12 May 2004	Wednesday	21 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425

KARACHI, May 11: National Bank and United Bank have arranged a Rs1 billion financing facility for Paktel Ltd. The three sides signed documents of this financing facility at a ceremony held at NBP head office here on Tuesday.

NBP President Syed Ali Raza and Chief Executive Officer of Paktel Mr Xavier Rocoplan were present on the occasion. UBL was represented by Mr Mansoor Khan and Mr Kashif Shah who head corporate banking and investment banking departments of their bank.

The NBP-UBL financing for Paktel is the second leg of GSM roll -out financing for Paktel, says a press release. This along with other financing facilities would enable the company to import equipment and software required to implement GSM (global system for mobile communication) network.

The latest financing facility completes the second phase of the total envisaged investment of $150 million (Rs8.6bn). By introducing GSM technology Paktel will be well-positioned to capitalize on the future growth in cellular sector in Pakistan.

Upon completion of the roll-out plan of GSM Paktel will have a capacity of two million connections covering at least 150 cities. It will offer international roaming facility in more than 100 countries. The commercial launch of Paktel GSM facilities is expected soon.