ISLAMABAD, Aug 29: Telecom Malaysia has launched its operations in Pakistan with an initial investment of about $100 million to provide backbone infrastructure to mobile and internet services and use it as a base to enter markets in the Central Asia and South Asia.

Datuk Nur Jazlan Bin Mohamed, chairman of Multinet Pakistan, a subsidiary of Telecom Malaysia, told Dawn on Monday that business environment in Pakistan was very conducive and hence his company would provide its services to all the major cities in Pakistan. Telecom Malaysia Berhad is the second largest listed company at Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange, he said.

Mr Jazlan, who is also a member of the Malaysian Parliament and secretary of Foreign Affairs Committee Backbenchers Club, said that his company wanted to take advantage of good political and economic relations between Pakistan and Malaysia.

He said Pakistan has a very good strategic and geographic location that would give Telecom Malaysia a strong footing to enter central Asian and South Asian markets.

Mr Jazlan said his company has already started its operations in Karachi, it would launch business in Islamabad on Tuesday and then move on to other major cities like Lahore and Faisalabad.

He said basically Multinet would provide a pipeline facility to the big customers of mobile and broadband internet sector. Mr Jazlan, who is in Pakistan along with the whole board of directors of the company, said Telecom Malaysia had recently purchased Multinet Pakistan which was earlier an internet service provider (ISP).

He said the company planned to invest more in the country as the market grew further and added that Telecom Malaysia was interested in purchasing strategic stake in PTCL but later preferred to take over Multinet Pakistan as it suited its business plans.

Responding to a question the Malaysian parliamentarian said it was a very good indication that overseas Pakistanis were bringing back their money from abroad which was a good signal for foreign investors to confidently invest here.

He said Telecom Malaysia had an asset value of about $8 billion, market capitalization of $8-9 billion, annual sales hovering around $4 billion and profit reaching $500 million per annum.

With these results, the company would be a great contributor to Pakistan’s growing telecom industry while Pakistan would help the company in becoming a major player in the South Asia and South East Asia besides central Asian states.