Orascom deepens business links with parent Vimpelcom

Egypt's Orascom Telecom Holding and its Russian parent Vimpelcom have agreed to provide one another with technical and commercial services to improve the efficiency of their businesses, Orascom said on Sunday.

Orascom said it was changing its name to Global Telecom Holding SAE after Vimpelcom took control of the Egyptian company last year in a deal worth around $6 billion.

It also said it planned to take control of Canada's Globalive Investment Holding Corp. after changes to Canada's foreign ownership laws. The change requires the approval of Canadian investment authorities, expected by early next year.