LAHORE, May 17: The bidding for the privatization of state-owned Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) will take place on June 10 as scheduled. Speaking to reporters at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) World Telecom Day on Tuesday, State Minister for IT and Telecommunication Mohammad Asjad Malhi said the government was not considering any proposal to delay the process of privatization of PTCL. “There is no change in the bidding plan and it would be held as per schedule,” he said.

Privatization Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh had said a few days back that the bidding process could be delayed to June 30. The conference was organized by a cellular phone company which formally launched its service before the conference.

Mr Malhi said the Cabinet Committee on Privatization postponed its meeting scheduled for considering the PTCL reference price on Tuesday (yesterday) due to the World Telecom Day. However, he refused to indicate the possible reference price (for the PTCL shares) in reply to a question.