Telecom; a magnet for FDI

by Azhar Bukhari
CFO Warid, Tariq Gulzar portrays a vivid sketch of future communication
Says Warid catering to all segments of society with affordable packages
Country’s telecom sector has remarkable potential to attract huge Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), as the sector witnessed growth even when world was facing one of its worst recession.
If the government continues to facilitate the service providers, the fast and feasible means of communication can be provided to each and every member of the society at very low costs.
This was the upshot of the discussion that took place with Warid’s Chief Financial Officer, Tariq Gulzar at its Head Office in Lahore.
A quite cool and calm Tariq, who has command on telecom sector-related issues, spoke at length on the opportunities in this sector and issues facing service providers.
He was very candid when he said that in 21st century, cheap sources of communication are the basic need of masses and it is as important sector as textile is.
“At Warid, leading telecom company, we are catering all segments of the society including masses, youth, corporate etc through very affordable packages,” Gulzar maintained.
He said that Warid’s best in class and state of art GSM net work, with a comprehensive portfolio of innovative value added services, is empowering its customers to create their own life style networks. He said that Warid has always kept ‘The customer convenience factor’ as its top priority.
Responding to a question, Tariq Gulzar said that Warid Telecom is a joint venture between Abu Dhabi Group and Singapore’s premier telecom group SingTel. Since Warid launched it commercial service in May 2005 in the country, it has invested more than $1.4 billion and has expanded its network to more than 480 cities. Gulzar added that Warid has set a target to extend its existing coverage to far flung and remaining rural areas in the shortest possible time frame.

To facilitate and provide maximum choice to mobile subscribers, PTA has already introduced Mobile Number Portability (MNP) regime in Pakistan. MNP gives freedom to a subscriber to move to any network in the country whilst retaining their original mobile number along with the prefix. Warid has lately been a major beneficiary of MNP regime and has ported-in large number of subscribers from other mobile companies on its Best Quality Network in Pakistan, the CFO said.
Well informed Gulzar observed that the telecom landscape in Pakistan is evolving quickly in the backdrop of lower tariff’s and stiffening competition. The country’s industrial and population growth rates have led to forecasts that the sector over the next 10 years may grow at a double digit rate, offering significant opportunities for both local and foreign investment. For the record sake, a FDI of $400 Million per quarter was made in the telecom sector in the year 2008 alone.
To a query, the Warid CFO said that Abu Dhabi Group is a leading business group of Middle East and the single largest foreign investor in Pakistan. He maintained that Abu Dhabi Group has diversified business interests, offering strong financial resources and extensive management expertise that result in commercial success for several institutions.
Of Law & Order and economic slow down in the country, the energetic Youngman and Outspoken Gulzar believes that creating jobs and economic opportunities are an effective way to combat militancy. “Creating and providing employment will prevent alienation and give people a reason to ensure that the system runs smoothly,” said Gulzar.
“Pakistan has the potential to attract mega investment in telecom which could also ascertain to revive economy, but this requires focusing on out-of-box solutions and facilitating local and foreign investors by providing more incentives,” he said.
Elaborating on possible solutions, Gulzar said that part of the answer lay in facilitation of existing service providers to motivate others. He said country’s telecom sector has the potential to improve it services and introduce innovations to compete with any developed country.
The chief financial officer said that Pakistan offered high returns on investment and this was the reason that foreign companies were investing their capital and resources in the country, particularly in the telecom sector. “The fact that the economy was largely impervious to the social turmoil of the last few years is evidence of the fact that our economy is far more resilient than we would like to think,” said Tariq.
“There is nothing worse than Pakistanis talking down their economy and their country, which then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.” He said there was a mighty disconnect between the perception and reality of Pakistan as a place to do business in. “We have our problems, but we are better off than many countries,” he said adding that criticism of Pakistan’s economy, society and government should only be done on facts.
Profile:
Tariq Gulzar is Chief Financial Officer at Warid Telecom.
He has a combined professional and industry background gained from over 19 years experience, primarily in Europe & North America, in Finance, enterprise-wide risk management, corporate governance, control assurance and general consulting in telecommunication, media & technology industries.
Gulzar is a Fellow Chartered Accountant (Pakistan), a Certified Public Accountant (Colorado, USA) and a Certified Internal Auditor (New York, USA).
Prior to joining Warid, Gulzar was working as the Assistant Vice President in Risk & Regulatory Advisory practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Canada., where he was responsible for delivering internal audit, sustainable process improvement and risk management services to organizations in terms of increased revenues, decreased costs, improved efficiency, control and organizational and process agility in a range of industries.
He has also worked with Mobilink (Pakistan), Millicom International Cellular S A Luxembourg and Modern Times Group AB (Sweden) before joining PwC in Canada.