ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the UAE-based telecom company, Etisalat, on Thursday, agreed to proceed ahead for resolution of all outstanding issues and have evaluation of remaining properties completed soon, which are required for the resolution of the long-outstanding payment of $800 million on account of the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) privatisation.
Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin held a meeting with Hatem Dowidar, Group CEO Etisalat International at the Finance Division here on Thursday.
Federal Minister for Privatization Muhamma-dmian Soomro, Chairman Privatization Commission, Secretary Finance, and other senior officers participated in the meeting.
The finance minister underscored the significance of resolving outstanding issues between Etisalat and the Privatization Commission and moving ahead for a sustainable solution. He emphasized on fair evaluation of properties at the earliest.
The finance minister also highlighted prospects of foreign investment in Pakistan especially in IT and Telecom sector, which is growing rapidly. The government is providing a conducive environment and incentives to attract foreign investment, he added.
Hatem Dowidar, CEO Etisalat reaffirmed to have the evaluation of properties completed soon and expressed readiness to further invest in IT and Telecom sector in Pakistan.
Both sides agreed to proceed ahead for resolution of all outstanding issues between Etisalat and the Privatization Commission in a spirit of goodwill.
The finance minister said that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is one of the major economic partners of Pakistan. "Pakistan attaches great value to the brotherly relations with the UAE and intends to further strengthen business and trade linkages between the two countries," he added.
The payment has remained stalled due to the non-transference by the government of 33 properties to the PTCL; whereas, the government had provided the UAE telecom company the list of all 3,248 properties.
The properties that could not be transferred to Etisalat were either partially owned, rented out by provinces but occupied by the federal government, or were not owned by the company in the first place.
Officials said the government has already evaluated the market price of the remaining 33 properties, which could not be transferred to the PTCL and informed Etisalat. According to the agreement, in case of non-transferable properties, both the sides would independently evaluate its prices and the highest would be adjusted.
According to Pakistan’s side, the remaining properties have a value of $87 million as made by independent valuers, which was also shared with Etisalat and the escrow agent. However, Etisalat shared its findings with the escrow agent but not with the government of Pakistan, the official added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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