Dubai: The Pakistani government said on Friday that progress is being made on the $800 million (Dh2.9 billion) outstanding from etisalat relating to its purchase of a 26 per cent stake in Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation Limited (PTCL).
The UAE-based telecom operator purchased a stake in the Pakistani firm in 2005 for $2.6 billion and etisalat paid $1.8 billion as per the deal terms, which also included transferring ownership of properties to PTCL from the government. The rest is expected to be paid only after a dispute over the properties is resolved.
Parliamentary Secretary for Finance Rana Mohammad Afzal Khan told the National Assembly during a question-and-answer session that progress is being made and talks are continuing to resolve the prolonged dispute.
He said the government had to handover some shares from the PTCL property to etisalat but there is a dispute over some of the assets. The government said it is making an effort to settle the issue.
Etisalat had said last year that it wants its affiliate, PTCL, to receive full ownership of the properties it is due.
According to Privatisation Commission Chairman Mohammad Zubair in a testimony to the Public Accounts Committee, the value of the 34 properties in question comes to around $92.4 million.
Etisalat was not available for comments at the time of publication.
