KARACHI: Pakistan’s largest conglomerate Engro Corp, through it’s strategic partnership with Veon, is eyeing expanding telecom tower-sharing coverage in Pakistan and exploring different use cases in telecom infrastructure.
“Pakistan is a very large market in terms of telecom, which keeps growing larger,” Samad Dawood, vice chairman of Dawood Hercules Corp, which owns 40 percent of Engro Corp, told Reuters.
“This infrastructure business, with scale, allows us to utilize telecom infrastructure better in Pakistan and eventually also serve international markets as well,” said Dawood, identifying countries from “the Atlantic coast of Morocco all the way to Central Asian states” as potential markets.
Engro and Dutch telecommunication and digital services company Veon announced last week plans to pool and manage their infrastructure assets in Pakistan.
The companies plan expanding tower sharing coverage to other operators and looking into to other use cases, which could include electronic vehicle charging and drone landing.
Under the partnership, Engro will pay Jazz, Veon’s digital operator in Pakistan, $188 million and will guarantee the repayment of Deodar’s intercompany debt of $375 million.
This remains subject to corporate and regulatory approvals.
Deodar, under Veon, has a total tower count of 10,500 in Pakistan, while Engro’s existing tower count under Engro Enfrashare is 4,063 towers according to Topline Securities.
Earlier this year, Engro’s Dawood said restructuring would allow the firm to tap into broader economic opportunities, citing a challenging macroeconomic environment as a reason for the company’s restructuring.
Pakistan is navigating a challenging economic recovery path, having completed a $3 billion IMF bailout in April and now undertaking a $7 billion, 37-month bailout, approved in September, to ensure macroeconomic stability.
However, Dawood now says that things have changed, which have led to Engro’s largest transaction in Pakistani rupee terms.
“The actions taken in Pakistan over the last few quarters, along with hard decisions for macroeconomic stability, have led to this deal,” he said, adding that interest rates and inflation falling, combined with Pakistan’s ongoing IMF program, have also helped.”
Pakistan slashed interest rates to 15 percent in November from a record high of 22 percent earlier this year. Inflation has slowed down to 4.9 percent in November, from a multi-decade high of almost 40 percent in 2023.
“The incoming macro stability and IMF’s seal of approval has a huge impact on foreign financiers to look at Pakistan as an invest-able market,” Dawood said.
Pakistan’s largest conglomerate Engro Corp. eyes tower sharing expansion with Veon tie-up
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Pakistan’s largest conglomerate Engro Corp. eyes tower sharing expansion with Veon tie-up
- The companies plan expanding coverage to other operators and looking into other use cases, including electronic vehicle charging and drone landing
- Under the partnership, Engro will pay Jazz, Veon’s digital operator in Pakistan, $188 million and guarantee repayment of Deodar’s $375 million debt
Pakistani, Bangladeshi officials discuss trade, investment and aviation as ties thaw
- Pakistan and Bangladesh were once one nation, but they split in 1971 as a result of a bloody civil war
- Ties between Pakistan, Bangladesh have warmed up since last year and both nations have resumed sea trade
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's High Commissioner to Bangladesh Imran Haider on Sunday met Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus in Dhaka, the latter's office said on, with the two figures discussing trade, investment and aviation.
Pakistan and Bangladesh were once one nation, but they split in 1971 as a result of a bloody civil war, which saw the part previously referred to as East Pakistan seceding to form the independent nation of Bangladesh.
Ties between Pakistan and Bangladesh have warmed up since former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s ouster as a result of a student-led uprising in August 2024. Relations remain frosty between Dhaka and New Delhi over India’s decision to grant asylum to Hasina.
Pakistan has attempted to forge closer ties with Bangladesh in recent months and both South Asian nations last year began sea trade, followed by efforts to expand government-to-government commerce.
"During the meeting, both sides discussed ways to expand cooperation in trade, investment, and aviation as well as scaling up cultural, educational and medical exchanges to further strengthen bilateral relations between the two South Asian nations," Yunus's office said in a statement on X.
In 2023-24 Pakistan exported goods worth $661 million to Bangladesh, while its imports were only $57 million, according to the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan. In Aug. this year, the Pakistani and Bangladeshi commerce ministries signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a Joint Working Group on Trade, aiming to raise their bilateral trade volume to $1 billion in the financial year that began in July.
The Pakistani high commissioner noted that bilateral trade has recorded a 20 percent growth compared to last year, with business communities from both countries actively exploring new investment opportunities, according to the statement.
He highlighted a significant increase in cultural exchanges, adding that Bangladeshi students have shown strong interest in higher education opportunities in Pakistan, particularly in medical sciences, nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence. Haider also said that Dhaka-Karachi direct flights are expected to start in January.
"Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus welcomed the growing interactions between the two countries and emphasized the importance of increased visits as well as cultural, educational and people-to-people exchanges among SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) member states," the statement read.
"Professor Yunus also underscored the need to further boost Bangladesh–Pakistan trade and expressed hope that during Mr. Haider’s tenure, both countries would explore new avenues for investment and joint venture businesses."
