While it is hard not to overstate the importance of oil in Kuwait’s economy (accounting for 90% of total revenue), the country is following diversification efforts and strategy.  How do you assess these diversification efforts by the government and do you think more should be done?

You have been in the region a long time and witnessed many changes.  What is your current perspective?

Kuwait Trading and Telecom, Towell International Holding / METCO, Chairman, Tawfiq Ahmed Bin Sultan: His Highness and the Emir and pushing the issues and trying to do their best.  I hope the people surrounding them will aid them in these efforts and I believe Kuwait should be able to do that in the medium-long term future.

What are some of the key market opportunities and challenges in the telecom sector and in other sectors in Kuwait?  Where do you see opportunity for growth?

Kuwait Trading and Telecom, Towell International Holding / METCO, Chairman, Tawfiq Ahmed Bin Sultan: Kuwait has opportunities in the oil industry, the financial sector, and in infrastructure where revamping is required.  Kuwait needs to invest more in the human resources and education sector as well and the health sector holds a lot of potential as well.  The private sector could also find places to participate in these opportunities as well.  However, these efforts need help from the government. 

METCO is a telecom company, what is your perception of the regulatory environment and what should be done in order to facilitate your operations?

Kuwait Trading and Telecom, Towell International Holding / METCO, Chairman, Tawfiq Ahmed Bin Sultan: In the telecom business the regulatory constraints that exist in Kuwait are very severe.  To encourage the industry to develop they need to come to an internationally accepted agreement in order to allow international companies to participate.  Right now there are so many stringent rules and regulations in the telecom industry and there is no real regulatory body that is responsible for putting the industry into a real business environment.  This needs to be reassessed in order to help the industry.

Currently the regulatory authority is under the Ministry of Communication- do you see the prospects of Kuwait having an independent telecom regulator in the future?

Kuwait Trading and Telecom, Towell International Holding / METCO, Chairman, Tawfiq Ahmed Bin Sultan: There is a lot of talk about this happening and I hope it will happen.  If Kuwait wants to move towards its goal of becoming an international financial center then they have to change the regulatory body and make it independent.

Towell International Company is a very old GCC company, can you give us a brief history and chart the growth of the group over the decades?

Kuwait Trading and Telecom, Towell International Holding / METCO, Chairman, Tawfiq Ahmed Bin Sultan: Towell International Company was started in 1866 by an American named Jeff Towell who was traveling from India to Europe and he landed in Oman and established his business.  My great grandfather worked with him and they started this business.  My grandfather joined him at the American Embassy in Oman for a period but Jeff Towell left Oman in 1890 and he sold the business to my great grandfather.  When he died in 1914 my grandfather took over and continued, in 1947 we started business in Kuwait after receiving advice from a friend of the family.  We currently are the third generation continuing the business in Kuwait.

What is your strategy for the upcoming years, where are the particular areas you would like to focus on and what are your expectations for growth?

Kuwait Trading and Telecom, Towell International Holding / METCO, Chairman, Tawfiq Ahmed Bin Sultan: Our main operations that we are concentrating on are in the telecom business.  We handle two sectors in the telecom industry: transmission (fiber optics and microwaves) and IP telephoning (installations).  In the future our growth in telecom will rely on the transmission’s side of the operation.  We have a large account with Zane and there is a lot of potential because they are a growing company that we have been dealing with for the past 25 years.  The other area we would like to expand upon is the food business.  We are a important supplier of food in Kuwait and we represent some great companies and there is room to expand.  I also see a pleasant future in the construction industry in Kuwait as a result of the recently announced government plans.  I don’t think it will be difficult for the private sector to get involved but there will need to be components to facilitate the private sector to get involved with the government’s plans.  A real collaboration needs to be made among various sectors in order to fulfill and help the private industry benefit from these huge projects.  These projects will require a lot of financing, help from the banking industry, help from the government in order to kill the bureaucracy, and it will need more transparency from the government and private sector to fulfill these projects. 

How is your business distributed among the different industries?

Kuwait Trading and Telecom, Towell International Holding / METCO, Chairman, Tawfiq Ahmed Bin Sultan: Kuwait telecom represents about 40% of our operations, 30% is food, 20% is clothing and 10% is other. 

As a major private company how hard have you been impacted by the economic crisis and do you believe the behavior of your clients has changed as a result of the crisis?

Kuwait Trading and Telecom, Towell International Holding / METCO, Chairman, Tawfiq Ahmed Bin Sultan: I don’t believe there is one company or institution that hasn’t been affected by the crisis in Kuwait.  Our markets have been affected to the tune of 10 to 15% but this is not large enough to hurt the majority of our operations.  The construction operation hasn’t been affected but the development side has been.  The overall effect on the industry has been very little but throughout the Gulf every sector has, indeed, been affected.  The dust has settled a bit and I think 2010 will be a better year than 2009 but difficult nevertheless. 2011 will likely be a year to level out and people will resurface from their problems and 2012 will be an escalating year for businesses in the Gulf.  The Gulf is still a wealthy area with all of our oil resources so recovery by 2012 should be expected.

Do you think the mentality is there to take advantage of the resources in order to do more?

Kuwait Trading and Telecom, Towell International Holding / METCO, Chairman, Tawfiq Ahmed Bin Sultan: The private sector is really trying to take advantage but the bureaucracy on the government side is disadvantageous.  Hopefully the new appointment to the Cabinet of Economic Development will change this and help the government to implement new plans with the private sector.

Does your company have any announcements for the near future or messages to potential partners?

Kuwait Trading and Telecom, Towell International Holding / METCO, Chairman, Tawfiq Ahmed Bin Sultan: We recently celebrated the 145th anniversary of our company and had a big celebration.  We are always announcing to our consumers that we strive to be the best performers and depicting our loyalty to our customers.  We like to think of our relationships with our consumers/clients as partnerships.  Additionally, to anybody who wants to come into the Kuwait area, it is essential to choose the right partner who wants to be with you for the long term.  We have been represented various companies for quite a number of years and we take pride in this type of long term relationship.  Due diligence is essential and I wish more people would take care of those measures before they enter into the area.

What is your final message to our audience about Kuwait and your company?

Kuwait Trading and Telecom, Towell International Holding / METCO, Chairman, Tawfiq Ahmed Bin Sultan: The challenges among the business community and the government area are great.  Collaboration needs to be made in the time of the economic rebound in order to take advantage of opportunities and satisfy the needs of the people, the economy, and the Gulf.