PTCL today released an official statement expressing gratitude to the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) for successfully concluding Phase II of the review process for its $400 million acquisition of Telenor Pakistan. The company praised the commission’s diligence in protecting market integrity and reaffirmed its commitment to full regulatory compliance.
PTCL Statement
In its statement, PTCL noted that it cooperated fully with the CCP review and pledged to move ahead in strict alignment with the directions of all relevant regulatory bodies under Pakistani law. It also extended thanks to customers, partners, and stakeholders who had anticipated the merger’s approval.
In the statement, PTCL expressed they fully cooperated with the Commission throughout the review process and remains committed to advancing the acquisition in complete alignment with the directions of all regulatory bodies on this matter, along with necessary compliances to the applicable laws of the country.
PTCL believes this intra-sector consolidation is a pivotal step forward for Pakistan’s telecom industry, which will draw strengths from both PTML (Ufone) and Telenor to deliver best in class customer experience, enhanced network quality, broader coverage, and innovative digital services for their customer base, while enabling the sector to achieve greater efficiency, resilient infrastructure, and a more competitive landscape. Moreover, the consolidated entity will strengthen nationwide connectivity, drive innovation, and support the government’s vision of a digitally empowered Pakistan.
Context, Conditions & Stakes
The CCP’s conditional approval[1] comes after an 18-month review that examined multiple telecom submarkets, including mobile, fixed line, IP bandwidth, and international connectivity. The commission applied the Substantial Lessening of Competition (SLC) test to gauge whether the merger might distort market dynamics.
The terms of the approval are expected to include conditions around pricing, interconnection sharing, infrastructure access, and safeguards for smaller competitors, measures intended to mitigate dominance risk and protect consumer interests.
PTCL’s statement avoids overpromising, but echoes many expected benefits cited by observers: combining scale, improving penetration in underserved areas, and leveraging synergies between Ufone’s and Telenor’s networks.
However, all of these observations will remain mere words if the merger still faces delays and hurdles. The success now hinges on how strictly CCP enforces the conditions and how PTCL manages integration without harming competition or service quality.
Given the continuous delays throughout the process, some industry experts and sources close to the information still remain skeptical about the immediate implications of the current announcement.
References
- ^ CCP’s conditional approval (www.techjuice.pk)