Telcos merger nears settlement
Listen to article
The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) is expected to grant approval to the merger of Telenor Pakistan with Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) if its settlement option is accepted, which comes following intervention from the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC).
PTCL's merger application has been pending for the past almost one year as its management has yet to provide relevant documents to address scores of queries.
A CCP letter sent to PTCL lawyer Rahat Kaunain Hassan in the case refers to Section 11(11) of the Competition Act 2010, offering a new settlement option to the company.
PTCL sources revealed that the option provided by the CCP included an investment of around $1 billion by the UAE-based telecom company e& (erstwhile Etisalat) that holds management control of PTCL.
According to sources, the CCP has sought timelines and details of areas where PTCL will make the proposed investment.
Clause 11 of Section 11, quoted in the CCP letter, states that in case the commission determines that the merger transaction under review does not qualify for the specified criteria, the commission may prohibit the consummation of the transaction.
The law further states that the CCP can approve such transaction subject to conditions laid by the commission in its order and also approve such transaction on the condition that the said undertakings enter into legally enforceable agreements specified by the commission in its order.
Sources in the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication said that the Competition Commission's decision on PTCL's merger application had been pending for almost a year as company management had yet to provide relevant documents to respond to several queries.
A senior IT ministry official also pointed out that the issue of outstanding payments of $800 million had also remained unresolved. Though a settlement was reached between the previous government and the PTCL management for releasing $640 million, the company has not even provided that amount.
The new option of $1 billion worth of investment has been given following intervention of the SIFC, which was approached by the PTCL management.
Meanwhile, PTCL is also facing notices from the telecom regulator, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), for being a significant market player in several sections of the telecom industry.
During the second phase of the review of merger application, the Competition Commission sought details related to market position of PTCL from the PTA to determine that the intended merger would not reduce competition or strengthen the dominant position of the parties concerned.
Documents submitted by the PTA to the CCP showed that instead of addressing the objections made by the telecom regulator, the PTCL management challenged notices in Sindh High Court.
PTCL had submitted its application for the merger of Telenor Pakistan to the Competition Commission on February 29, 2024, but there were flaws in the application that was corrected on March 6, 2024.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
16 hours ago
- Business Recorder
London copper prices ease, US-China talks in focus
SINGAPORE: London copper prices slid on Tuesday, with the market closely watching the progress made in the ongoing trade talks between the world's two largest economies in London for a price direction. The three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange shed 0.6% to $9,738 per metric ton by 0703 GMT, while the most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange gained 0.3% to 78,880 yuan a ton ($10,975.22). The US-China trade talks are set to run into a second day on Tuesday, as Washington and Beijing aim to ease a bitter dispute that has widened from tariffs to rare earth curbs, threatening a global supply chain shock and economic slowdown. 'The Trump administration is prepared to remove a recent spate of measures targeting ship design software, jet engine parts, chemicals and nuclear materials. The apparent cooling of trade brinkmanship sparked optimism across markets. This helped offset concerns that the trade war is taking a heavy toll on economic activity,' ANZ said. Copper stocks in LME-registered warehouses fell 10,000 tons on Monday to 122,400 tons, suggesting that the shipment to the US has been continuing amid the potential threat of US tariffs on copper imports. Among other LME metals, nickel ceded 0.1% to $15,400, aluminium eased 0.2% to $2,473 a metric ton, zinc slipped 0.3% to $2,642.5, and tin edged down 0.8% to $32,450, while lead gained 0.3% to $1,993. Copper rallies to one-month peak on signs of improving demand Among SHFE metals, zinc softened for a third trading day, losing 1.3% to 21,845 yuan a ton, the lowest since late April. 'China's domestic demand has shown signs of weakening recently, and buyers have been procuring to meet their immediate needs at lower prices possible,' Shanghai-based commodity market research house SHMET said. SHFE nickel fell 1.1% to 121,390 yuan, aluminum fell 0.1% to 19,980 yuan, while lead gained 0.9% to 16,880 yuan and tin was up 0.2% at 263,420 yuan.
Business Recorder
17 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Malaysia's palm oil stocks hit 8-month high in May as output jumps
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's palm oil stocks jumped to their highest level in eight months in May as a surge in production and imports countered exports, which rose to their highest in six months, data from the industry regulator showed on Tuesday. Palm oil stocks rose 6.65% month-on-month in May, the third consecutive monthly increase, to 1.99 million metric tons, the highest since September 2024, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) said. Crude palm oil production climbed 5.05% in May, also the third straight monthly rise, to 1.77 million tons, while palm oil exports surged 25.6% to 1.39 million tons, the highest since November last year, the MPOB said. Imports rose to 68,971 tons last month from 58,292 tons in April, the data showed. A Reuters survey had estimated inventories at 2.01 million tons, with output at 1.74 million tons and exports at 1.3 million tons. The MPOB report is slightly bullish for palm oil, as the market was already trading with the expectation of stocks rising to 2 million tons, said Anilkumar Bagani, research head of Mumbai-based vegetable oil broker Sunvin Group. Palm rises on stronger Dalian rivals but weak Chicago soyoil limits gains 'Unless production rises with greater force in (the) coming months, we expect demand, particularly from top buyer India, to support the market.' Earlier this month, India halved the basic import tax on crude palm oil to 10% to bring down food prices and help the local refining industry. Palm oil has been trading at a discount to rival soyoil for the last few weeks and has started to lure buyers during the peak production season, said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trade house.
Business Recorder
19 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Mild bearish bias for Indian rupee on dollar strength; US-China talks eyed
MUMBAI: The Indian rupee will likely see slight pressure on Tuesday in the wake of a mostly firm US dollar, while the market focuses on the outcome of the US-China trade talks. The one-month non-deliverable forward indicated an open in the 85.63-85.66 range versus 85.62 in the previous session. The dollar index was up 0.24% on the day, while the majority of the Asian currencies were slightly weaker. 'There's not much happening in Asia and the rupee anyway is essentially stuck in a narrow band,' said a currency trader at a Mumbai-based bank. 'It'll likely be a session with a 20-paisa range at most,' he said, adding that the bias, if any, leans modestly to the downside for the rupee. The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) larger-than-expected 50-basis-points interest rate cut on Friday has had little impact on the rupee so far, the trader pointed out. The currency is marginally higher than it was before the RBI's outsized cut. The market's attention is firmly fixed on updates from London, where the US and Chinese officials are holding trade talks that are aimed at easing trade tensions between the world's two largest economies. Indian rupee back on the ropes after US yields spike post jobs data On Monday, US President Donald Trump struck an optimistic tone, saying his administration was doing well and that he had received 'good reports' on the progress of the discussions. The meeting between the officials of the two countries is set to extend to a second day on Tuesday, with analysts noting that while headline risks around US trade policy have diminished, significant concerns still persist. The uncertainty remains elevated on US trade policy amid concerns about the timeline of any bilateral trade deals and the legality of tariffs following the US Court of International Trade ruling that declared most tariffs illegal, ANZ Bank said.
