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  • Dr. Alvi orders action over misconduct with 82-year taxpayer

    Dr. Alvi orders action over misconduct with 82-year taxpayer

    ISLAMABAD: The President of Pakistan, Dr. Arif Alvi, expressed dismay over misconduct of tax authorities with an 82 year old taxpayers in a refund case.

    Dr. Alvi directed the chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to look into the entire system of irresponsibility and corruption and take punitive action against the entire chain of decision makers involved in the case, a statement said on Sunday.

    He took exception to the decision of FBR against a senior citizen that refused him to refund a paltry sum of Rs 2,333 on frivolous grounds and dragged him into unnecessary litigation spanning over a year.

    READ MORE: Dr. Alvi rejects banker’s plea in woman harassment case

    Apologizing to the senior citizen Abdul Hamid Khan, the President said that our heads should hang in shame for the inconvenience caused by FBR to the senior citizen.

    Abdul Hamid Khan (the complainant), a senior citizen of 82 years of age, had claimed a refund of Rs 2,333 on his income tax return for the year 2020 and submitted requisite documents of advance tax deduction of the PTCL and cell phone company bills on October 19, 2020.

    The complainant e-filed refund application on October 19, 2020 followed by representation to FBR Chairman on December 24,2020.

    The Unit officer of FBR rejected his refund claim, on January 29, 2021, on the grounds that the applicant had failed to furnish the original certificates required for authentication.

    READ MORE: Alvi praises FTO role in resolving taxpayers’ complaints

    The complainant then took up the matter with the Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) to seek redressal of his complaint. The FTO investigated the matter and ordered FBR on June 02, 2021 to revisit the impugned order ,dated January 19, 2021, and pass a fresh order, under section 170(4) of the ordinance, after providing the complainant the opportunity for hearing as per law.

    It further ordered to identify and initiate disciplinary proceedings against the official who passed the impugned order in derogation of the law and procedures and dragged the ageing taxpayer into unnecessary litigation as well as report compliance within 45 days.

    Consequently, FBR filed a representation with the President against the original order of FTO on 24.06.2021. President Dr Arif Alvi rejected the representation of FBR.

    The President said that the complainant had admittedly furnished copies of advance tax as per certificates collected by telephone authorities. In case the Unit Officer was not satisfied with the copies of certificates, he could have not only got the same verified from the PTCL and Cell Phone Company but verification was also possible through online system.

    He observed that it was the responsibility of the duty officer to get the deduction of tax verified from the deducting authorities irrespective of certificates being original or copies/system generated, if the same were not reflecting in the system for one or the other reason.

    READ MORE: PTCL registers 7.3% revenue growth for nine months

    The President termed the failure of the officer to verify the bills from PTCL and the cell phone company through the online system as shirking from responsibility and an act of maladministration.

    He upheld that the act of the officer was a mockery and travesty of law, procedure and instructions of FBR.

    It appeared that unlawful treatment was meted out in the instant case with a view to irritate and humiliate the ageing pensioner.

    While rejecting the representation of FBR, the President said that this must be the most pitiful and shameful use of bureaucratic authority and regretted that the FBR official had wasted the time of his department, the Tax Ombudsman and the President of Pakistan over a paltry sum of Rs 2,333 and the matter had lingered for over a year.

    READ MORE: FBR announces winners of first POS prize draw

    He also deplored that no one in the long chain of bureaucrats in FBR deliberated over the issue to take note of the unfairness, pettiness and superfluousness of the matter.

    “Punitive action must be taken along the entire line of decision-makers in this case and Chairman FBR should ensure that those responsible, in particular, and others, in general, go through courses to teach them priorities and courtesies,” he directed.

  • PTCL Group wins GDEIB award in five categories

    PTCL Group wins GDEIB award in five categories

    ISLAMABAD: PTCL Group has won the prestigious Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Benchmark (GDEIB) Award in five categories in recognition of its forward-looking human resource practices and work culture.

    The achievement highlights the Group’s standing as a progressive and wholly employee-centric organization with unique attributes that have been validated previously as well, a statement said on Monday.

    READ MORE: PTCL registers 7.3% revenue growth for nine months

    GDEIB are global standards developed by The Centre for Global Inclusion (CBI), with more than 112 experts from across the world. The standards help organizations across the world determine their strategy and measure progress in managing diversity and fostering inclusion to strive for excellence in their respective fields.

    This year, PTCL Group won the prestigious award in five categories, thereby reinforcing its reputation as one of the most progressive organizations in the country.

    Among these three; Vision, strategy, and Business impact; Work-life integration, flexibility and benefits; and Assessment, Measurement, and Research were categorized as proactive whereas the other two; DEI Communications and Community, Government Relations, and Philanthropy were categorized in progressive stage.

    READ MORE: PTCL, Dell to launch Azure Services in Pakistan

    The GDEIB, ‘Diversity Hub’, a center of expertise with HR Metrics, Islamabad, holds annual awards to celebrate the accomplishments of organizations in GDEIB in 15 categories on a maturity scale of 1-5. Award submissions are reviewed by globally renowned jury members through a democratic review process.

    Commenting on the achievement, Group Chief Human Resource Officer, PTCL & Ufone, Syed Mazhar Hussain said: “We are thrilled to receive outstanding recognition at the GDEIB Awards for diversity and inclusion at PTCL. As an organization, we believe in making sustained efforts to foster gender and cultural diversity and continuously strive to provide an environment for these changes to take root.

    READ MORE: PTA renews PTCL’s license for next 25 years

    “We are glad that we have been able to provide a favorable and equitable working environment and growth-oriented culture to our diverse teams.”

    PTCL Group has strongly established itself as one of the most forward-looking organizations in terms of inclusivity, equity, and acceptance. The GDEIB Award is the second of its kind to acknowledge the Group’s credentials in this regard this year, following its success at the Pakistan Society of Human Resource Management (PSHRM) Awards earlier this year.

    READ MORE: PTCL signs deal to launch Avaya Spaces

  • Ufone signs Rs21 billion agreement for 4G spectrum

    Ufone signs Rs21 billion agreement for 4G spectrum

    ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Telecom Company, Ufone has secured its largest syndicated financing facility jointly led by MCB Bank Limited (MCB) (Agent bank), Allied Bank Limited (ABL), Bank of Punjab (BoP), National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), and United Bank Limited (UBL) to fund the acquisition and rollout of its 4G services across Pakistan.

    President and Group CEO, PTCL & Ufone, HatemBamatraf signed the agreement for the syndicated financing of PKR 21 billion at a ceremony held in Islamabad, which was also attended by President, MCB Bank, Imran Maqbool; Group Head, Corporate Finance & International Banking, MCB Bank, Mr. ShoaibMumtaz; President Allied Bank, AizidRazzaq Gill; Chief, Corporate & Investment Banking, Allied Bank, OwaisShahid; Head Investment Banking, Bank of Punjab, Umer Khan, AbidKitchlew Divisional Head C&IBG, National Bank, and Farooq Ahmed Khan Group Head Corporate & Investment Banking, United Bank Ltd .

    Ufone has recently been awarded 4G Spectrum License as a result of competitive bidding during the spectrum auction held by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). The company’s investment in 4G spectrum will go onto enhancing its network capacity and readiness besides delivering superior connectivity and user experience to its customers.

     Speaking at the ceremony President and Group CEO, PTCL & Ufone, HatemBamatraf expressed his gratitude to the banking consortium for the timely financial support and said “The Financing Solution will go a long way in bringing high quality mobile broadband services to the people of Pakistan. It will improve quality of network services  and usher in a host of socio-economic opportunities for growth and development for our customers” He further added “ It is a mutual goal that both Pakistan’s banking and telecom industries are working to achieve in order to create shared value for the communities we serve.”

    Ufone launches contact center for housing loans
  • PTCL registers 7.3% revenue growth for nine months

    PTCL registers 7.3% revenue growth for nine months

    ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has posted a significant 7.3 per cent growth in its revenues due to a robust commercial strategy that cements its market standing.

    The company has announced its financial results for the nine months period ended on September 30, 2021 at its Board of Directors’ meeting on October 18, 2021.

    PTCL Group posted revenue of Rs 102.4Billion in first nine months of 2021 that is 7 per cent higher as compared to the same period of last year.

    U Bank continued its growth momentum and has achieved 23 per cent growth in revenue.

    PTML (Ufone) also posted revenue growth of 4.6 per cent despite stiff competition in the market.

    PTCL Group delivered robust financial and operational performance and posted a net profit of Rs 3.7Billion as compared to Rs 1.6 Billion for the same period of last year.

    PTCL’s revenue of Rs 57.3 Billion for the nine months period is 7.3 per cent higher than the same period last year, mainly driven by Broadband and Corporate & Wholesale business segments.

    The company has posted operating profit of Rs 3.7 Billion, which is higher by 44.3 per cent compared to the same period of last year.

    Net profit of Rs 5.7 Billion has significantly increased by 39.2 per cent from last year.

    The company is upgrading its existing infrastructure and network, besides expanding FTTH across the country to offer seamless connectivity for greater customer experience. Prompt deployment of FTTHand strong performance in Corporate and Wholesale segments are the cornerstone in PTCL’s topline growth, which along with focus on cost optimization program, has significantly increased the company’s profitability.

    PTCL Consumer Business showed consistent performance as it reports 5th straight quarter of growth. During the 9 months of 2021, company’s Fixed Broadband business grew by 12.7 per cent YoY, whereas PTCL IPTV segment also grew by 13.5 per cent. Within broadband business, the groundbreaking PTCL Flash Fiber, Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) service showed a tremendous growth of57.5 per cent, whereas PTCL Charji /Wireless Broadband Segment grew by 17.8 per cent.Voice revenue stream has declined on account of lower voice traffic and continued conversion of customers to OTT services.

    Business services segment continued its momentum sustaining market leadership in IP Bandwidth, Cloud, Data Center and other ICT services segments. PTCL’s Corporate business grew by 12.9 per cent as compared to the same period last year, while Carrier and Wholesale business continued its growth momentum and achieved 10.3 per cent overall revenue growth. International voice revenue has shown declining trend like domestic voice revenue.

    Being the national telecom carrier and connectivity backbone in Pakistan, PTCL Group strives to provide innovative solutions to accelerate growth for a ‘Digital Pakistan’ through robust telecommunication infrastructure and enhanced customer experience.

    On the wireless portfolio, PTML (Ufone) acquired additional 9 MHz 4G spectrum in the 1800 MHz Band in NGMS spectrum auction in September 2021, fulfilling its commitment to provide enhanced customer experience through quality services across Pakistan. The additional spectrum will meet the increasing demand for wireless data products amongst the consumers in Pakistan in addition to providing innovative products and services.

    After acquisition of 4G spectrum, Ufone intends to fully modernize its network and further enhance its coverage across Pakistan. The network upgradation and modernization has already started paying dividends with significant improvement in data user experience for customers.

    In addition to the acquisition of 4G spectrum in Pakistan, Ufone has also renewed and acquired more spectrum in Azad Jammu & Kashmir/Gilgit Baltistan to bolster its existing service. Through this, it has reaffirmed its commitment to provide quality data services to the people of Pakistan and AJK/GB.

    UBank, the microfinance and branchless banking subsidiary of PTCL, continued its growth trajectory and has achieved 23 per cent growth in its revenue over the corresponding period last year, by increasing its advances portfolio and treasury investments. The bank grew its funding book to a PKR 70 Billion by leveraging on its deposit and corporate finance arms, which is in line with the bank’s ambition to maintain its superior liquidity position. Major strategic initiatives undertaken by the bank include venturing into the Low-Cost Housing, International Remittance, and Islamic Banking space. The bank plans to invest in technology to make the most of the opportunities available on the digital banking front.

    PTCL Razakaar, PTCL’s employee volunteer force, arranged open-air picnics for over a thousand children across 17 locations in Pakistan in collaboration with schools, orphan homes and charity organizations.

    PTCL Group has so far vaccinated 98 per cent of its employees in one of the largest staff vaccination drive by a corporate company in the country, demonstrating duty of care to its people and ensuring the safety of people it serves.

    PTCL declares 38% growth in net profit for first half
  • PTCL, Dell to launch Azure Services in Pakistan

    PTCL, Dell to launch Azure Services in Pakistan

    ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) is collaborating with Dell Technologies to introduce the industry-first Azure Cloud Computing Services in Pakistan.

    The latest service will help PTCL enterprise customers to leverage technology for reaching their full business potential. 

    The agreement was signed by Sayyed Muhammad Imran Ali, EVP, Digital Services, PTCL and Naveed Khan, Director, Data Center Solutions for Asia Emerging Markets, Dell Technologies, during a signing ceremony held at the PTCL Headquarters, Islamabad, in presence of senior executives from both organizations.

    The upcoming Azure Stack Hub is an extension of Microsoft Azure that brings the flexibility and innovation of Cloud Computing to the Cloud Services providers in their on-premises infrastructure.

    When deployed at PTCL, the Azure Stack Hub will be used to provide Azure consistent services, either connected to the internet and Azure or in disconnected environments with no internet connectivity.

    Azure Stack Hub uses the same underlying technologies as global Azure, which includes the core components of Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) capabilities.

    On the occasion, Sayyed Muhammad Imran Ali, EVP, Digital Services, PTCL, said: “PTCL Azure Stack is a leap towards digitization, Cloud readiness and innovation. It has potential of helping SMEs and large enterprises to reinvent their customer experiences and allowing governments and academic institutions to innovate. This partnership will enable us to broaden our enterprise customers’ capabilities and ensure faster growth.”

    Also speaking at the event, Naveed Khan, Director, Data Center Solutions for Asia Emerging Markets, Dell Technologies, said: “We are honored to support PTCL to extend their cloud reach in Pakistan to help businesses innovate and adopt hybrid cloud with confidence. With the Dell Technologies Azure Stack, PTCL customers can experience Azure Cloud services without moving their applications and data out of the country.”

    The Cloud Computing Services will not only bolster PTCL business customers to realize their full potential but also reinforce the national telecom carrier’s long-term drive for fostering digitization in the country in consistence with the vision of Government of Pakistan for a ‘Digital Pakistan’.

    PTCL declares 38% growth in net profit for first half
  • PTCL declares 38% growth in net profit for first half

    PTCL declares 38% growth in net profit for first half

    KARACHI: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) on Wednesday announced 38 per cent growth in net profit for the half ended June 30, 2021.

    The telecom company announced Rs3.74 billion as net profit for the period January – June 2021 as compared with Rs2.7 billion in the corresponding half of the last year.

    The company announced 73 paisas as earnings per share for the first half of the year under review as compared with 53 paisas EPS declared in the same half of the last year.

    Revenue of the company increased to Rs38.187 billion for the first half of 2021 as compared with Rs35.33 billion in the same half of the last year.

    The PTCL declared Rs8.69 billion as gross profit for the six months period of the current year as compared with Rs7.32 billion in the same period of the last year.

    Administrative and general expenses of the company increased to Rs3.52 billion as compared with Rs3.16 billion.

    The results have been announced by the Board of Directors of the company in their meeting held on July 14, 2021.

  • PTCL declares 5pc decline in annual profit to Rs6.03 billion

    PTCL declares 5pc decline in annual profit to Rs6.03 billion

    KARACHI: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) on Wednesday announced a five percent decline in annual profit for the period ended December 31, 2020.

    According to financial results, the company announced after tax profit of Rs6.03 billion for the year 2020 as compared with the profit of Rs6.35 billion in the preceding financial year.

    The company declared earnings per share at Rs1.18 for the year ended on December 31, 2020 as compared with Rs1.24 in the preceding year.

    The company had announced no cash dividend or bonus share for the year under review.

    The gross profit of the company fell to Rs14.99 billion for the year 2020 as compared with Rs16.98 billion in the preceding financial year, showing a decline of 11.72 percent.

    Administrative expenses of PTCL were almost flat at Rs6.7 billion as compared with Rs6.75 billion a year ago.

  • PTA renews PTCL’s license for next 25 years

    PTA renews PTCL’s license for next 25 years

    The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has officially renewed the operational license of the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) for the next 25 years.

    (more…)
  • PTCL signs deal to launch Avaya Spaces

    PTCL signs deal to launch Avaya Spaces

    ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) will launch Avaya Spaces, the all-in-one workstream collaboration app for the digital workplace, for the first time in Pakistan. In this regard the PTCL has signed a partnership agreement with Avaya Holdings Corp (NYSE: AVYA).

    The partnership will enable organizations to implement blended and flexible environment for their employees, a statement said on Thursday.

    In collaboration with PTCL, Avaya will provide free, full-feature access for a limited time to customers in Pakistan. Avaya Spaces is an all-in-one video meeting and workstream collaboration platform for the digital workplace that changes the way as work gets done in nearly 100 countries.

    It helped businesses, schools, governments and other organizations to bring together distributed groups of people instantly with immersive workspaces where they can message, meet, share content, manage tasks and collaborate in the Cloud.

    Speaking on the occasion, Chief Business Services Officer, PTCL Zarrar Hasham Khan said, “We are continuously working towards empowering organizations within Pakistan and supporting the vision of a Digital Pakistan.

    In the present circumstances, where most of the organizations are offering flexible working environment, our partnership with Avaya is the step in the right direction.

    Not only that, such solutions are much needed in the educational sector as it offers a more blended learning and working model.

    It will certainly create opportunities to streamline and support schools and universities as it introduces an innovative way to learn and deliver lectures.

    Speaking on the collaboration with PTCL, Director, Service Providers, Middle East, Africa & Asia, Avaya, Nour Al Atassi, said, “Globally our customers are leveraging Avaya Spaces to create the future digital workplace and to enable new and innovative education delivery models.

    With PTCL introducing solutions such as Avaya Spaces, Pakistan will be well on its way to achieving its digitalization goals.

    PTCL has already invested in an innovative and robust telecommunications network that is serving as an enabler of business continuity across the country. Together, we look forward to supporting the blended delivery of essential services with Avaya Spaces.”

    Avaya Spaces has seen significant growth since its introduction and has been an especially important solution for organizations addressing the challenges of COVID-19.

    At the peak of the pandemic, Avaya Spaces was offered for free to enable companies, schools, governments and organizations of all kinds to adapt to remote work and collaborate, stay connected and be productive while keeping employees safe.

    With support being offered by PTCL, one of the country’s leading ICT solution providers, Avaya Spaces will better enable local organizations to choose the right working models for themselves and their customers.

  • PTCL awarded optic fiber cable projects worth Rs3 billion

    PTCL awarded optic fiber cable projects worth Rs3 billion

    KARACHI: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has been awarded two optic fiber cable projects worth Rs3 billion for providing connectivity in various districts of Sindh province.

    The Universal Service Fund (USF) has awarded two Optic Fiber Cable (OFC) project contracts worth approximately Rs3 billion to PTCL for providing connectivity in Ghotki, Kashmore, Sukkur & Khairpur districts at a special ceremony held at Governor House, Karachi, a statement said on Monday.

    Imran Ismail, Governor of Sindh was accompanied by Syed Amin Ul Haque, Federal Minister for Information Technology (IT) and Telecommunication on the occasion.

    The contracts were signed by Haaris Mahmood Chaudhary, CEO, USF and Nadeem Khan, Acting CEO & Group Chief Financial Officer, PTCL.

    Senior officials of the Government of Sindh, Ministry of IT and Telecommunication, USF and PTCL were also present at the ceremony.

    On the occasion, Imran Ismail, Governor of Sindh said: “Today’s event marks another landmark achieved in the history of Pakistan and will go a long way in taking the developmental work being done by Government of Pakistan to a greater level. I am also hopeful that with the consistent efforts and spirits, Ministry of IT and Telecommunication will continue to undertake more challenging and productive programs in the future, for the promotion of IT and Telecommunication related services.

    “I would like to congratulate Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication Syed Amin ul Haque, the dynamic teams of USF & PTCL on award of these projects that have been designed to connect 372 Educational Institutions, 170 Health Facilities, 217 Government Offices and 131 Banks within 5 KM radius of the node.

    “I wish them all the very best for implementation of project objectives.”

    Imran Ismail said that these projects will not only provide a digital highway for seamless broadband coverage to people residing in Ghotki, Kashmore, Sukkur and Khairpur Districts but also improve the lives of people, create job opportunities for them and empower local communities.

    Syed Amin Ul Haque, Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication while addressing on the occasion said: “I believe that Imran Khan, Prime Minister of Pakistan, realizes the importance of information technology for the country as he envisioned Digital Pakistan and proved his commitment to turn this vision into reality.”

    Syed Amin ul Haque also lauded the great performance of Ministry of IT and Telecommunication and its affiliated organizations. Moreover, IT parks are being created across the country, along with Data Centers, policy on Cloud, cyber security, manufacturing of Smart phonesand much more.

    Speaking at the ceremony, Nadeem Khan, Acting CEO & Group Chief Financial Officer, PTCL said: “Being the national carrier, PTCL is the backbone of country’s communication infrastructure and primary internet service provider. We serve people of Pakistan from large metropolitan cities to remote rural areas. We are glad to collaborate with USF for establishment and operation of optical fiber connectivity in Ghotki, Kashmore, Sukkur and Khairpur districts. Aligned with the vision of a Digital Pakistan, we are committed to play our role in supporting the underserved communities and empower them for a better future.”

    While sharing his views at the ceremony, Haaris Mahmood Chaudhary, CEO, USF said: “I take the opportunity to say here that all these achievements have only been possible due to constant efforts of the Government of Pakistan. Federal Minister and Secretary for IT and Telecommunication have been torch bearers of the vision for a “Digital Pakistan” and have enabled USF to transform the lives of people of the country. They have given us tremendous cooperation, help and support, without which all this could not be achieved.