 Pakistani workers have strongly opposed the sell-off |
Three firms are vying to buy a stake in Pakistan's state telecoms firm, a controversial sell-off which has fuelled strikes across the country. Earlier this week, scores of workers at Pakistan Telecommunications were detained after unions threatened to disrupt services if the sale proceeded.
Unions fear the part-privatisation will lead to job losses.
Singapore's SingTel, the United Arab Emirates' Etisalat and China Mobile will bid for the 26% stake on Saturday.
Concessions
The proposed sell-off has been highly controversial.
Unions have opposed the process, arguing that the stake is being sold too cheaply and that the firm has been profitable under state ownership.
In May, 65,000 workers stopped work for a week, badly disrupting phone services.
However, some groups have been won round in recent days after the government made a number of concessions over jobs.
Telekom Malaysia, Turkcell and Saudi Telecommunications had previously expressed interest in buying the stake but have since dropped out of the running.
Pakistan Telecommunications has more than five million fixed-line phone customers.
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