KARACHI (Web Desk) - The Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) on Thursday denied media reports suggesting United Arab Emirates (UAE) telecom giant Etisalat was considering exiting the Pakistani market, saying there had been “no discussion” on such a move.
The clarification came after a media report said that Etisalat was in the early stages of reviewing its exposure to the country’s telecom sector. The review was said to be part of a broader portfolio optimization exercise that could potentially result in its exit from Pakistan.
Etisalat International Pakistan took over management control of PTCL in Apr. 2006 as part of a $2.6 billion agreement to acquire a 26 percent stake in the company.
“We are going to issue a statement on this. There is no such thing,” PTCL Chief Executive Officer Hatem Bamatraf said during a webinar, in response to a question about Etisalat mulling an exit from the country.
He said it was a question for the shareholders, not for PTCL, but said it was clear to him there was no such conversation happening at Etisalat, which he said was PTCL’s managing entity.
“In fact, we are in close coordination about the strategy, the budget, the business plan, the performance of the company, etc,” he continued.
“We are not seeing any change of behavior or there was no such kind of discussion about these things.”