Islamabad (March 21, 2016) - The Competition Commission of Pakistan (“CCP”) has approved the merger of Pakistan Mobile Communications Limited (“Mobilink”) and Warid Telecom (Private) Limited (“Warid”)*. This approval is the first of four required approvals from the local regulatory bodies, including Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (“PTA”), Securities & Exchange Commission Pakistan (“SECP”) and the State Bank of Pakistan (“SBP”).

Commenting on the approval, Jean-Yves Charlier, CEO of VimpelCom, said, “We are pleased that the Competition Commission of Pakistan has approved our request to merge the two businesses. The combination of Mobilink and Warid will be a positive step for the development of technology and communications services in Pakistan. Together, the future entity will serve more than 45 million customers through a best-in-class mobile and high-speed network, and bring further investment into infrastructure and digital services for consumers in Pakistan as they navigate the digital world.”

The transaction is the first major merger in the mobile telecommunications sector in Pakistan.

*Approval is subject to certain remedies by the CCP.