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Government expects to earn us $ 2billion through auction of spectrum licenses: Finance Minister - Press Note issued by Press Information Department(Pakistan Official News Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Following is the text of press note issued by Press Information Department (PID) Quote A delegation of Telenor led by Mr. Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President/CEO of the Telenor Group and current Chairman of GSMA, Mr. Lars Christian Luel President/CEO Telenor Pakistan, Mr. Tore Johnsen SVP Telenor Asia Region, Mr. Haakon Bruaset Kjol Corporate Affairs-Asia Region-Telenor, Mr. M. Aslam Hayat, Chief Corporate Affairs and Security Officer, Corporate and Regulatory Affairs, Telenor Pakistan called on Finance Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar here Friday. Welcoming the President/CEO Mr. Jon Fredrik Baksaas, the Finance Minister said that the visit was timely as the government is planning to auction the next generation spectrum license by March 2014. The Finance Minister who also chairs the Spectrum Auction License Committee said that there is a lot of interest being shown by Telecom sector in the auction of next generation spectrum license and assured that the process of auction would be smooth and transparent. The Minister said that though Pakistan expects to earn an estimated US $ 2.0 billion through the auction of three spectrum licenses, we have taken a conservative figure of US $ 1.2 billion for budgetary purposes. The President/CEO of the Telenor Group and Current Chairman of GSMA Mr. Jon Fredick Baksaas said that Telenor views Pakistan as a developing economy with a great potential. Expressing his interest in participating in the next generation spectrum license, Mr. Jon Fredrick Baksaas apprised the Finance Minister that the Group which has been working in Pakistan for nearly a decade has invested $ 2.3 billion and contributed another half in shape of various taxes, besides providing employment to 3800 persons directly and over 25000 persons indirectly. The Finance Minister said that the present government is working to fix the macro-economic imbalances and sees a lot of economic activity in the country in the next three years. The Minister said that the present government led by Prime Minister, Muhammad Nawaz Sharif is known for his business friendly policies and believes that the corporate sector should be further facilitated. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the Finance Minister said, had a vision and a clear roadmap to revive economy and put it on the path of sustainable growth. The President/CEO Telenor said that telenor sector plays a vital role in stimulating growth in the economy and the steps being taken to auction the next generation spectrum license would help Pakistan accelerate growth. Briefing the Finance Minister on the future plans of the Group, the President Telenor said that the Group takes a long term view of Pakistan and added that the penetration rate of telecom in Pakistan is higher than India and the auction of next generation spectrum license would improve it further. The meeting was also attended by Secretary Information Technology, Mr. Ikhlaq Tarrar, Chairman Pakistan Telecom Authority, Ismail Shah, Advisor on Finance, Rana Asad Amin and senior officials of the government. For more information, contact: Haji Ahmed Malik Principal Information Officer Press Information Department (PID) Tel: +9251 925 2323 and +9251 925 2324 Fax: +9251 925 2325 and +9251 925 2326 Email: [email protected] Unquote |