Are you unaware of the new variations that have occurred so far in mobile service companies and what new synergy has happened? So, let me tell you here about PTCL and Telenor’s new agreement. On December 14th, 2023 in Islamabad, PTCL (Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited) announced that it had signed a share purchase agreement with Telenor Pakistan. Now, why does this agreement happen? Has something happened to Telenor or PTCL? These are some questions which are answered in this article so keep reading till the end.
What is Telenor?
Telenor is a Norwegian state-owned multinational telecommunication company. And it has a huge telecommunication service available in Pakistan.
What is PTCL?
PTCL also serves communication purposes with its largest fibre cable network around Pakistan.
What happened to Telenor and PTCL?
During these last few years, Telenor in Pakistan has had a lot of declining ratios as compared to other countries. Telenor left Pakistan with the occurrence of this agreement. That’s because Telenor in Pakistan has one of the worst average revenue per user (ARPU) worldwide, at $0.8/month. And for the Norwegian company, this ARPU is a big concern.
However, if we look at the Telenor group’s service in other countries like Malaysia, Thailand and Bangladesh, they are doing a far better job. Whereas, the Ufone which is a wholly owned subsidiary of PTCL was already having issues with its service. And because it was late in the market with its 4G service PTCL suffered a lot.
Agreement Between Telenor and PTCL
According to this agreement, PTCL and Telenor agreed on marketing PTCL with a 100% stake in Telenor Pakistan based on an enterprise value of 108 billion PKR on a cash-free and debt-free basis.
Telenor has taken this action as a market strategy, to exit the Asian Market where operators have been lagging. Also, Telenor group CEO, Sigve Brekke recently said, “Our decision to pursue the sale of our Pakistan operations follows 18 successful years in the country. We are proud of the company Telenor Pakistan is today. By selling to the country’s largest integrated ICT company, we believe this consolidation move would help in strengthening Pakistan’s telecom sector.”
According to Telenor, it will continue business as usual and focus on delivering services to its 45 million customers.
According to the President and Group CEO of PTCL and PTML, Hatem Bamatraf, “We are confident that the strategic synergies created by combining forces with Telenor Pakistan will result in enhanced value for our customers and stakeholders as they are the ultimate beneficiaries of this transaction.”
Conclusion
This agreement is signed to bring both the groups, PTCL and Telenor together and to enhance the growth and expansion of PTCL in Pakistan. So, this synergy between Telenor and PTCL is to make the PTCL group more impactful and as already mentioned a beneficial step for Telenor also to prevent further losses.
FAQ’s
- What are some other mobile service networks in Pakistan?
Jazz, Zong, etc.
- Is Ufone owned by PTCL?
Yes.
- Why is PTCL privatized?
To curtail the financial burden on the Federal government and to bring investment and profits only to the country.
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