In order to remove irritants in securing the deal with Etisalat, the government has revised the payment schedule for PTCL and extended it to 20 months.
Reliable sources told Business Recorder that Etisalat has been allowed to pay the bid money in three equal instalments. The first instalment will be due after 7 months from the date of signing of shares purchase agreement (SPA) and the remaining two instalments after 14 and 20 months respectively.
According to the bid document, the payment time was only 90 days. The successful bidder was to pay the first instalment within 30 days from the signing of SPA.
The sources said the timeframe for payment was a major hurdle in finalising the deal and Etisalat wanted extension in it.
The official team headed by Privatisation minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh that negotiated PTCL deal with Etisalat management in UAE last week endorsed the new payment schedule and kept the deal afloat.
According to the sources, this concession was followed by a commitment from Etisalat Telecom that it will further negotiate the issue to reach to a conclusion.
They said that on Saturday Etisalat confirmed to the government of Pakistan (GoP) in a message that its delegation will visit Pakistan for final round of talks with Privatisation team to take the deal to its logical conclusion.
The sources claimed that the parties were now close to the deal and the next round of talks will be as per expectations of the policy makers in Islamabad.
A three-member official team had held the second round of talks with Etisalat management in UAE last week.
So far nothing has been said officially on the outcome of the talks. This mysterious silence of the authorities has created doubts in the minds of the people.
Since his return from UAE on Thursday last, the Minister for Privatisation is in Karachi and he is not responding to any telephonic calls. The same is situation here. Secretary for Privatisation Tahsin Iqbal Khan has nothing to say on the issue except his reply that he was ignorant of the UAE talks.
The sources said complete silence over the talks was a part of the policy of the team as it had no clear signal from Etisalat Telecom.
They said, "At the end of the talks, Etisalat just asked Pakistan''s side to hold on till its message and that was given on Saturday and now the official were in better position to say something about the deal."