Kuwait: Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunications (MTC), the third-largest Arab telecoms firm, said yesterday it was considering bidding for Pakistan's Paktel, a unit of Millicom.
Luxembourg-based emerging markets operator Millicom said last month it expected to end its 16-year presence in Pakistan next year due to tough market conditions.
Paktel is the country's fifth-largest mobile phone operator and had about 1.5 million subscribers on September 30.
"MTC announces that it has expressed initial interest to submit a bid to buy Paktel..." the bourse said on its website.
MTC has taken a $1.2 billion Islamic loan to help fund its expansion and to refinance another $750 million credit facility that complies with Islam's ban on lending on interest.
A Paktel acquisition would make MTC, which has operations in 20 countries in the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa, the latest Gulf Arab company to invest in Pakistan, the world's sixth most populous country.
In September Pakistan gave Dubai-based Emaar Properties approval to build a $43 billion city near Karachi. Abu-Dhabi-based etisalat owns a 26 per cent stake in Pakistan Telecommunications.
Market conditions
Announcing its pullout, Millicom said it decided against making significant investments in Pakistan because of tough market conditions.
Pakistani authorities had refused to delay payment of a $29 million licence instalment and had not given Paktel permanent access to part of the frequency spectrum, Millicom said.
Like etisalat, MTC is expanding outside it saturated domestic market. The Kuwaiti telecom firm bought Netherlands-based Celtel last year.
MTC's shares rose 3.16 per cent to 3.260 dinars on yesterday as the benchmark index posted its sharpest one-day gain in almost nine months.
