Tony Goodwin on the cover of Recruiter magazine.

The entrepreneurial bug bit Tony Goodwin early. “I think I’ve had it all my life,” he reckons. “Even at the age of eight, when I got a blow-up dinghy, I was selling rides on the dinghy on the River Darent in Sevenoaks in Kent.”

Fast forward several decades, and Goodwin is in his element, an entrepreneur among entrepreneurs in the recruitment industry as founder and chief executive of Antal International, a recruitment business that has most definitively put its stamp on emerging markets. Now his immersion into the world of creating and building businesses has taken him onto new ground: turning author, he examines the dark side of contemporary entrepreneurship in a new book, How They Blew It.

Co-written with business writer Jamie Oliver, Goodwin’s book scrutinises the downfalls of 16 entrepreneurs who hit the heights of wealth, only to experience financial and personal losses of staggering depth. In fact, six of those profiled spent time in prison, one died before his trial and two committed suicide.

Launched on 3 July, How They Blew It is the antidote to the crush of self-congratulatory ‘How I Made It’ books by the likes of Richard Branson, Sir Alan Sugar, the Saatchi Brothers and other self-made millionaires that have dominated airport bookshop shelves over the past 20 years. Goodwin had readmany of those books.

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Antal Global Snapshot Edition 6

A regular global survey of hiring and firing trends covering more than 9600 organisations in 55 countries has found job prospects for professionals and managers continuing to improve.

The ‘Global Snapshot’ project from the international recruitment firm, Antal, asked 9672 companies in major markets such as western and eastern Europe, Africa, India, China and the USA whether they were currently hiring at professional and managerial level. It then asked whether they planned to do so in the coming quarter and whether they were currently letting staff go or were planning to do so in the next three months. Current hiring across the globe was up from 53% of respondents at the beginning of the year to 54% now. And the percentage of organisations intending to hire in the coming quarter was up from 55% to 58%. The percentage of organisations intending to shed staff had fallen slightly from 28% in the autumn to 22% now. However the general consensus was that this figure would drop to 25% over the coming quarter.

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The Grapevine Online
Monday 17th May 2010
By Graeme Read

So the world economy didn’t disappear into financial Armageddon after all. But despite the Eurozone bailout and better news from the USA, we’re not out of the economic woods quite yet. So if we want to get business back to where it was before the meltdown, perhaps we shouldn’t be looking to governments to solve our problems but to a new generation of manager or professional – the corporate entrepreneur.

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Tony Goodwin, founder and chairman of Antal International, has won through to the finals of this year’s prestigious Ernst & Young’s ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ competition.

Now in their tenth year the awards aim to celebrate people who build and lead successful, growing and dynamic businesses around the world.

Richard Hall, partner and UK Entrepreneur Of The Year leader at Ernst & Young, said: “Entrepreneur Of The Year recognises and rewards the people behind many of the world’s most innovative businesses. More than ever, this year’s finalists have shown their ability to adapt to market conditions, to forge ahead by seizing opportunities and taking market share in the toughest of times. They have maintained their vision for growth and pursued it, increased their focus on customer satisfaction and loyalty, expanded into new segments and geographical markets and engaged their employees using greater communication and transparency. Such trailblazers will drive the recovery and provide confidence throughout the world’s markets. Governments around the world need to promote an open economy to stimulate innovation. Today’s entrepreneurs depend on global capital, production, talent, and customers. If we put up borders, we go backwards.”

Tony Goodwin, founder of global professional and managerial recruitment specialist, Antal, has been shortlisted in the ‘Personality of the Year’ category for this year’s prestigious Recruiter awards. Widely regarded as the most significant in the talent sourcing industry, the awards recognise excellence in service, innovation and delivery and each category generates fierce competition amongst the sector’s major players.

“Tony is one of the recruitment sector’s true visionaries,” says Antal’s Group Managing director, Graeme Read. “He was one of the first to invest heavily in creating professional talent sourcing services for developing markets as far back as 1993. And by doing so he’s built a business which has gone from one person to 66 offices in 29 countries. He’s also found time along the way to create a charitable foundation which supports children’s charities in such disparate locations as the UK, Afghanistan and Cambodia. This nomination is a timely recognition of both his business acumen and his humanitarian work.” Read the rest of this entry »

Global professional and managerial recruitment specialist, Antal, has been shortlisted in the ‘Best International Recruitment Firm’ category at this year’s prestigious Recruiter awards. Widely regarded as the most significant in the talent sourcing industry, the awards recognise excellence in service, innovation and delivery and each category generates fierce competition amongst the sector’s major players.

Graeme Read, Group Managing Director said “Being short-listed is a strong validation of, and testament to, the excellence of our people and processes throughout the organisation. I heartily congratulate all members of the global Antal team on their hard work and dedication to clients and candidates which has resulted in this achievement.”

“This is terrific news and well deserved,” says Doug Bugie, CEO of the Antal International Network. “It is very difficult to stand out in international markets – a business has to be unusually special. It’s because we are truly international and can crack challenging markets around the world with our high levels of business sharing and best practice that we have justified this kind of recognition.”

CLICK HERE to learn more about the Recruiter Awards

RI – February 2010 – www.recruitment-international.co.uk

With the recruitment industry in the UK beginning to climb out of a long and painful recession the next phase of the economic cycle will ensure that many recruitment consultancies will be seriously considering their strategy for the next 3-5 years. This will inevitably include organic expansion, new disciplines, more consultants, some will open more locations.

However, others will decide that the time is right to take a quantum leap and that is exactly what the Board of Antal is looking for.

Whilst many believe that there will be growth in the UK, the more astute recruiters have already recognised that the domestic recruitment market is highly saturated and margins continue to fall. So where do the really big opportunities exist?

“International” is the unequivocal belief of the Antal Board, and who can argue? The company has a proven track record of overseas excellence, its Russian business was sold to the FiveTen Group in March 2008 for a significant cash amount, making it the largest CEE recruitment transaction in recent years and it has been this experience that has positioned Antal to be able to offer an exciting acquisition and joint venture proposition for the industries budding entrepreneurs.

CLICK HERE to read the full article

Global employment survey finds job markets improving around the world

A quarterly global survey of hiring and firing trends covering more than 6000 organisations in 30 countries has found job prospects for professionals and managers continuing to improve.

Antal Global Snapshot Edition 5

CLICK HERE to read the Full Global Snapshot

The ‘Global Snapshot’ from the international recruitment firm, Antal, asked 6151 companies in major markets such as western and eastern Europe, Africa, India, China and the USA whether they were currently hiring at professional and managerial level. It then asked whether they planned to do so in the coming quarter and whether they were currently letting staff go or were planning to do so in the next three months. Current hiring across the globe was up from 50% of respondents in the autumn to 53% now. And the percentage of organisations intending to hire in the coming quarter was up from 48% to 55%. On the downside the percentage of organisations intending to shed staff had also risen slightly from 25% in the autumn to 28% now. However the general consensus was that the figure would drop to 22% over the coming quarter.

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Global employment survey finds job markets improving around the world

A quarterly global survey of hiring and firing trends covering more than 7000 organisations in 34 countries has found job prospects for professionals and managers improving for the first time since the autumn of 2008.

CLICK HERE to read the Full Global Snapshot

The ‘Global Snapshot’ from the international recruitment firm, Antal, asked 7397 companies in major markets such as western and eastern Europe, Africa, India, China and the USA whether they were currently hiring at professional and managerial level. It then asked whether they planned to do so in the coming quarter and whether they were currently letting staff go or were planning to do so in the next three months. Current hiring across the globe was up from 46% of respondents in the spring to 50% now. And the percentage of organisations intending to hire in the coming quarter was up from 44% to 48%. At the same time the percentage of organisations intending to shed staff had fallen from 35% in the spring to 25% now.

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A quarterly survey of hiring and firing trends in over 30 key countries has found job prospects for professionals and managers in Turkey better than the global average. The percentage of organisations here expecting to shed staff in the next three months is also lower than the worldwide average, suggesting that the jobs market is at least beginning to level out.

The ‘Global Snapshot’ from the international recruitment firm, Antal, asked 4217 companies in major markets such as western and eastern Europe, Africa, India, China and the USA whether they were currently hiring at professional and managerial level. It then asked whether they planned to do so in the coming quarter and whether they were currently letting staff go or were planning to do so in the next three months. Current hiring across the globe was down from 54% of respondents at the beginning of the year to 47% now. However the percentage of organisations intending to hire in the coming quarter had actually risen from 43% to 44%.

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Please find below links to PR coverage of our recent global snapshot:

2point6billion.com – Survey: Hiring Levels in China,India Improving

rrhhdigital.com – Las tendencias internacionales en contratación

hrmagazine.co.uk – Increase in firms planning to recruit this quarter

personneltoday.com – Global employment survey finds UK job market still dropping but showing signs of levelling out

recruiter.co.uk – International professional vacancies drop while hiring intentions rise

business24-7.ae – UAE firms expect more hirings soon

arabianbusiness.com – Poll shows 50% of UAE firms looking to hire Q309

thebusinessdesk.com – Job market showing first signs of recovery

ldpbusiness.co.uk – NW firms positive on job prospects

dutchnews.nl – More companies are recruiting: survey

comunicado-prensa.com – Resultados del Tercer Estudio de Antal Internacional sobre Tendencias Internacionales de Contratación

UKRecruiter – Antal – Global Snapshot

Tony Goodwin – click here to watch the video

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A quarterly survey of hiring and firing trends covering over 4000 businesses in 32 key countries around the world has found job prospects for professionals and managers continuing to slow, although more organisations expect to recruit at this level in the coming three month.

CLICK HERE to read the full Global Snapshot

The ‘Global Snapshot’ from the international recruitment firm, Antal, asked 4217 companies in major markets such as western and eastern Europe, Africa, India China and the USA whether they were currently hiring at professional and managerial level. It then asked whether they planned to do so in the coming quarter and whether they were currently letting staff go or were planning to do so in the next three months. Current hiring across the globe was down from 54% of respondents at the beginning of the year to 47% now. However the percentage of organisations intending to hire in the coming quarter had actually risen, albeit modestly, from 43% to 44%.

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Tony Goodwin, CEO of international recruitment firm, Antal, has thrown his weight behind a new ‘Dragons Den’ competition for university students.

The competition, which goes under the name of ‘Bright Ideas’ is designed to provide impetus to the entrepreneurial instinct in British undergraduates and is organised by the WestFocus initiative which encompasses universities such as Kingston, Brunel and Westminster.

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The art of matchmaking, since time immemorial, has been like games of chance – you win some, you lose some. There are numerous factors that can make or break an ideal pairing of two parties seeking a mutually beneficial relationship – international enterprise mergers, romantic relationships and even journalists with sources all face the same uncertainty of gestating into a synergetic affiliation. The same holds true in staffing the gaming industry right here in Malta.

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One of the inevitable consequences of the global economic crisis is a reduced demand for workforce, many people will lose their jobs as employers try to optimise corporate operations and minimise costs.
However, Tony Goodwin, CEO and founder of Antal International, is convinced that a shake-up was necessary, but the global labour market is flexible enough to weather this storm and will adapt to the new market conditions.

As a leader of a global recruitment company you are well placed to assess the scope of the on-going financial crisis. Have you felt the impact so far?

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First of all, despite everything let’s hope that 2009 will be a better year than the circumstances will have us believe. Here at Antal International Turkey we are and will remain positive. We have four main reasons to be so: the results of the Antal International Global Survey; IworkLife’s success, our newly established Finance and Accounting Business Unit and our newly restructured Sales Department.

Global Survey finds Turkish employment market coping well!

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Turkey, as with other emerging economies, is gathering pace in terms of her impact on global trade and investment. According to recent reports by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the E7 emerging economies (China, India, Brazil, Russia, Indonesia, Mexico and Turkey) could be 25-75% larger than the current G7 (US, Japan, Germany, UK, France, Italy and Canada) economies by 2050. It is also foreseen that the Turkish cities of İstanbul, Ankara and İzmir will be amongst the largest city economies in the world by 2020. Consequently, the potential for modern retailing is evident in Turkey.

The main factors that attract retailers to invest in the sector and to develop modern structures is the growth potential due to a large and growing population, and developing market conditions. Factors such as the growth of income, along with changes in the composition of the country’s production factors, demographic characteristics, lifestyles and consumption patterns, have all positive expectations.

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ITS TRENDS, NEEDS…

Turkey has a big pharmaceutical industry and the structure of this industry is changing. Since the mid 1980s, the number of foreign pharmaceutical companies in Turkey has risen significantly. In terms of estimated market shares of imported goods (raw/semi-finished products), U.S. based companies control approximately 30 percent of the market. UK companies have around 22 percent and the Swiss account for a 17 percent of the market share. In other words, almost % 80 of this sector is run by foreign companies.

In terms of the employees working in the pharmaceutical sector in Turkey, education levels are high and the teams are highly qualified. For example, pharmaceutical Sales Representatives in Turkey, more than often are university graduates. 

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In today’s market, identifying candidates’ behavioural aspects correctly is one of the most important skills that a recruiter must have. At certain points, new prototypes occur and the one which is highly debated these days is the “Y Generation” who is portrayed to be highly demanded by employers. They shape the business world and change the rhythm of its rules. 

Today’s younger workforce requires different training techniques, management style and different motivational incentives than the previous generations before them like the Baby Boomers and the X Generation. 

I am also included in this group as one of the employed members of the Y generation and my objective in this article is to mention some of the difficulties encountered in professional life by the Y’ers together with stating some possible solutions to such problems so that both the Y’ers and their employers could have a long term, fruitful business relationship. 

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Global professional and managerial recruitment specialist, Antal, has been shortlisted in the ‘Best International Recruitment Firm’ category at this year’s prestigious Recruiter awards. Widely regarded as the most significant in the talent sourcing industry, the awards recognise excellence in service, innovation and delivery and each category generates fierce competition amongst the sector’s major players.

Graeme Read, Group Managing Director said “Being short-listed is a strong validation of, and testament to, the excellence of our people and processes throughout the organisation. I heartily congratulate all members of the global Antal team on their hard work and dedication to clients and candidates which has resulted in this achievement.”

“This is terrific news and well deserved,” says Doug Bugie, CEO of the Antal International Network. “It is very difficult to stand out in international markets – a business has to be unusually special. It’s because we are truly international and can crack challenging markets around the world with our high levels of business sharing and best practice that we have justified this kind of recognition.”

Antal announces global ‘white knight’ strategy for 2009

The global management and professional recruiter, Antal International has announced plans to embark on a sustained programme of acquisitions and joint ventures during 2009, as well as rapidly expanding its network of franchisees.

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The economies of the Middle East are built on oil and gas. And while they are sure to be affected by the current financial crisis, the Gulf States are in a good position to ride out the economic storm.

Situated at the crossroads of Europe, Africa and Asia, the Middle East has been an important commercial centre since the dawn of commerce. In its broadest sense the Middle East refers to south western Asia and north eastern Africa, stretching from Iran in the East to Libya in the West. But in terms of international business and the recruitment sector, the Arabian Peninsula is of key importance. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia have all benefited hugely from the region’s natural oil reserves. UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain have also gone further in opening their economies to the West than some of their neighbours and are now home to many foreign nationals attracted by low taxation and a warm climate. With the most developed Western-style economies, this supplement will focus on the United Arab Emirates, particularly Dubai and Abu Dhabi, as well as Qatar which is fast emerging as an important market for the future. Read the rest of this entry »

A survey of hiring and firing trends in key employment markets around the world, click here to view the Global Snapshot

Differences in wages for similar positions are huge, with a local market chief financial officer (CFO) making between €25,000 and €70,000 a year. In many companies on the Romanian market, human resource management does not make use of professional criteria, according a study carried out by the Antal International executive search firm. Read the rest of this entry »

Watch the welcome address from the Antal conference 2008 presented by Tony Goodwin.

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It’s a new strategy for the Turkish market. Generally companies prefer only to look for candidates to fill in their current vacancies but the fact is that this Rising Star – APC (Antal Placeable candidate) and Sector Shot approaches enable companies to meet the talents even they are not looking for them.

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Recently counter offers have been on the top of the agendas of the recruitment consultants. The competition gets tougher and the lack of qualified candidates in the market make the counter offers critically important.

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Ask the employees at your company what HR does and how well they do it, and be prepared for verbal assault. Talk to a line manager. Interview a CEO. Inquire about HR’s organisational role and its reputation. Be ready to hear things about your work that range from politely acceptable to the downright brutal.

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Global recruitment specialist Antal International joined with Byte Night to take to the streets to raise money for the charity Action for Children by spending a night sleeping rough in London.

The event saw company leaders from large organisations across the country join together and sleep out under the stars for one night in order to get taste of homelessness. Tony Goodwin, Antal’s Chairman and CEO, has taken part in the event for four years now as Byte Nite, which saw its 10th anniversary this year, encourages large institutions to get together to support a worthy cause. Read the rest of this entry »

 A survey of hiring and firing trends in key employment markets around the world, click here to view the Global Snapshot

Автор: Екатерина Бахарева, ведущий консультант коммерческого департамента рекрутинговой компании Antal International Russia

Fashion retail (рынок модной одежды) в России сейчас активно развивается. Потребности покупателей растут, что приводит к увеличению объемов продаж. Соответственно, компаниям требуются активные квалифицированные сотрудники, работающие как непосредственно с конечными покупателями в магазинах, бутиках, так и в отделах продаж, финансов, маркетинга и логистики.

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Продакт-контролер: риски, финансы и ИТ

Если на Западе можно продакт-контролера из одного банка устроить на аналогичную должность в другой, то в России при поиске кандидата на вакантную позицию рекрутеры вынуждены переманивать специалистов из компаний “большой четверки”, хорошо знающих бухгалтерский учет и готовых обучаться новой специализации. Это происходит потому, что профессионалов в этом направлении на данный момент практически нет.

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Топ-менеджеры управляющих компаний (УК) обеспокоены: отрасль уже сейчас ощущает дефицит специалистов по привлечению клиентов, доверительному управлению и работников бэк-офиса. Что будет дальше?

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Salaries survey of HR department managers

HR departments are gaining weight within the corporate structure and HR managers are going up in price

A pushy Head of Recruitment candidate who is able to sell anything including her own competence could increase her salary by 63% by moving to a western Pharmaceutical Company. Her extensive work experience was the main argument in negotiations with employer and the personality of the candidate was the main determinative factor. “Our client was ready to pay our candidate 25,000 Rubles a month more than it originally could offer!” – Exclaims Ramis Imangulov, a consultant at Antal International Russia, the largest International Executive Recruitment Company present in Moscow. 

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Обзор зарплат менеджеров HR департамента

Кандидатка на позицию руководителя отдела рекрутмента (Head of Recruitment), умеющая отлично продавать все что угодно, в том числе и собственные компетенции, смогла поднять свою стоимость на 63% при переходе в западную фармацевтическую компанию. Главным аргументом в переговорах с работодателем был большой опыт работы, а главным решающим фактором – персоналия соискательницы.  «Компания согласилась платить новой сотруднице ежемесячную зарплату на 25 000 рублей больше, чем планировала изначально!» – Восклицает Рамис Имангулов, консультант рекрутинговой компании Antal International Russia.

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Маргарита Удовиченко

Людям свойственно думать, что по другую сторону забора трава зеленее, а тень прохладнее. Мечта о развитом и стабильном Западе живет во многих сердцах, несмотря на дефицит кадров на родине, высокий уровень зарплат (что нередко является предметом зависти у иностранцев) и построенные за несколько лет головокружительные карьеры. Официальная статистика трубит о ежегодном сокращении числа эмигрантов из России, но, по ощущениям, «чемоданные» настроения по-прежнему сильны. Причем если в начале и середине 1990−х соотечественники ехали в основном за длинным рублем, то сейчас приоритеты сместились: заграница привлекает высоким уровнем жизни, политической предсказуемостью, безопасностью и комфортом. D’ выяснял, почему россияне уезжают из страны и как они ищут работу за границей

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Справка о профессии

Ассистент трейдера

Позиция ассистента трейдера – хороший старт для молодых, амбициозных и дисциплинированных специалистов, решивших построить свою карьеру на рынке ценных бумаг. Задачи ассистента трейдера заключаются в том, чтобы помогать одному или нескольким трейдерам – участникам биржевой торговли, покупающим или продающим ценные бумаги за свой счет или по поручению.

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Наталья Куркчи, партнер рекрутинговой компании Antal International Russia выступит экспертом программы “Цена вопроса” на 3 канале.

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Globally employers need to rethink the mantra “our people are our greatest asset” and reshape their talent strategies, radically. The new world of work will be more “What can we offer you while you are here” and less “What will you do for the company” as increasing choice, and talent shortages and a fast changing mindset forces corporates to reshape their traditional workplace for the next generation of worker, Generation Y. That was the message emanating from leading global recruitment firm Antal International’s Leaders Summit held in Warsaw, Poland this week.

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International professional and managerial recruiter, Antal, has announced advanced plans to diversify outside the recruitment sector.

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Doug Bugie, one of the most high profile and experienced figures in the international recruitment arena, has joined the main board of Antal International as a significant shareholder. Bugie will take full-time responsibility for the continuing growth of the company’s franchise brands, Antal International Network and iworkLife  as well as contributing to the development of the Antal Group’s international company-owned offices and bring his experience to bear in Antal’s JV and acquisition strategy. 

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Фото: FiveTen Group

«Я родился в бедной семье и мечтал, чтобы у моих заработков не было потолка», — говорит Грэм Полфри-Смит, ныне глава одной из самых динамично развивающихся рекрутинговых компаний мира

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By Max Delany / Staff Writer
YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK — Railway boss Vyacheslav Steklyevich had just seen the first train roll over a new bridge he oversaw being built, a 10-meter stretch of iron and concrete that was only the beginning of the hundreds of kilometers of train track still needed around the island.

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