Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Veon deal targets shared telecom assets in Pakistan

Companies plan to use towers for EV charging and drone operations

Veon deal targets shared telecom assets in Pakistan

Infrastructure upgrades aim to enhance connectivity and efficiency

PAKISTAN’S largest conglomerate, Engro Corp, in partnership with Veon, plans to expand telecom tower-sharing coverage and explore innovative new uses for telecom infrastructure.

“Pakistan is a very large market in terms of telecom, which keeps growing larger,” Samad Dawood, vice-chairman of Dawood Hercules Corp, which owns 40 per cent of Engro Corp, told Reuters.


“This infrastructure business, with scale, allows us to utilise telecom infrastructure better in Pakistan and eventually also serve international markets as well,” said Dawood, identifying countries from “the Atlantic coast of Morocco all the way to Central Asian states” as potential markets.

Engro and Dutch telecommunication and digital services company Veon announced last week plans to pool and manage their infrastructure assets in Pakistan.

The companies plan expanding tower sharing coverage to other operators and looking into to other use cases, which could include electronic vehicle charging and drone landing.

Under the partnership, Engro will pay Jazz, Veon’s digital operator in Pakistan, $188 million and will guarantee the repayment of Deodar’s intercompany debt of $375 million.

This remains subject to corporate and regulatory approvals. Deodar, under Veon, has a total tower count of 10,500 in Pakistan, while Engro’s existing tower count under Engro Enfrashare is 4,063, according to Topline Securities.

Earlier this year, Engro’s Dawood said restructuring would allow the firm to tap into broader economic opportunities, citing a challenging macroeconomic environment as a reason for the company’s restructuring.

Pakistan is navigating a challenging economic recovery path, having completed a $3 billion (£2.3bn) IMF bailout in April and now undertaking a $7bn (£5.4bn), 37-month bailout, approved in September, to ensure macroeconomic stability.

However, Dawood now said things have changed, which have led to Engro’s largest transaction in Pakistani rupee terms.

“The actions taken in Pakistan over the last few quarters, along with hard decisions for macroeconomic stability, have led to this deal,” he said, adding that interest rates and inflation falling, combined with Pakistan’s ongoing IMF programme, have also helped.

” Pakistan slashed interest rates to 15 per cent in November from a record high of 22 per cent earlier this year. Inflation has slowed down to 4.9 per cent in November, from a multi-decade high of almost 40 per cent in 2023.

“The incoming macro stability and IMF’s seal of approval has a huge impact on foreign financiers to look at Pakistan as an invest-able market,” Dawood said. (Reuters)

More For You

Uber

Takeaway apps have become a source of employment for undocumented migrants

Getty Images

Uber warns UK food delivery costs could rise amid crackdown on illegal migration

Highlights:

  • Uber warns Home Office rules targeting illegal gig economy workers could increase takeaway delivery costs in the UK.
  • Undocumented migrants have historically used food delivery apps for work, exploiting limited right-to-work checks.
  • Companies like Uber Eats, Deliveroo, and Just Eat have introduced stricter checks, including facial recognition and document verification.
  • Compliance and administrative costs have contributed to a fall in Uber UK profits despite rising revenues.
  • Government enforcement includes thousands of interviews and hundreds of arrests for suspected illegal working.


Uber’s UK accounts at Companies House welcomed the Home Office’s efforts to deter migrants and people smugglers from risking Channel crossings. However, the company cautioned that “new legislative requirements could have an adverse impact on our business, including expenses necessary to comply with such laws and regulations.”

Takeaway apps have become a source of employment for undocumented migrants, attracted by historically limited right-to-work checks. Delivery riders have sometimes sold or rented their accounts on social media to “substitutes” who may be working illegally.

Keep ReadingShow less
Nirmala Sitharaman

India's finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the Goods and Services Tax (GST) structure would be simplified from four slabs to two, with reductions across several sectors. (Photo: Getty Images)

India cuts consumption taxes, simplifies structure into two slabs

INDIA announced a major cut in consumption taxes on Wednesday, days after the United States imposed steep tariffs on Indian goods.

India's finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the Goods and Services Tax (GST) structure would be simplified from four slabs to two, with reductions across several sectors. In some cases, levies have been reduced by more than half.

Keep ReadingShow less
Jio Platforms

Jio Platforms includes India’s largest telecom operator, Reliance Jio Infocomm, with more than 500 million users. (Photo: Reuters)

Reuters

Jio IPO planned for mid-2026, AI unit announced with Meta and Google

RELIANCE Industries plans to take its telecom and digital arm, Jio Platforms, public by mid-2026, chairman Mukesh Ambani said on Friday. The announcement sets a new timeline for the long-awaited IPO of a business analysts value at over $100 billion.

At its annual general meeting (AGM), Reliance also announced the launch of an artificial intelligence unit in partnership with Google and Meta.

Keep ReadingShow less
JLR-Getty

A logo is pictured outside a Jaguar Land Rover new car show room in Tonbridge, south east England. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

UK car exports to US rebound after trade deal

UK VEHICLE exports to the United States rose in July after a new trade deal between London and Washington reduced tariffs, industry data showed on Thursday.

According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), exports increased 6.8 per cent in July to nearly 10,000 units, following three consecutive months of decline.

Keep ReadingShow less
Migrant hotel workers call off strike after reaching agreement

Workers at Radisson Blu hotel in Canary Wharf

Migrant hotel workers call off strike after reaching agreement

WORKERS at the Radisson Blu hotel in Canary Wharf have cancelled a planned six-week strike after reaching an agreement that met all their demands.

The group of housekeepers, most of whom are migrant women from Nepal and members of the United Voices of the World (UVW) union, were due to begin industrial action on Sunday (31). It would have been the longest hotel strike in the UK since 1979, a statement said.

Keep ReadingShow less