CHINA Mobile Communications Corp, the world's biggest mobile-phone carrier by users, has invested US$700 million in Pakistan in the past month, after buying Paktel Ltd.

The investment is only the "first phase" of spending by Beijing-based China Mobile in Pakistan, Awais Leghari, and Federal Minister of Information Technology. The Chinese company will increase spending to roll out more networks.

China Mobile's operations in Pakistan, its first investment outside the country, will help the carrier gain experience for acquiring businesses in other countries. The Chinese government is encouraging local companies to expand abroad as the nation's markets are opened to more foreign rivals.

Spending $700 million to buy equipment and build networks is in many ways more cost effective than buying a company and a network for US$700 million.

China Mobile paid US$284 million to buy 89 percent of Paktel, Pakistan's oldest mobile-phone carrier, from Luxembourg-based Millicom International Cellular SA. The so-called enterprise value of the transaction was US$460 million, including the repayment of debt. The acquisition was completed on February 13.

The carrier is planning to expand its network in Pakistan by 2,500 mobile base stations annually in the next three to four years. Seven months before the Paktel acquisition, China Mobile ended talks to buy all of Millicom, which operates wireless networks in Latin America, Asia, and Africa.

Pakistan, home to more to more than 50 million mobile-phone users, may continue to add about 1.5 million subscribers a month over the next few years.

Source:佚名