Omantel pays $193 mln for Pakistan's Worldcall

MUSCAT, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Oman Telecommunications Co OTL.OM (Omantel) said it paid $193 million for Pakistan's Worldcall Telecom WTCL.KA, its biggest investment outside its home country.

The state-controlled company said in May it was in talks to buy a Pakistan telecom operator, identifying Worldcall the following month. It never said how much it was looking to pay. [ID:nL23227125] [ID:nL24491922]

Omantel agreed to buy 60 percent of the company from the biggest shareholders and 5 percent through the Pakistani stock market , it said in a statement late on Monday.

Initially, the stake would have cost Omantel $204 million, but it was lower because the Pakistani rupee was weaker against the dollar, it said.

"Entering the Pakistani market is important because it is one of the markets that has the fastest growth rates due to the dense population and low penetration levels in several telecommunication services," Chief Executive Officer Mohammed al-Wohaibi said in the statement.

Omantel said in November its acquisition of Worldcall would boost profit by as much as 14 percent from next year. [ID:nL11173467] (Editing by Louise Heavens)