KARACHI, Sept 7: The pre-takeover conferences between the government and Etisalat of the UAE that won the 26 per cent strategic stake in Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), has almost reached completion, a senior PTCL official told Dawn on Tuesday.

There was no iron clad deadline for takeover by Etisalat and if everything falls to place, the handing over-taking over could be even as early as September 16, said the official, when it was pointed out to him that the takeover date by Etisalat, mentioned by some quarters as Sept 18, falls on a Sunday (non-working day).

“The important thing is that there is no hitch or hindrance in the smooth execution of the transaction,” said the official and added that all issues had been discussed and exchange of documents had been completed.

In the bidding for 26 per cent strategic sales in the PTCL held on June 18, 2005, the Dubai-based Etisalat (Emirates Telecommunications Corporation) had made surprisingly high bid of Rs117.01 per share, all of which translated into total price of Rs155.158 billion ($2.59 billion).

Runner up China Mobile, was way behind with an offer of Rs63.48 per share. But Etisalat had already indicated that it expected the $2.59 billion investment would pay off within five years. “The new management after taking over the charge is likely to execute short and long-term expansion plans. PTCL’s capacity which was four million lines, previously, would be expanded to five million this year and to seven million in 2006,” a UAE newspaper Kahleej Times mentioned, quoting unimpeachable sources in the telecom. An analyst at a local brokerage firm commented that all eyes were on PTCL handing over because when completed, the PTCL sell off would be the biggest privatisation transaction in the history of the country.