Advice for Foreign Investors Interested In Pakistan Telecom

A very good coverage of Pakistan telecom is given by a Russian site called COMMNEWS in its Emerging Telcom Markets section. I’d seen the headline on a telecom news feed but after TM recommended it and KO posted it on WiredPakistan forum I paid more attention to it. Here’s what the Pakistan overview page on COMMNEWS says:

In liberalization of its telecom market Pakistan is ahead of many other world countries, let alone their regional neighbors. However, the lack of full and objective information about this country led to cautious behavior by foreign investors, who appeared only recently on the local telecom market, and rather in single cases.

Here’s the first recommended article:

The Last Train: Foreign investors still can jump on Pakistan’s telecommunication market

This article has lots of useful information and talks about the alliances, mergers and financing activities going on in Pakistan. A key point it makes about low valuations in Pakistan must be an eye-opener for investors:

It can be expected that in a year or year and a half the value of telecom assets in Pakistan will grow significantly, equaling the prices that are set by international investors in neighboring India. Therefore, the winner will be that company which gets to Pakistan’s telecom market within 2007, right before the market overheats.

I believe that the political situation remains the biggest barrire to Pakistan’s economic progress.

Here are the other interesting stories on the site.

Success Story: DIALLOG with Pakistan

Interview with Tore Johnsen, Telenor Pakistan (Pvt) Limited, Chief Executive Officer

Opinion: Igor Khulak, Head of the Business Development Department at Sitronics Telecom Solutions