Govt, Etisalat agree to settle dispute, evaluate properties

The government of Pakistan and Etisalat International on Thursday agreed to make an evaluation of properties and to settle their dispute.

Finance and Revenue Federal Minister Shaukat Tarin, held a meeting with Etisalat International Group CEO Hatem Dowidar at the Finance Division.

The finance minister underscored the significance of resolving outstanding issues between Etisalat and the Privatization Commission and moving ahead for a sustainable solution. He emphasized on fair evaluation of properties at the earliest.

The finance minister also highlighted prospects of foreign investment in Pakistan especially in the IT and Telecom sector which is growing rapidly.

The government is providing a conducive environment and incentives to attract foreign investment, he added.

Etisalat CEO Hatem Dowidar reaffirmed to have evaluation of properties completed soon and expressed readiness to further invest in the IT and Telecom sector in Pakistan.

Both sides agreed to proceed ahead for resolution of all outstanding issues between Etisalat and the Privatization Commission in a spirit of goodwill.

In his concluding remarks, the finance minister said that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is one of the major economic partners of Pakistan. Pakistan gives great value to the brotherly relations with the UAE and intends to further strengthen business and trade linkages between the two countries, he added.

Earlier, it was reported that the PTCL’s asset management department had mentioned 3,384 properties while originally owned only 3248 properties in the privatization agreement finalized in 2006.

Etisalat had made upfront payments of $1.4 billion in a couple of installments but then stopped the remaining amount of $800 million on the premise of non-transfer of all properties in the name of PTCL.

According to Etisalat, the number of non-doable properties was not 33 but 363 based on the list provided by the asset management department of PTCL as part of the sale-purchase agreement.

The properties could not be transferred in the name of PTCL because they were either partially-owned, rented out, owned by provinces but occupied by the federal government or were not owned by PTCL in the first place.

The government sold 26 per cent stakes of PTCL to Etisalat with the management control in 2005 at the price of $2.6 billion. However, because of a dispute on PTCL properties, Etisalat withheld the payment of $800 million.

In 2010, the government, aiming to cover the budget deficit, requested Etisalat to release an amount of $500 million from the remaining amount. However, the request was not accepted as the government failed to provide a cut off date for the sale of remaining disputed properties.

In 2019, the then Adviser to Prime Minister, Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, devised an offer of $60 million deduction from the final payment for Etisalat to settle.

However, a few months later, Etisalat sent its counter offer of $275 million to settle the outstanding payment matter. The government didn’t entertain the offer and the deadlock continued.