Hearing in PTCL-Telenor merger ends amid rivals’ opposition

Reiterating their concerns over the proposed acquisition of Telenor Pakistan by PTCL, Jazz and Wateen informed a three-member bench of the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) on Thursday that the combined entity would be able to manipulate tariff structures at their discretion. The fifth and the last hearing in the Phase II review of PTCL’s acquisition of Telenor and Orion Towers Ltd was conducted by CCP Chairman Dr Kabir Ahmed Sidhu alongside members Salman Amin and Abdul Rashid Sheikh. While Wateen opposed the proposed merger, Jazz and Zong expressed competition concerns and the fear of abuse of dominance after the merger of Telenor Pakistan with Ufone as the merged entity would be operating under the Pakistan Telecommuni-cation Company Ltd, which is the biggest player in the internet as well as other segments of the telecom sector.