The Pakistani government is hoping to raise around US$2bn from its long-delayed auction of 3G licences, now set to be held by March 2014.
A notice on the finance ministry website stated that finance minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar discussed the auction with…
The Pakistani government is hoping to raise around US$2bn from its long-delayed auction of 3G licences, now set to be held by March 2014.
A notice on the finance ministry website stated that finance minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar discussed the auction with a delegation of senior officials from Norwegian mobile operator Telenor.
Dar said although the state expects to raise around US$2bn from the auction of three spectrum licences, it will use a conservative figure of US$1.2bn for budgetary purposes.
Dar was also quoted saying that the telecoms sector has demonstrated a lot of interest in the planned auction, and that the process would be “smooth and transparent”.
Telenor CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas said his mobile subsidiary in the country was looking to take part in the process.
Pakistan had originally aimed to hold the 3G auction as far back as 2007 but various regulatory hurdles delayed the process.
In November last year, the regulator gave an update on the process by announcing that Value Partners Management Consulting had been selected to provide consultancy services for the auction.
Telenor Pakistan is 100% owned by its Norwegian parent and claims to have over 30 million subscribers. It competes against VimpelCom’s Mobilink, Etisalat’s Ufone, China Mobile’s Zong and Warid, which are reported to have also expressed interest in the 3G licences.
