KARACHI: The leading brokers of the Karachi stock market are desperately waiting for the Supreme Court’s judgment on a petition seeking revocation of the licence of Worldcall Telecom Limited on violation of PEMRA Ordinance.
The leading brokers of the stock market having accumulated large lots of the free float of Worldcall at reasonable discount are anxiously waiting for the SC’s verdict.
As on December 31, 2009, First Capital held 4.221 million ordinary shares of Worldcall and Arif Habib Securities 72.914 million ordinary shares.
The scrip is currently trading at Rs2.67 and revocation or suspension of Worldcall licence would be a major setback for the brokers having large lots of the scrip.
Following a constitutional petition that demands revocation of Worldcall’s licence on violation of sections 25, 28, 30 of PEMRA Ordinance, the SC had directed PEMRA chairman to submit the profile of the company. He submitted the profile and said that a show-cause notice had been issued to Worldcall.
According to the PEMRA notice seen by The News, Worldcall Telecom having two cable TV licences, one in Lahore and the other in Karachi, applied for NOC for transfer of shares to Oman Telecom, a foreign company. The authority granted the permission with the condition that Worldcall would provide details about new board and the majority shareholding would rest with local nationals. But the company transferred 56.80 percent shareholding to the foreign company in violation of section 25 and 30(1)(d) of Pemra Ordinance. It also changed Chief Executive Officer without permission of the authority.
Oman Telecom presented Worldcall Telecom Limited as its subsidiary on its official website and claimed to have 56.80 percent shareholding in the company. Besides, majority of board of directors are foreigners.
Sources, who did not want to be identified, confirmed that Worldcall failed to respond to the show-cause notice. The section 25 of PEMRA Ordinance says: “A licence shall not be granted to (a) a person who is not a citizen of Pakistan or resident in Pakistan; (b) a foreign company organised under the laws of any foreign government; (c) a company the majority of whose shares are owned or controlled by foreign nationals or companies whose management or control is vested in foreign national companies or (d) any person funded or sponsored by a foreign government or organisation.
According to section 30 of the ordinance, the authority may revoke or suspend the licence of a broadcast media or distribution service by an order in writing if the licensee contravened any provision of the ordinance or rules or regulations and where the licensee is a company and its shareholders have transferred a majority of the shares in the issues or paid up capital of the company or if control of the company is otherwise transferred to persons not being the original shareholders of the company at the time of grant of licence without written permission of the authority.
Moreover, the day PEMRA submitted the profile of Worldcall before the Supreme Court, one Babar Ali Syed appeared before the court and claimed to be the CEO of the company, but the court observed that according to the record submitted, he was not recognised as CEO of the Company.
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