VZCZCXRO5354
PP RUEHDE RUEHTRO
DE RUEHTU #2598/01 2930820
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 200820Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY TUNIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2057
INFO RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI PRIORITY 0803
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS PRIORITY 7315
RUEHDK/AMEMBASSY DAKAR PRIORITY 0310
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 1197
RUEHKU/AMEMBASSY KUWAIT PRIORITY 0461
RUEHNK/AMEMBASSY NOUAKCHOTT PRIORITY 0791
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 1652
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT PRIORITY 8236
RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI PRIORITY 0414
RUEHCL/AMCONSUL CASABLANCA PRIORITY 4005
RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI PRIORITY 0121
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TUNIS 002598 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/MAG (HARRIS) AND EB/CIP 
STATE PASS USTR (BELL), USPTO (ADLIN AND ADAMS), USAID (MCCLOUD) 
USDOC FOR ITA/MAC/ONE (ROTH), ADVOCACY CTR (JAMES), AND 
CLDP (TEJTEL) 
CASABLANCA FOR FCS (ORTIZ) 
LONDON AND PARIS FOR NEA WATCHERS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON ETRD ELAB EAGR EFIN EINV EAIR KPRV TS
SUBJECT: TUNISIA ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS: SEPT. 16 - OCT. 15 
 
REF: A. TUNIS 2465 
 
¶B. TUNIS 2173 
¶C. TUNIS 1741 
¶D. TUNIS 1672 
 
¶1. (U) This cable contains highlights of recent economic 
developments in Tunisia on the following topics: 
 
¶A. Trade Balance Continues to Deteriorate 
¶B. Emirates Bukhatir to Build 5 Billion USD "Sports City" 
¶C. Emirati DIG Increases Stake in Karthago Airlines 
¶D. Legal Retirement Age to Be Raised 
¶E. Tunisair to Invest in Mauritanie Airways 
¶F. Attijariwafa Bank to Buy Banque Senegalo-Tunisienne 
¶G. GOT and Kuwait to Sell BTKD Bank Shares 
 
--------------------------------------- 
Trade Balance Continues to Deteriorate 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) According to September's Central Bank report, over the August 
1 - September 20 period, the trade deficit reached 689 million 
dinars (roughly 524 million USD) against 357 million dinars (272 
million USD) during the same period of 2005.  Imports of goods and 
services grew 13.9 percent, outpacing a 10.9 percent rise in 
exports.  Energy imports represent 46 percent of the trade deficit 
during this period (ref C). 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
Emirates Bukhatir to Build 5 Billion USD "Sports City" 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶3. (U) According to local press reports, in 2007, the Emirates 
Bukhatir Group will invest 5 billion USD to design and build the 
Tunis Sports City project, part of a GOT initiative to develop 
recently reclaimed lake property.  The 250-hectare project's main 
objective is to train young people in different sports disciplines, 
but also to provide residential, leisure and commercial services. 
The complex will comprise nine sports training centers, three golf 
courses, tennis courts, outdoor and indoor Olympic-sized swimming 
pools, a multi-event stadium for 5,000 spectators, a football 
stadium with a 20,000-person capacity, and five five-star hotels. 
The project is expected to create around 40,000 new jobs in the 
Tunisian economy.  (Note: The GOT did not announce a tender for this 
project.  End Note) 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
Emirati DIG Increases Stake in Karthago Airlines 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶4. (U) The Dubai Investment Group (DIG), a subsidiary of Dubai 
Holdings, has increased its shares in Tunisian private carrier 
Karthago Airlines to 20 percent.  The Emirati company already has 
investments in partially state-owned Tunisie Telecom and 
privately-owned La Societe Industrielle d'Appareillage et de 
Materiels Electriques (SIAME), a company specializing in electric 
components (ref C).  Karthago Airlines is owned by Belhassen 
Trabelsi, brother-in-law of President Ben Ali (ref D).  Karthago 
Airlines also recently announced plans to merge with another private 
Tunisian carrier, Nouvelair, by 2007. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Comment:  Both the Sports City and Karthago Airlines 
investments represent the growing number of Emirati investments in 
Tunisia.  Dubai Holdings' recent launch of a new publicity campaign 
in Tunis is further evidence of the company's mounting interest in 
Tunisia. Yet, the Sports City investment is also indicative of the 
way business is done in Tunisia.  The Sports City project follows 
the creation of a Culture City in Tunis and another large 
development project in the South Lake area, both sizeable GOT 
projects for which there was no public tender.  The lack of 
transparency surrounding how these projects were awarded is, 
unfortunately, according to business contacts, all too common.  End 
 
TUNIS 00002598  002 OF 003 
 
 
Comment. 
 
---------------------------------- 
Legal Retirement Age to Be Raised 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) According to the Arabic Tunisian daily Ash- Shourouq, the GOT 
plans to raise the mandatory legal retirement age to 63 years from 
the current age of 60.  The law will allow workers to delay their 
retirement up until the age of 65. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Comment:  The decision to raise the retirement age 
highlights the burden on social security funds caused by Tunisia's 
growing retirement-age population, a problem compounded by a birth 
rate below replacement, and may also reflect the strain created by 
the use of retirement funds for workers laid off after the age of 50 
(ref A).  While relieving the pressure on the retirement fund may be 
necessary, the decision is not without drawbacks for the GOT. 
Although unemployment is an issue at the top of the GOT agenda, the 
extension of the legal retirement age will affect the absorption of 
unemployed workers in the economy. End Comment. 
 
---------------------------------------- 
Tunisair to Invest in Mauritanie Airways 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (U) Tunisian state-owned carrier, Tunisair, has announced it will 
participate in a joint-venture with the Mauritanian government to 
create a new airline, to be named Mauritanie Airways.  In recent 
years, Tunisair has launched a series of flights toward new 
destinations in Africa, such as Dakar, Bamako and Abidjan.  The 2003 
temporary, but indefinite, relocation of the African Development 
Bank from Abidjan to Tunis is likely the driving force behind the 
increased flight connections to African destinations.  The Tunisair 
investment in Mauritanie Airways also follows state-owned Tunisie 
Telecom's investment in state-owned Mauritanian telecom operator 
MATTEL (ref B). 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
Attijariwafa Bank to Buy Banque Senegalo-Tunisienne 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶9. (U) Attijariwafa Bank, the Moroccan bank that purchased Tunisian 
Banque du Sud, has concluded an agreement to purchase a 66.67 
percent stake in Banque Senegalo-Tunisienne (BST) from a number of 
private shareholders.  BST was incorporated in Senegal in 1986 
between the Tunisian and the Senegalese governments.  In 1999, 
Senegalese private investors bought 92.6 percent of BST shares, 
leaving 7.32 percent to Tunisian state-owned Socit Tunisienne de 
Banques (STB).  In 2005, total BST assets amounted to 167.2 million 
euros (roughly 209 million USD).  The bank's market share is 7 
percent and it is ranked 5th, in Senegal.  It owns a total of 12 
branches, all in Senegal.  Attijariwafa Bank already has a 
subsidiary with four branches in Dakar. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
GOT and Kuwait to Sell BTKD Bank Shares 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶10. (U) According to wire reports, the GOT and state-run Kuwait 
Investment Authority (KIA) announced plans to sell 30 percent each 
of their equal ownership of the Banque Tuniso-Koweitienne de 
Developpement (BTKD).  According to a Fitch Ratings report issued in 
July, BTKD's asset quality is poor and its performance ratios 
deteriorated last year, partly reflecting declining lending 
activity.  Established in 1981, Tunis-based BTKD has a 
capitalization of 100 million Tunisian dinars (74.74 million USD) 
with about two thirds of BTKD activities related to the tourism 
sector. 
 
¶11. (SBU) Comment and Background: Given the poor performance of BTKD 
and low growth in the tourism sector, the partial privatization is 
 
TUNIS 00002598  003 OF 003 
 
 
not surprising.  According to an Embassy banking contact, most of 
Tunisia's non-performing loans are related to investments in the 
tourism sector.  The partial privatization of BTKD also highlights 
recent restructuring and reform in the Tunisian banking sector.  In 
2000, the GOT merged three state-owned banks, Societe Tunisienne de 
Banques, Banque Nationale de Developpement Touristique and Banque de 
Developpement Economique de Tunisie.  In addition, several 
state-owned banks have been fully privatized.  In 2002, French 
Societe Generale purchased state-owned Union Internationale de 
Banques (UIB) and in 2005, the Spanish-Moroccan consortium 
Santander-Attijariwafa purchased state-owned Banque du Sud.  End 
Comment and Background. 
BALLARD