PTCL and the Privatization Roller-coaster.
Pakistan finally conducted the bidding for a controlling stake in PTCL, the Pakistan Tele-Communications Limited company. The winner was Etisalat, an Emirates-based telecom firm, who offered 2.5 billion dollars for 26% of PTCL and management control. The Pakistani government retains ownership of 66% of the shares of PTCL and the rest are publicly traded.
PTCL is the major phone company in Pakistan. It operates about 4.4 million fixed lines and has a cellular arm that has a significant share of the cell phone market. Up till about 4 years ago, it had a monopoly on all phone services, but the telephone industry has been gradually deregulated. Privatizing PTCL has been a goal of Shaukat Aziz since he first became Finance Minister in 1999, and with the recent bidding he has finally reached this historic point. Read More.