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Algeria
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For over 300 years Algeria was an autonomous province of the Ottoman Empire – after the empire helped overthrow Spanish captivity of Algeria in 1518. The autonomous Algeria was very powerful, with a fleet that ruled all the Mediterranean while European nations payed taxes to cross it – those who refused to recognize Algeria’s claim to the sea would have their ships captured and ransomed off. As capitalism advanced throughout Europe, international trade began to slowly develop in earnest, and property claims over water was a fundamental enemy. In 1815, the United States sent a fleet across the Atlantic to battle Algeria, with mixed results. The following year the English and Dutch sent a second, combined fleet to crush Algerian might – but were unable to beat algerian tactical supremacy. In 1830, the French invaded and successfully suppressed Algeria, capturing the capital port city of Algeirs and by 1834, Algeria was annexed as a colony of France.
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In 1962, French president Charles de Gaulle began the peace negotiations, and on July 5, 1962, Algeria was proclaimed independent. In Oct. 1963, Ahmed Ben Bella was elected president, and the country became Socialist. He began to nationalize foreign holdings and aroused opposition. He was overthrown in a military coup on June 19, 1965, by Col. Houari Boumédienne, who suspended the constitution and sought to restore economic stability. After his death, Boumédienne was succeeded by Col. Chadli Bendjedid in 1978. Berbers rioted in 1980 when Arabic was made the country's only official language.
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Algeria has more than 45 daily newspapers published in French and Arabic, with a total circulation of more than 1.5 million copies. There are 20 domestically printed weekly publications with total circulation of 622,000 and 11 monthly publications with total circulation of 600,000. In 2001, the government amended the Penal Code provisions relating to defamation and slander, a step widely viewed as an effort to rein in the press. While the Algerian press is relatively free to write as they choose, use of the defamation laws significantly increased the level of press harassment following President Bouteflika’s April 2004 re-election victory, and as a result, the press began to self-censor. In July 2006, President Bouteflika pardoned all journalists convicted of defaming or insulting state institutions. The pardon effectively dismissed the charges against 67 people.
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Algeria has four main geographic regions, which extend east to west across the country in parallel zones. In the north, a narrow plain spreads along the Mediterranean coast. The mountains of the Tell Atlas, a range of the Atlas Mountains, rise behind the plain, parallel and close to the sea. Numerous valleys in this region contain most of Algeria’s arable land. The country’s principal river, the Chelif, rises in the Tell Atlas and flows to the Mediterranean Sea; no permanent streams are found south of the Tell.
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On July 1, 1962, the people of Algeria voted almost unanimously for independence in a referendum, and on July 3, France recognized Algeria's sovereignty. As a result of the fighting and of the exodus of colonists, the Algerian economy lay in ruins. Ben Khedda, the moderate leader of the GPRA, formed the initial Algerian government, but in Sept., 1962, he was replaced as prime minister by Ahmed Ben Bella , a leftist radical who had the support of the ALN (led by Houari Boumedienne ). A constituent assembly chosen in late 1962 established a strong presidential government, and in Sept., 1963, Ben Bella was elected president. Ben Bella, who increasingly concentrated power in his hands, followed a left-wing domestic policy that included the confiscation of European-held farms and the nationalization of various parts of the economy. From 1963 to 1965 the Socialist Forces Front, a Berber group that had fought against French rule, mounted a rebellion against the new Arab-dominated Algerian government.
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Algeria's stock market has far to go before it reaches its full potential, with only two stocks listed at the start of 2007. Authorities are faced with something of a chicken and egg situation: no private companies are prepared to list in a dormant market, therefore the benefits of listing are impossible to demonstrate. Indeed, although Algerian companies have some stock market presence, it is all on foreign bourses. For example Orascom Telecom, 50% of the valuation of which comes from its Algerian activities, is the largest listing on the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange. The bond market is in ruder health with a number of issues over the past few years, buoyed by high domestic liquidity and low interest rates. To the future, it is imperative that government takes steps to dynamise and revitalise the bourse, although there are no IPOs currently in the pipeline to improve the situation.
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