Summary Finance Minister Ishaq Dar says $ 1.5 billion to $ 3 billion income is expected from the bid.
ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) - Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has approved policy directive for auction of mobile phone spectrum licenses envisaging auction of both 3G and 4G licenses together to benefit from the latest technological developments.
Addressing a news conference here on Friday, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar unfolded salient features of new policy
He said three licenses of 3G and two licenses of 4G spectrum would be auctioned most likely in the middle of April this year.
The Minister said one license has been reserved for new entrants as a number of countries including Turkey‚ Saudi Arabia and Qatar are showing interest to compete as new entrants.
Ishaq Dar said the bid reserved price for 3G spectrum license would be 295 million dollars each and for 4G license 210 million dollars each. He said the reserved price for new entrants would be 291 million dollars.
As per policy‚ the successful bidder will have to pay 50 percent price forthwith while the rest would be payable in five years with interest rate 3 percent above LIBOR.
Replying to a question‚ the Finance Minister said the licenses would be issued for fifteen years despite suggestions by some interested parties to extend the period to twenty years.
To another question‚ the Minister said industrial growth in December last year was highest in seven years.
He said the IMF has also acknowledged that economy is improving. Ishaq Dar said the GDP growth rate is likely to cross 4 percent during the current financial year. He said the Government believes that inflation would be confined to single digit while the IMF has revised the projection downward from 12 to 10 percent for the year.
The Minister said according to a Japanese survey‚ Pakistan is now the second most favoured country for foreign investment.
