Govt Approval May Be Needed for Ufone-Telenor Rebranding: PTA

The federal government may eventually be required to clear Pakistan Telecommunication Mobile Limited’s (PTML) proposed rebranding to e&, but the process cannot move forward until the company first updates its corporate records with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan.

PTA sources told ProPakistani that it is still too early to determine whether the rebranding will be approved, as PTML must complete the legal and documentation process with SECP before formally seeking regulatory clearance.

The approval process is not limited to the PTA alone and may involve the federal government at a later stage. Those considerations will only arise after PTML completes the SECP registration process. Until then, it cannot be determined whether the proposed rebranding will proceed.

Sources said the matter may ultimately require federal government approval as well, particularly because e& has liabilities of around $800 million linked to Pakistan. In that context, officials said, the final decision may not rest with the PTA alone.

Once the legal formalities are completed and the updated corporate documents are submitted, the PTA will process the request in accordance with the applicable licensing and regulatory framework.

According to PTA officials, the Authority communicated this legal and regulatory requirement to PTML through recent correspondence.

The letter advised the company not to launch the proposed brand or begin any commercial campaign until all statutory requirements have been fulfilled.