Telenor mulls closing Pakistan operations after failed merger talks.
According to Syed Tariq Fatemi, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister, on December 5, 2022, Ambassador Per Albert Ilsaas of Norway called on him to raise the issues being faced by two Norwegian companies operating in Pakistan, Scatec, a leading name in alternative energy, and M/s Telenor, one of Pakistan’s major telecom companies.
In Sukkur, Scatec is building three solar power facilities with a combined 150 MW of capacity in collaboration with Nizam Energy.
Nizam Energy owns the remaining 25% of the project’s equity, leaving Scatec with 75% of it. The project would be operational in another six months, according to the ambassador. He did, however, draw attention to the difficulty the business is having paying its vendors overseas.
Report: Company moves forward with plan to sell Pakistan operations
The CEO of Scatec had to postpone his earlier planned travel to Pakistan on the 6-7 December, but would now be arriving later, the Ambassador also informed the SAPM.
According to SAPM, this visit would be an opportune time for the Board of Investment (BoI) and Power Divisions to meet with him to discuss the problems affecting his company and to persuade Scatec to raise its investment in Pakistan’s alternative energy sector.
The ambassador also made reference to Telenor’s growing dissatisfaction with conducting business in Pakistan as a result of the underperforming telecom industry. The envoy also stressed that Telenor may think about ceasing operations if its attempt to merge with Ufone fails.
According to Fatemi, M/s Telenor has a sizable investment in Pakistan, and ceasing operations there would have a substantial impact on the country’s economy.
In this situation, the Board of Investment can think about conversing with the company’s representatives to investigate potential strategies for persuading them to remain in Pakistan.
