PTCL has evolved into an enterprise, which is financially sound, customer friendly, has a clear future business agenda
LAHORE: A major issue in any developing country, including Pakistan, is the lack of financially sound state enterprises. There are, however, some emerging exceptions to the rule, such as PTCL, which can now be counted amongst Pakistan’s few success stories. The stable and strong financial status of PTCL with rising trajectory of profit and expanding services reflects the brighter side of privatisation.
The 11.3 per cent growth in its revenue and a net profit of Rs1.4 billion recently announced by PTCL, shows a remarkable turnaround for the company, despite rising inflation and economic slowdown. All this has been the result of sound fiscal policies and the expansion of PTCL from a voice-based communication operator to a voice- cum-data integrated telecom giant, all the while keeping in view the unique market constraints in Pakistan.
Rather than becoming a burden on the state exchequer like most other state-owned entities, PTCL has evolved into an enterprise, which is financially sound, customer friendly and has a clear future business agenda — achievements currently unmatched by any other state-run enterprise.
Ali Hassan Bhatti
Published in The Express Tribune, May 11th, 2012.
