The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) is ready to issue conditional approval for the landmark merger between Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) and Telenor Pakistan, following more than 18 months of exhaustive review.
Sources told ProPakistani the PTCL Policy Board has formally agreed to accept the stringent terms and conditions proposed by the CCP for its $400 million acquisition of Telenor Pakistan. This consent paves the way for the Commission to release its long-awaited order on the high-profile deal. An official announcement is expected shortly.
The CCP’s review is among the most comprehensive in its history, applying the Substantial Lessening of Competition (SLC) Test to assess whether the merger would distort market dynamics. The Commission examined multiple sub-markets, including cellular mobile services, long-distance and international (LDI) services, fixed-line, leased lines, and IP bandwidth.
Between September 2024 and August 2025, the CCP held at least five open hearings and several confidential sessions with PTCL, Telenor, and other stakeholders. The Commission demanded extensive data, ranging from regulatory separated accounts to interconnection agreements and business plans, to address concerns about potential market dominance. Despite repeated delays and technical complexities, the CCP pressed for clarifications until it was satisfied with the information provided.
Officials familiar with the process said the CCP faced significant external and corporate pressure to expedite the approval. However, Chairman Dr. Kabir Sidhu insisted on full transparency and refused to proceed until all statutory requirements were met.
In February 2025, a stakeholder’s counsel argued that the CCP had become “functus officio” on the matter, a claim the Commission rejected, maintaining that statutory timelines were being observed and that public interest required a thorough probe.
The PTCL-Telenor review mirrors global precedents in telecom mergers. For example, the Vodafone/Three UK deal took nearly 23 months for clearance, while the Sprint/T-Mobile merger in the U.S. underwent a 22-month review. In this context, the CCP’s 18-month examination aligns with international best practices and highlights the complexity of mergers that reshape competitive landscapes.
Officials believe the merger will create a new, highly concentrated mobile operator by combining PTCL’s Ufone with Telenor Pakistan, raising concerns about market dominance. However, the CCP’s conditional approval is expected to mitigate these risks by enforcing safeguards on pricing, interconnection, infrastructure sharing, and fair treatment of competitors.