ISLAMABAD, Mar 13 (Internet): Pakistan chose eight bidders, including Singapore Telecommunications Ltd and China Mobile Communications Corp, for a 26 per cent controlling stake in Pakistan Telecommunications Co, the nation's biggest phone service provider. Other bidders for the second round of the auction include: Telekom Malaysia Bhd, Kuwait-based Mobile Telecommunications Co, Emirates Telecommunication Corp, Saudi Arabia's Saudi Oger Ltd, Saudi Telecom Co and Turkey's Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri AS, the Islamabad-based Privatisation Commission said in a faxed statement Saturday. The government plans to sell the stake by June and will give the buyer management control of Pakistan Telecommunications. The 26 per cent stake, equivalent to 1.3 billion shares, is worth about 115 billion rupees ($1.9 billion) at the company's current market value, said Muhammad Sohail, a director at the Jahangir Siddiqui Capital Markets in Karachi. Pakistan Telecommunication has 4.4 million customers in a nation of 150 million.
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