Leading Saudi infrastructure provider TAWAL Telecom is prepared to launch operations in Pakistan with an annual investment target of $70-80 million.
The acquisition of AWAL Telecom by TAWAL Telecom is reportedly nearing completion, and the Chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Amir Azeem Bajwa, has reportedly urged the relevant department to quicken the process. They said that the PTA will finish the procedure in a week or two and would then send the company the letter.
This development follows recent reports that the company intends to allow mobile network operators in Pakistan to meet their enhanced coverage and capacity requirements for rapidly growing data demands.
The delegation of the company met with the Chairman PTA in addition to the Minister for Finance, Miftah Ismail, according to Shah Faisal, TAWAL Telecom’s Country Representative in Pakistan, who spoke to Propakistani. Both sessions included discussions about investment in Pakistan’s telecom sector.
Both Minister Ismail and the PTA Chairman promised the company all-out support.
Faisal added that the business is currently in the process of acquiring Pakistan’s AWAL Telecom, which operates 70 to 80 telecom towers there. To increase coverage and raise the level of service in Pakistan, TAWAL wants to construct 1,000 to 1,200 3G/4G BTS sites each year. As soon as the PTA gives it authorization, it will start operating in Pakistan.
TAWAL intends to invest $70-80 million in Pakistan each year and is prepared to buy any other sizable telecom company that comes up for sale or to purchase additional telecom towers if one is available.
The number of voice and broadband subscribers has grown recently in Pakistan, a developing market. According to Faisal, TAWAL’s debut into Pakistan will be the first stage in the company’s expansion into more nations in the area.
TAWAL owns more than 15,500 towers in Saudi Arabia and is a subsidiary of the country’s largest telecom company, STC. In February of this year, it announced that it had fully acquired AWAL Telecom, thus entering the Pakistani market. Following regulatory approval, AWAL will change its name to “TAWAL Pakistan” and begin doing business in the Pakistani market.
