Pakistan says will review UAE telecom giant’s deal next month

This undated file photo shows Etisalat business center in Dubai. (Etisalat/Handout via Reuters)

• Etisalat owes money as part of investment in PTCL but has withheld payment due to a property dispute
• In 2018, Pakistan hinted it would take the issue to the international court of arbitration to recover the dues from 

KARACHI: As Pakistan’s long dispute with Abu Dhabi-listed telecom giant Etisalat over a pending $800 million bill remains unresolved, its privatization agreement concerning Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) will be reviewed next month, a minister told Arab News.
“The review will be done next month. We will sit and find a resolution in any case and first priority will be given to the government of Pakistan ... Pakistan’s interests will be taken care of,” Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Syed Amin ul Haque said on Wednesday.
He added that “the government of Pakistan is incurring huge losses” because of the deal.
An Etisalat consortium bought a 26-percent stake in PTCL for $2.6 billion in 2005 that gave Etisalat majority voting rights and management control. The UAE company paid an initial $1.80 billion, which also included transferring ownership of the properties to PTCL from the government. It was due to pay the remaining $800 million in six twice-yearly installments of $133 million.
Etisalat has been withholding the payment on the grounds that Pakistan has failed to mutate some of the 3,400 properties destined for PTCL as per the deal terms. The disputed properties turned out to be nontransferable due to ownership complications.
The Pakistani government informed Etisalat in January 2015 about the transfer of 3,214 properties, expecting that the company would pay the remaining amount after deducting the value of the nontransferable assets.
“Some 15 days back I called Etisalat people in an inter-ministerial meeting which was attended by the ministers of law and privatization,” Haque said, “We had called Etisalat chairman and other people, and it was decided that we will review it (the deal).”
Following attempts at resolution by the prime minister’s special adviser on finance, Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Etisalat earlier this year said it would cut around $500 million from the remaining payment.
“They have sent a proposal of framework of settlement. There are many things including valuation and non-binding offer. We are considering and would be responding in few days and after that negotiations would be held,” Privatization Secretary Rizwan Malik told Arab News in January.
In 2018, Pakistan’s privatization ministry even hinted it would take the issue to the international court of arbitration to recover the dues from Etisalat.