March 21, 2006	Tuesday	Safar 20, 1427

ISLAMABAD, March 20: The UAE-based Etisalat, which purchased 26 per cent shares of Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), is further interested in buying the remaining shares of the company.

Informed sources told Dawn that a visiting Etisalat team on Monday held talks with the government and PTCL officials and was assured that they would be given “first right of refusal” to opt for more shares. In return, Etisalat assured that there would be no “forced retrenchment” in the company as was largely feared.

Members of the Etisalat team said that they would look for introducing a ‘voluntary separation scheme’ for PTCL employees. They expressed the hope that they would succeed in extending a better package to those employees who were willing to quit voluntarily.

Under the agreement reached on March 12, Etisalat will pay $1.4 billion to the government during the next four week’s time and will take over the management control of PTCL. The remaining amount of $1.4 billion will be paid to the government in nine equal six monthly instalments.

The team was told that currently certain legal process was being completed to formally hand over the management of PTCL to Etisalat by April this year.

However, the sources said that Etisalat wanted the government not to issue new telcom licence to any local or international company. “The government may issue licences for introducing third generation telecom services in future,” a source said.

At present the second generation telecom technology was being used by different mobile companies. “We have to provide new technologies to the consumers in the next three to four years period.”

Currently, PTCL was in the process of completing projects worth over Rs25 billion with a view to offering maximum facilities to the consumers. “But we are hoping that Etisalat will make new investment in PTCL,” the source said, adding that the UAE-based company needed to improve various services of the company.

The new company, the sources said, had shown interest in investing in customer services, marketing and new technologies.

The government was also assured that good and efficient employees would be retained by the new buyer and in some cases new people would also be inducted in PTCL. At present 65,000 people are working in PTCL.