The Pakistani government estimates UAE operator Etisalat owes it US$704m in relation to its 2005 agreement to acquire a 26% stake in Pakistan Telecommunication (PTCL).
In 2005, an Etisalat-led consortium agreed to pay US$2.6bn for the PTCL holding….
The Pakistani government estimates UAE operator Etisalat owes it US$704m in relation to its 2005 agreement to acquire a 26% stake in Pakistan Telecommunication (PTCL).
In 2005, an Etisalat-led consortium agreed to pay US$2.6bn for the PTCL holding. However, the Abu Dhabi-based telco paid only US$1.8bn of the sale price, refusing to repay the remaining US$800m until 3,500 properties promised to PTCL by the government under the deal were transferred.
As of today, all but 34 of the properties, which have been valued at US$94m, have been handed over, Azeem Qadir Haye, a financial consultant to Pakistan’s Privatisation Commission told TelecomFinance.
As ownership issues stand in the way of the remaining properties being transferred, their value will be deducted from the US$800m owed, he said.
Both the government and Etisalat have hired independent financial advisers to assess the total value of the properties and the higher estimate will be used to calculate the final settlement, he explained.
Pakistan’s estimated valuation of US$94m has been shared with HSBC, which holds an escrow count for the disputed properties, Haye noted.
Etisalat, which has not yet submitted a valuation to the bank, was not immediately available for comment.
If its valuation is considerably higher, the government could seek arbitration on the matter, Haye said. While some sort of political solution could also be an option, Haye said there is no indication at present that this will occur.
Haye said he is confident that the long-running dispute can be resolved in the near future.
