China Mobile earmarks US$300 million for Pakistan investment

China Mobile will invest US$300 million in its Zong mobile operation in Pakistan during 2010, the largest stated by an operator in the country this year. To date the Chinese firm has invested US$1.66 billion and helped generate 1700 direct and more than 40,000 indirect jobs during two years of operation, the company said in a statement.

Zong is the fifth operator of six in the South Asian country with a subscriber base of almost seven million as of January 2010, according to statistics from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority.

Orascom’s Mobilink leads the market with 31 million subscribers, followed by Telenor with 22.6 million, Ufone with 18.6 million and Warid with 16.2 million. Instaphone lags way behind with a base of a mere 1,000 customers, down from a peak of 536,000 in 2004.

Pakistan has a mobile penetration rate of 58.2 per cent as of January this year.