Papua New Guinea MINISTER for Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) Timothy Masiu says his department is uncertain, at this stage, whether Digicel (PNG) Ltd will be affected by an Australian interest in the company.
Masiu was responding to a statement from Australian telecommunication company Telstra last week titled “Media speculation on Digicel Pacific” that it was having discussions regarding possible acquisition of Digicel Pacific in partnership with the Australian government.
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| Digicel PNG Headquarters in Port Moresby. Photo by Digicel PNG |
It also confirmed this with the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
“We understand that the Pacific business covers markets in the South Pacific and is owned by Digicel Pacific Ltd,” Masiu said.
“Therefore, we are uncertain at this stage whether Digicel (PNG) Ltd is affected by the Australian interest as Digicel (Singapore) Ltd (and not Digicel Pacific Ltd) is the sole shareholder in Digicel (PNG) Ltd.
“We are also aware that Digicel (PNG) Ltd is the sole shareholder in Digicel (PNG) Financial Services Ltd.
“Digicel (PNG) Ltd is licensed by the National Information and Communication Technology Authority (Nicta) and holds an individual application licence which expires on Feb 5, 2024, and an individual network licence which was renewed on June 30.
“The Bank of Papua New Guinea (BPNG) licensed Digicel (PNG) Financial Services Ltd.”
Masiu said the news would have implications on the country’s regulations.
“The news from Telstra has implications for Government regulations, especially Nicta, the Investment Promotion Authority, Independent Consumer and Competition Commission and BPNG.”
Masiu said although Telstra stated that discussions were incomplete and there was no certainty that a transaction would proceed, “we remind potential suitors like Telstra that the issue of transfer of licence rights in a Nicta licence or licences currently held by Digicel (PNG) Ltd would still require written consent from Nicta”.
Statement/ PNGehow
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