.ppmi.org 6/11 hosted by the Italian Ministry of Communication, brought together over 30 speakers and 120 participants from regulators, public officials, operators, private investors and telecom experts in the region. Placed under the umbrella of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership, the forum was organized as a true partnership event between the private and public sectors of Europe and the Middle East and North Africa countries, promoting dialogue and the exchange of information and knowledge among the participants. Over the course of two days, participants discussed ways to develop new approaches in telecom policy, investment and regulation in MENA. Beside political instability, the MENA region is being confronted with a considerable reduction in foreign direct investment, a regional unemployment crisis and a general identity malaise. The Forum highlighted the need to rethink the nexus between regulatory policies, investment in telecom infrastructures and their overall effect on a country's economic well-being. Given the very large multiplier effect that investments in the telecom sector have on national economies, the promotion of telecom investments represents an important condition to develop a modern information society and a sustainable national economy. H.E. Maurizio Gasparri, the Italian Minister of Communication, summarized what is at stake in his opening remarks when he said that telecommunications was "at the basis of any human activity, from production, energy distribution, trade, tourism, services, health, education, culture and general human development. We see the development of the telecommunication sector in the North African and Middle East Countries as a way to reinforce the regional perspectives for security, development and prosperity." In over 15 sessions and panel discussions, the Forum covered topics ranging from Southern Mediterranean telecommunication policies to infrastructure investment, regulatory issues in the Southern Mediterranean countries, regional licensing and market structures, and broadband strategies for the region. Case studies by private sector representatives and Government officials provided participants with a broad regional perspective. Good practice examples from the EU and EU accession countries illustrated the importance of sector liberalization for new markets access, competitiveness and national economic growth. Forum participants agreed that the region has made good progress in liberalizing its telecom sectors over the past few years. Still, as Pascal Verhoest2 argued in his presentation, the liberalization of telecommunication markets in the Mediterranean region has only been partially successful. Verhoest noted that the bottleneck of telecom liberalization was to be found in the fixed line market - a major impediment to the development of a viable telecommunication infrastructure since fixed lines are critical to many services and infrastructures, including mobile services. In such conditions, the need arises for a regulatory authority to create investment-friendly market conditions to support the development of a sustainable telecom sector. For a regulatory authority to be effective and to enforce its regulatory rules, experience shows that the institutions should have sufficient financial resources, knowledge and know-how and an appropriate degree of power and independence from the national Government. Just as the incumbent operator in a monopoly market becomes inefficient because of a high degree of dependence from the Government - for instance by becoming overly politicized and bureaucratized - a regulatory authority, if too dependent on the State, may not only jeopardize its unbiased position, but also risk 2Pascal Verhoest is Managing Director of the European Network for Communications and Information Perspectives (ENCIP). 7/11 the cannibalization of its own financial resources by other Governmental agencies, a process that inevitably leads to a diminishing quantity and quality of human capital and knowledge in the authority, and make it vulnerable to political and economic pressure. Muna Njiem3, explained that the secret to a telecom regulator's success was devising win-win solutions to benefit all stakeholders ­ the incumbent, new entrants, consumers and the Government. Nijem also stressed that MENA markets are not mature and neither Jordan nor other countries in the region were self sufficient when it came to investments. "Broader regional integration is required", she concluded. Stephanie von Friedeburg4 noted in her presentation that regulatory attractiveness for investors means fair and equitable licensing processes, reasonable licensing fees and obligations, an appropriate exclusivity period, and reasonable foreign ownership rules. Similarly, Romano Righetti5 argued that as a private investor in foreign telecom markets, his company always assesses a country's regulatory capacity by looking at the general legislative context, in order to determine a foreign market's investment potential. For a market to pass investors preliminary assessment, the country's legislative framework should have policies in place that are favorable to foreign investment, rules for licensing new entrants, and telecommunications laws that are applied consistently and effectively across the whole spectrum of service providers. A politically independent and reliable telecommunications and competition authority is also key to attract investment. Additional criteria that were identified during the forum include the overall transparency of the bidding process, the availability of procedures for dispute resolution, and the rights and obligations of a new entrant, including interconnection and roaming rights, as spelled out in the license agreement. Damien Géradin6 argued in his presentation that even after the market has been open to competition, the incumbent will retain substantial market power because it holds high market shares and owns essential infrastructures. There is thus a risk that the incumbent relies on this market power to prevent entry. He quoted his five-country study, on Australia, Chile, New Zealand, the UK and US7, where the best combination of sector-specific rules and institutions and competition rules and institutions are examined. The study shows that while some sector-specific rules are desirable at least for some time after liberalization, competition rules remain essential. Also, specialized regulatory entities are needed at least for some time after liberalization. An independent regulatory authority, while a necessary condition to reform the telecom market, is nonetheless only one step on the road to full-fledged market liberalization. Mostafa Terrab8 explained that the key to competition is in many cases the introduction of a third operator in the mobile market. This does not mean, however, that extended fixed line penetration, a key driver of Internet use, is to be neglected. Studies show that providing the business community with a competitive service, for instance to enable corporate networks, has been a major driver of telecom reforms in many countries. Hence, with the first phase of reforms that was concentrated on de- monopolizing mobile telephony markets in MENA, the second phase of reforms will 3Muna Nijem is the CEO of the Jordan Telecommunications Regulatory Commission. 4Stephanie Von Friedeburg is Manager of the GICT Investment Division of IFC. 5Romano Righetti is Vice-President of Regulatory Affairs and International Institutions at Telecom Italia. 6Damien Géradin is Professor at the University of Liège and the College of Europe, Bruges, Belgium and a Consultant for PPMI. 7The study "Controlling Market Power in Telecommunications Markets- drawing on the Experiences of Australia, Chile, New Zealand, the UK, and the US" is co-authored by Damien Géradin and Michel Kerf. It was released by Oxford University Press in 2003. 8Mostafa Terrab is Lead Regulatory Specialist with the Global Information and Communication Technologies (GICT) Department of the World Bank. 8/11 have to focus on fixed and data services to address the competitiveness gap. Data and corporate services in MENA countries remain so far largely untapped and are mostly unaffordable for households and small and medium size businesses in the region. Reforms should take into account local specificities in the region as well as and new technological and business conditions in the IT sector, including convergence and risk management. The Forum agreed that there exists overwhelming evidence that competition in telecommunications is effective, leading to higher levels of telecommunication penetration, wider access to telecom services, faster rates of technological innovation, higher investment levels in the sector, and lower prices and better quality of service for end-users. Kamal Shehadi9, stressed that these givens should not distract from the fact that liberalization is a demanding process. For one, the licensing process for new service providers has to be transparent and managed professionally. Licenses must include appropriate terms and conditions that provide clarity and stability to investors, and promote and preserve competition. The Forum participants discussed that while liberalization was not an end in itself, reforming the sector by promoting competition and liberalization was a necessary condition to develop a modern information society and bridging the digital divide. In the end, however, reform will only be successful if it benefits all stakeholders in society: the incumbent, new entrants, consumers and the Government. The Forum brought together regulators, investors, operators, specialists and donors, and offered a unique venue to discuss a new phase of Telecom reforms, focused on the competitiveness agenda. The Forum concluded that new models need to be developed, taking into account regional specificities, the status of capital markets, and the characteristics of regional operators and local investors. Upcoming Seminars and Training Energy Competition and Regulation in Infrastructure: Perspectives for the Mediterranean Region Organizers: PPMI, PPIAF, WBI Location: Cairo, Egypt Date: October 17-23, 2003 Fore more information: http://www.ppmi.org/CairoSeminar-Homepage.htm North African Power Industry Convention 2003: Bringing northern African and international power communities together to do business Organizer: Spintelligent Ltd Location: Tunis, Tunisia Date: December 3-5, 2003 Fore more information: http://www.esi.co.za/events/napic2003/ 9Kamal Shehadi is Managing Director of Connexus Consulting, Lebanon. 9/11 Publications and Articles The World Bank published its annual World Development Report 2004: Making Services Work for the People on September 21. The Report states that sustainable development is not possible in poor countries unless people are given better access to improved services, such as water, sanitation, electricity, health and education. The report also says that while there are frequent problems with public services, it would be wrong to conclude that government should give up and leave everything to the private sector. The report is available at http://econ.worldbank.org/wdr/wdr2004. (World Bank Press Release, 21/09/2003, http://www.worldbank.org) The World Bank has released a new annual publication, Doing Business in 2004: Understanding Regulation, which provides both qualitative and quantitative information on the business climate in over 130 countries, including OECD countries. The publication constructs a new set of indicators on the regulatory environment for private sector development and provides a collection of informative case studies of real-life experiences. The report covers the fundamental aspects of a business life cycle, from starting a business to bankruptcy. Topics include access to credit, bankruptcy, entry regulations, contract enforcement, and labor regulations. The publication is available at http://publications.worldbank.org/ecommerce/catalog/product?item_id=1384804. Indicators and analysis, and information on ordering the report, are also available on the Doing Business website at http://rru.worldbank.org/doingbusiness/ (World Bank, 7/10/2003) Toolkit for Public-Private Partnership in Highways (CD-ROM) Author: PPIAF, World Bank Publication date: July 2003 For more information: http://www.worldbankinfoshop.org/ecommerce/catalog/product?item_id=757365 Private Participation in the Power Sector in Europe and Central Asia: Lessons from the last Decade Authors: Venkataraman Krishneswamy, Gary Stuggins (World Bank) Publication date: July 2003 For more information: http://www.worldbankinfoshop.org/ecommerce/catalog/product?item_id=2412425 Public Money for Private Infrastructure: Deciding When to Offer Guarantees, Output-Based Subsidies, and Other Forms of Fiscal Support Author: Timothy Irwin (World Bank) Publication date: July 2003 For more information: http://www.worldbankinfoshop.org/ecommerce/catalog/product?item_id=2485484 Global Economic Prospects 2004: Realizing the Development Promise of the Doha Agenda Author: World Bank Publication date: September 2003 Fore more information: http://www.worldbankinfoshop.org/ecommerce/catalog/product?item_id=2581204 10/11 This newsletter is issued on a monthly basis. All material contained in the newsletter reproduces articles and press releases and is intended to provide information on PPI-related news in the Maghreb and Mashrek regions. All material is reproduced without any endorsement or value judgment on the part of the World Bank, the European Commission or its staff. If you wish to receive additional information or to subscribe/unsubscribe, please contact us at ppmi@worldbank.org or fax no +32 2 552 00 25. The newsletter is also available by accessing the PPMI website at: http://www.ppmi.org 11/11