The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has noted that the acquisition of Telenor Pakistan by Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTCL) would diminish the level of competition in the market.
The CCP has provisionally determined that the acquisition of Telenor Pakistan (Private) Ltd and Orion Towers Private Ltd by PTCL could potentially reduce competition within the telecommunications industry.
In light of this acquisition, the telecom market in Pakistan would be left with only three major players: Jazz, Zong, and the merged entity of Ufone and Telenor, which would be of comparable size to Jazz. PTCL, a publicly listed company, offers a range of telecommunication services including cellular mobile telephony, wireless local loop service, direct-to-home television service, and financial services through its subsidiaries in Pakistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Telenor Pakistan BV, along with its wholly-owned subsidiaries Telenor Pakistan and Orion Towers, offers cellular mobile and allied services in Pakistan, AJK, and GB.
The Phase-I review of PTCL’s merger application has determined that the acquisition of Telenor could enhance PTCL’s dominant position in the industry. The ruling by the CCP emphasized that PTCL, established in 1995, has already been recognized as a significant market power operator in various sectors by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), including wholesale domestic leased lines, wholesale IP bandwidth, and retail LDI fixed-line telecommunication market.
