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The Privatisation Commission has received an
enthusiastic response from interested strategic investors for the
privatisation of Pakistan Telecom Company Limited (PTCL). Eleven firms around
the world have submitted Expressions of Interest (EOIs), which indicates
investor confidence in the government's economic policies.
The current effort to privatise PTCL began in 1998 with the appointment of
a consortium led by Goldman Sachs International as the Financial Advisor.
JP Morgan has recently supplemented Goldman Sachs' efforts.
Advertisements soliciting EOIs from potential strategic investors for the
privatisation of PTCL were placed in the national and international press
in April and May this year. The last date for submissions of EOIs was June
30, 2001.
Eleven firms or consortiums from eight countries have submitted EOI's. In
some instances, the lead investor in a consortium has indicated the name
of well-known telecom operator who would join the consortium. The names
of the firms or lead investors in the consortium, along with their country
of incorporation, are given below:
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1 |
Align Technologies - USA |
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2 |
Commercial Network Limited - Pakistan |
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3 |
Crescent Investment Management LLC - USA |
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4 |
Fintur Holding BV Ltd. Turkey |
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5 |
Khanjee Holding Incorporated - USA |
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6 |
Nahayan Mabarak Al-Nahayan Abu Dhabi Group - UAE |
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7 |
Orascom Telecom - Egypt. |
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8 |
Pakbell - Pacetel (Pvt.) Limited - Pakistan |
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9 |
Queste Communications - Australia |
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10 |
Saudi Oger Limited - Saudi Arabia |
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11 |
Yousif S. F. Al Sabah - Kuwait |
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The Privatisation Commission will now be requesting those who submitted an
EOI to submit a detailed statement of qualifications, which will be used
to pre-qualify parties. The pre-qualification exercise to be carried out
in consultation with the Financial Advisor is aimed at ensuring that the
strategic investor has the financial, managerial and technical capability
to manage the company in a proficient manner. Pre-qualified parties will
be allowed a period to conduct their own due diligence of the company,
which will be followed by a competitive and open bidding process.
PTCL is the exclusive provider of basic telephony in Pakistan with over
3.2 million telephone lines in service. Besides providing fixed line,
value added and other ancillary services, PTCL owns subsidiaries that
provide cellular and Internet services. Since its transformation from a
public sector corporation into a publicly listed corporate entity in 1996,
PTCL has implemented an aggressive restructuring program, the primary aim
of which is to improve profitability through increased customer focus and
efficiency and to prepare the company for the highly competitive
environment envisaged once PTCL's exclusivity on fixed telephony expires
in December 2002.
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