Mr. Saleem H. Mandviwalla, Minister of State / Chairman, Board of Investment (BOI) held a detailed and interactive session with a 5 member delegation of Telenor Group which was headed by Mr. Harald Norvik, Chairman Telenor Group. Senior management of Telenor including Mr. Sigve Brekke, Head of Asia, Telenor Group, Mr. Jon Eddy Abdullah, CEO Telenor Pakistan and Mr. Aamir Ibrahim, Vice President, Strategy and Corporate Affairs Division, Telenor Pakistan.

Mr. Mandviwalla noted that Telenor is now a flagship company of Pakistan which has captured a sizable market share within a very short period of time through their operations in the country, and lauded Telenor Group for recognizing the potential in the cellular market of Pakistan and investing a significant amount of US$ 2 billion in this sector. The delegation called on Chairman BOI to discuss various issues regarding the current tax rate situation in Pakistan.

Telenor Group argued that the current GST for telecom companies is higher than any other sector amounting to 19.5% and an introduction of value added tax (VAT) in this sector would reduce this rate and help telecom companies in the country to focus in other areas of investment.

Mr. Ibrahim mentioned that currently telecom sectors contribute approximately Rs. 120 billion in advance tax and GST to the Government of Pakistan. He also stated that just recently the Cabinet resolved the Access Promotion Contribution (APC) issue and have allowed a 2-2.5 cent APC which is still less than 5 cents which is provided to PTCL even though most access has been given by cellular companies in the country. Most people do not even have a landline to their name and are solely dependent on their cellular phones.

Mr. Abdullah noted that the decision on APC will allow Telenor to reinvest and help them to focus on expansion in untapped areas and municipalities in Pakistan. He further mentioned that currently only 30-40% of areas are covered in Pakistan and currently 60-70% population is a subscribed with a cellular network. Therefore there is a tremendous opportunity to introduce cellular services in remote areas of Pakistan. The noted that Balochistan proposes a tremendous opportunity, if the Government can provide adequate facilities and security to telecom companies in the province. Mr. Bekke noted that the only way the telecom industry will achieve further growth is if telecom companies and the Government work in tandem.

The notion that the telecom sector is stagnant was negated by CEO Pakistan, and he stated that there is still room for expansion in Pakistan and Telenor sees a growth potential of 15-20 million customers to its existing customer base of 95 million. Mr. Abdullah also noted that since their establishment in Pakistan, Telenor has not repatriated a single dollar as they believe in a long term investment perspective and have reinvested all their earnings back in to Telenor Pakistan. He praised the working of the Universal Service Fund (USF) and how it has helped to streamline bidding processes for broadband, fiber and GSM contracts for under served and un-served areas of Pakistan.

In the end Mr. Norvick appreciated the Board of Investment’s guidance and assistance during their set up and throughout their tenure in Pakistan. He stated that the meeting and productive discussion at the Board of Investment has provided him with an increased understanding about the investment climate in Pakistan and some of the challenges such as inflation, energy shortages and specifically taxation regime. He reiterated Telenor Group’s strong commitment to Pakistan and in the development of the Pakistani telecommunications industry for the good of the Pakistani people. He also stated that he was impressed with the results that Telenor Pakistan has delivered and is also one of the best performing companies within Telenor Group itself. Mr. Norvick stated that this was due to the presence of a dedicated management and a skilled workforce that has made their Pakistani operation world class.

Mr. Saleem H. Mandviwalla assured the Telenor Group that they will voice their concerns of taxation with the concerned authorities and facilitate and assist them in every possible way. He praised Telenor’s commitment in Pakistan and appreciated their expansion plans in the country.

In a press release, PTCL authorities strongly condemned the report and termed it completely baseless and fabricated.“The story contains unsubstantiated material and has been reported without investigating proper facts and does not establish that it was PTCL line through which the call was made,” the PTCL said.

The release reads: “For clarification it may be added that PTCL provides its telecom services to only fixed line numbers therefore if any fixed line number is used it may be shared with PTCL before leveling any fake accusations. While publishing such strong accusation against a public service organization, PTCL has not even been contacted for their version which goes against the ethics of journalism observed globally.

“As per the policy, PTCL cannot record the conversation of any customer and to ensure this, PTCL exchanges have not been equipped with the capability of recording any conversation, thus the claim made in the story becomes utterly baseless.”

PTCL takes pride in being a well-reputed and responsible organization with its rules and policies being strongly intact and observed with the aim of serving its customers in the most effective manner while protecting their privacy. It may be noted that PTCL reserves the right to take legal action in this regard if required,” the press release concluded.

Tameer Bank with just 31 on-line branches and 35 on-line sales & service centers across Sindh and Punjab  after joining hands with Telenor for Easypaisa is now eying another cellular giant, PTCL.

According to Propakistani, the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) and Tameer Microfinance Bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for online connectivity of all Tameer Bank’s outlets.

PTCL SEVP Business Zone South, Abdulla Yousef said Tameer Microfinance Bank is a valuable addition to PTCL’s portfolio of its customers. This project will serve as another milestone in PTCL’s perpetual pursuit for providing its customers with the best solutions based on the latest available technology in the market with unmatched services.

But I personally believe that Tameer Bank need PTCL more than PTCL need them. This small bank is merging with companies, which are much bigger in size and revenues, and building its customer base. I talked with Mr. Bilal Siddqui, our editor in karachi, and according to his analysis and communication with industry, Tameer is a potential competition for huge banks.

“We rarely see any new successful products in current economic scenarion and while Banking Giants are complaining, Tameer Bank is slowly making its way out”, added by Bilal.

Is it possible that the strategies employed by Tameer Bank could help them is having a huge bite of market share? We will cover on Tameer Bank more in future with tips from Stock market experts about its future and investment potential.

According to Propakistnai, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTCL) announced its financial results for the 3rd quarter ended on 31st March, 2010 in their meeting of the Board of Directors held on 29th April 2010.

The Company has announced a Net Profit of Rs. 2.51 billion compared to Rs. 1.91 billion recorded in the 3rd Quarter last year, i.e. 31% growth compared to same period last year. On consolidated period for 3 quarters (9 months) from 1st July 2009 – 31st March 2010 the net profit is Rs.7.86 billion compared to Rs. 7.22 billion for the same period last year.

PTCL success can be evaluated from the fact that its broadband Pakistan has become the largest broad band service in the country covering over 1000 cities countrywide with 80% market share.

The company gave a loan of 5 billion rupees to Ufone, its mobile phone subsidiary, on which Pakistan Telecom earned interest, boosting profit. Pakistan Telecom also gained 670 million rupees in the form of dividends paid by Ufone, reported Bloomberg.

The board of Privatization Commission on Friday gave a go ahead to initiate the process for privatisation of Jamshoro Power Company (JPC), the Heavy Electrical Complex (HEC) and SME Bank.

Chairing the meeting Minister for Privatisation Senator Waqar Ahmed emphasised that during the process the commission should seek approvals at a broader forum for all transactions in order to maintain the utmost transparency.

To assess the real value of the entities on the privatisation list, a third party valuation should be carried out and all phases of the process should be conducted in an open, fair and transparent manner to the satisfaction of all stakeholders, he said.

The meeting was informed that the World Bank has shown interest to finance and rehabilitate the technical potential of the JPC before taking it to the market as it was done in the Kapco transaction.

The Heavy Electrical Complex is one of the industrial units of the State Engineering Corporation (SEC) engaged in the manufacturing of power transformers of different types with primary voltage rating of 66KV and 132KV.

The JPC came into being as a result of the unbundling of Wapda and its power station and has a technical configuration of four sets and a total nameplate capacity of 880MW.

The government intends to lease the thermal power stations of JPC at Jamshoro and Kotri to investors, companies or a consortia having net worth $100 million, and desired experience in power generation for concession on lease basis and assets for a period of 15 years.

The SME Bank was formed and incorporated as a public limited company under the Companies Ordinance 1984. The government is the major shareholder of the bank.

It was created to address the needs of this niche market with specialised financial products and services that will help stimulate SME development and pro-poor growth in the country.

The PC board sought a presentation from the ministry of finance regarding the utilisation of the privatisation proceeds. The board also reviewed the status of the National Power Construction Company (NPCC) and decided for the revaluation of the entity.

The meeting was also informed that most recently 99 more properties in Punjab have been transferred to PTCL and Etisalat is being approached to de-list the private properties and those under litigation as to close the transaction.

The meeting also reviewed the progress made on the Benazir Employees Stock Option scheme and decided to speed up the distribution of certificates in the remaining entities.

So far, under the scheme more than 40,000 workers of eight entities have received 12 per cent government shares certificates.

Source: DAWN

Let us see if we can see such offers from other accountancy bodies like IMAP, PIPFA, ACCA  or CIMA. But for those who already have a connection, when asked, responded with enthusiasm and with the intention that they will disconnect the current connection and renew it using this offer!

This offer is valid up to September 15th, 2010. For further details, please follow the link:

PTCL offer for ICAP

He expressed these views while talking to newsmen at the project launching ceremony titled “Online Connectivity Services for Network Expansion” organised by NBP in collaboration with PTCL at a local hotel here on Saturday.

Speaking on the occasion, he said the use of electronic and alternate delivery channels in financial transaction is getting much attention by the customers for their retail payments because of the said system’s smooth functioning and privacy.

He further said the entering of telecom companies in the banking industry shows the changing dynamics of both the sectors in current financial system. Banks and other financial institutions are much relying on paperless and branchless banking (Green Economy), and at the same time, telecom companies are seeking for mobile commerce to enhance their customer base and to increase market share in the telecom sector.

“IT and Telecom companies are providing infrastructural support to the electronic banking system”, said Ali Raza President National Bank of Pakistan.
“The bank is a market leader in the financial industry but I hope by applying such solutions it would soon become the technology leader in the field of retail and commercial banking”, he said and added that the Bank is in the process of implementing one of the most advanced state-of-the-art core banking IT systems in the world. In addition, we are working on the 24 other projects related to e-banking with the consultation of our partners as subsequent of core banking IT system.

NBP President also said: “We have initiated this project in collaboration with Pakistan Telecommunication Limited. It will be implemented within six to eight months through out the NBP’s nationwide branches. It will also integrate NBP’s banking services with the overseas branches, operating in 24 different countries across the different regions”.

Source: Nation

We Recommend:

Polish President Killed

Mobile Companies want to end SMS Packages