ISLAMABAD ( MEDIA REPORT )
A Senate committee on Wednesday asked the government for the sale deeds signed with the UAE-based company Etisalat to privatise the state-owned Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited.
“We want to study both the 2005 and 2008 (sale) agreements to pin point errors and give recommendations against individuals who made those errors,” said Chairman of the Senate Committee on Information Technology, Senator Shahi Syed of ANP. Loopholes in the agreements caused the country significant losses, according to him.
His remarks came at a meeting of the committee where members demanded update on $800 million still not paid by Etisalat which acquired 26pc controlling shares of the giant PTCL in 2005.
Etisalat was the highest bidder, far above the reference price of Rs62 per share. By 2006, it had paid upfront $1.4 billion against its total bid amount. However, it has paid only $400 million against the remaining balance of $1.2 billion, which was to be paid in nine biannual installments starting from September, 2006, and ending in September, 2010.
Chairman Privatization Commission Muhammad Zubair told the committee that under the agreement, payment of the balance $1.2 billion was subject to transfer of clean and clear titles of 100pc properties of PTCL by January 2008.
According to him, out of 3,248 properties 3,212 had been transferred. Since June 2013, another 98 properties have been transferred in the name of PTCL.
The Senate committee learnt that Etisalat and the government of Pakistan had reached an understanding that the remaining 33 properties could not be transferred. These properties will be evaluated and their amounts will be deducted from the outstanding $800 million.
Published in Dawn, April 7th, 2016