Following the successful takeover of 88.86% of all Paktel shares held by Millicom Company in February 2007, China Mobile Communications Group Corporation (CMCC) recently signed another agreement to purchase the remaining 11.14%. After the remaining shares in the acquisition transaction obtain regulatory approval and the transaction is completed, CMCC will have all outside shares issued by Paktel.

CMCC CEO Wang Jianzhou said that the success of this transaction is not the end, but the beginning of a new journey. Industry experts believe that the signing of this agreement shows the robustness of CMCC’s “Going Global” plans. In operating in such an emerging market like Pakistan, with its large population and high growth potential, CMCC can accumulate experience, exert advantages, and open up new space for development. The acquisition can also promote the development of the local telecommunications industry while improving local employment levels and bringing other tangible benefits to the Pakistani people. It will also achieve mutual benefits, consolidate the Pakistan-China friendship, and deepen the strategic and cooperative relations between the two countries.

Paktel was established in 1990 and was the first mobile communications operator to operate in Pakistan. As of October 2006, they had 1.56 million subscribers, ranking fifth out of six mobile operators in the local market. The Pakistani population has reached 160 million, ranking sixth in the world, and its telecommunication market is one of the industry’s fastest-growing markets.

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