STAFF REPORT IBD: Telenor Group has recognises its Pakistani subsidiary as a profit-making and sustainable company saying “We are satisfied with the investment period we have been in Pakistan.”
President and CEO of Telenor Group, Jon Fredrik Baksaas, in a recent talk with media said that the company has evolved from incurring losses in the first five years, to a profit-making, tax-paying and sustainable entity.
The local arm of the European cellular giant constitutes a fifth, 32 million, of its total subscriber base that has crossed 160 million.
About his recent visit to Pakistan, Baksaas said that the government should look for a proper balance between spectrum price and the long-term benefits of the country as well as the industrys capacity to invest in the infrastructure.
Talking about the taxation rate on the telecom sector, he acknowledged the high tax rate and said they were debating the level of taxation over time. “If the level of taxation comes out too high, investments will be done in other markets rather than in Pakistan,” he said.
In terms of revenues, Telenor Pakistan contributed $915 million in the groups global sales of $19 billion, according to the financial results of 2012 – higher than $601 million contributed in the same period by the groups operations in India, a much bigger market than Pakistan.