The Privatisation Commission (PC) has received 14 expressions of interest (EoIs) for 26 percent shares of the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) with management control. The parties, which submitted the EoIs, included Emirates Telecommunications Corporation, UAE; Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel), Singapore; Mobile Telecommunications Company, Kuwait; MTN International (Pty) Limited, South Africa; Saudi Oger Limited, Saudi Arabia; China Mobile Communication Company, China; Millicom International, Saudi Telecom, Saudi Arabia; Telecom Malaysia, Malaysia; and other regional giants of the telecom sector.
The Privatisation Commission, in its handout issued here on Saturday, said that submission of EoIs by the world telecom giants for acquiring 26 percent shares of the PTCL is an indication of Pakistan's positive economic trend, adding that EoIs submitted by the world telecom giants for PTCL shares reflect Pakistan's improved macro-economic development.
The PTCL is a leading telephone sector service-providers to the private sector with 4.4 million telephone lines in service. Besides, providing fixed lines and ancillary services, the PTCL owns Pakistan Telecommunication Mobile Limited one of the five GSM cellular service-providers and Paknet, a countrywide internet service-provider.
Its strong financial position demonstrated during 2004. Its revenue for the year stood at Rs 74,124 million and its operating profit is increasing with every passing year. Total equity of the PTCL stood at Rs 83,600 million and total assets Rs 141,595 million. Its installed capacity is 5.27 million lines.