EVERY 15 seconds out pops a washing machine, a television and an air-conditioner from the modern production lines in Setif, 270km (170 miles) east of Algiers. Some 90% of them are destined for export. Algeria offers cheap labour, proximity to Europe and has been calm for a decade. Production costs are a seventh as high as in France, says a manager at the Algerian company, Cevital, which recently acquired Bradt, a French manufacturer of domestic appliances. A new 100-hectare site is set to open across town early next year.
Historically Setif has been a turbulent city. A massacre of demonstrators there triggered the guerrilla war that forced out the French colonists in 1962. In the 1990s jihadists waged a decade-long revolt, taking refuge in the mountains near the town. Only last month the security forces fired rubber bullets at retired army officers demanding higher pensions.
So the government should welcome fresh...Continue reading
Source: Middle East and Africa http://ift.tt/2u2KhEE
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