Trans World Associates (Private) Limited ("the Company"/ "Transworld"/ "TWA") was incorporated in Pakistan as a Private Limited Company on October 01, 1980, under the Companies Act, 1913 (now Companies Act, 2017). The registered and head office of the Company is situated at 24, Retalia Building, G-6 Markaz, Islamabad. 

The Company is a subsidiary Orastar Limited with 90% holding. As of now, three companies operate under the umbrella of TWA which includes; (i) Trans World Enterprises Services (Pvt) Ltd (TES), (ii) Trans World Infrastructure Services (Pvt) Ltd (TIS), and (iii) TES Media (Pvt) Ltd (TMPL).

TWA commenced operations in 2006 and the principal activity of the Company is to establish and operate its Telecommunication System and provide the Long Distance and International Telecommuncication services under the license issued by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). Currently, there are three submarine cable operators in Pakistan: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), TWA, and PEACE cable. PTCL currently operates three submarine cables, all of which are part of international consortiums. Currently, TWA owns and operates two submarine cables: TWA-1 and SEA-ME-WE-5. Moreover, TWA is also a consortium partner in SEA-ME-WE-6, for which a substantial CAPEX is already being done. As per the management, it is antipated to be operational at the end of CY26. In addition, TWA serves as the landing partner for the upcoming 2Africa cable system, which is expected to further enhance Pakistan’s international connectivity.

M/s. Orastar Limited holds 90% shares in the Company, and the remaining 10% is owned by Dr. Omar Bin Abdul Muniem Al Zawawi (Late) heirs. Orastar is a B.V.I company managed by directors based out of Jersey.

The majority shareholding of TWA is with Orastar Limited, which is an institutional investor focusing on Private Equity placements mostly in the unlisted tech, IT, and Power Generation space. Orastar increased its ownership position in TWA to 90% in January 2022, showing its trust in Pakistan's telecom and IT sectors.

The Sponsors possess a strong investment profile with exposure to both local and international jurisdiction. Their vast and diversified business experience reflects deep strategic insight, prudent financial management, and the ability to navigate complex market environments. 

The financial strength is considered strong, supported by Orastar Limited, an institutional investor, with keen focus on private equity, particularly in the unlisted tech, IT, and Power generation sectors.

The Board consists of seven directors, which include five non-executive and two executive directors. Mr. Junaid Iqbal is the CEO of the Company and acts as a non-executive director.

The Board comprises seasoned professionals with extensive global experience across telecom, finance, client services, and industrial management. Iskander Alex Shalaby (ex-Chairman & CEO of Mobinil, former AT&T executive), Junaid Iqbal Khan (former senior executive at Zain, Motorola, Jazz, and PTCL; UC Berkeley graduate), Syed Bashir Ahmad (ex-Head of Private Banking at ABN AMRO, ING, and Bank of Singapore; CEO of Halkin Investments), Iain David Johns (Group Head of Private Client Services at JTC; board member of MAS Singapore and Jersey FSC), Syed Mukhtar Ahmed (ex-EVP International Communications at PTCL; Advisor to Saif Telecom/Transworld), Pervez Iftikhar (independent Telecom Policy and Regulation consultant; founding CEO of USF Pakistan; former Country Head of Siemens Telecom Pakistan) and Khursheed Ashraf (General Manager, Waleed Associates; board/committee roles at Siemens LLC Oman, NEWREST WACASCO, and others) form the Board. Collectively, they bring over four decades of leadership experience each, ensuring robust governance and strategic oversight.

The board currently has two committees, i.e., Financial & Audit Committee and Technical & Investment Committee. All board members are professionals and have diverse experience in the different market segments related to IT, telecommunication, and banking.

The auditors of the Company are A. F. Ferguson & Co., categorized under the ‘A’ category on the list of SBP list of auditors. They have expressed an unqualified opinion on the financial statements of the Company as at December 31, 2024.

TWA has a lean organizational structure, and a majority of the senior management has been associated with the Company for a long time. The structure of the Company is divided into different functional departments, namely: (i) Finance, (ii) Engineering, (iii) Commercial, (iv) HR, (v) IT, (vi) Government Relations & Admin, (vii) Internal Audit, and (viii) Governance.

The management team of Transworld is well-experienced and led by Mr. Saad Muzaffar Waraich, President and Mr. Aasif Inam, Deputy CEO & COO. Both are seasoned professionals and brings extensive experience in the telecom sector, driving strategic growth and innovation. They also bring valuable insights ensuring strong leadership and stragetgic guidance for the Company. Supported by a highly qualified management team with strong expertise, TWA is well-positioned to thrive in the competitive telecom industry. Mr. Naveed Malik, CFO, has 30+ years of experience and has been associated with TWA since 2010.

Currently, TWA has a Pricing, Procurement & Investment committees in place. Besides, they have a well-established dashboard system on Power BI to assess real-time performance and address any shortfall in their performance. The departmental heads have regular joint sessions to discuss the business strategy.

An in-house real-time information/dashboard system exists for TWA. IT function is divided into different areas: Infrastructure, Operations, Development, and ERP & CRM support.

The Company has a stringent control environment, including an independent internal audit function and regular third-party audits. They regularly assess the effectiveness of risk assessment, internal controls & financial reporting. TWA has established the Cyber Security Framework to effectively identify and address the risks related to Cyber Security within the organization. In 2025, the company has established its Enterprise Risk Management framework to further strengthens its internal controls and risk governance.

In Pakistan, an internet provider in the industry mainly consists of Tier-I, Tier-II, and Tier-III providers. There are three submarine cable operators: PTCL, TWA, and Cybernet (Landing Partner of the PEACE cable system). These operators handle the internet traffic in Pakistan, delivering bandwidth to cellular mobile operators, ISPs, corporate organizations, and SMEs. As per the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) statistics, there are ~150mln broadband subscribers and ~27,897 petabytes data consumption was recorded during FY25, marking a growth of ~11% YoY. In a span of four years, the data usage consumption increased from ~12,572 petabytes in 2021 to ~27,894 petabytes in 2025, registering an overall growth of ~121%.

In submarine fibre optic connectivity, PTCL, TWA andCybernet (PEACE) are currently operational. Pakistan's bandwidth demand is met through these players. As per the Pakistan Telecommunication Athority (PTA) international bandwidth capacity statistics, the installed capacity of all operators (including PTCL, TWA, SCO, and Cybernet) stood at 16.4Tbps, in whcih the activated capacity recorded at 10.26Tbps. PTCL and TWA remain the dominant providers, supplying the bulk of domestic bandwidth demand. 

During CY24, the Company generated a topline of ~PKR 13,311mln (CY23: ~PKR 10,618mln, CY22: ~PKR 8,744mln), reflecting a growth of 25.4%. The Carrier, Int'l business, and Wholesale business segments were the main revenue drivers, with bandwidth growth rates of ~68.2%, ~45.8% and ~13.1%, respectively. Besides, the Corporate and Enterprise segment also showed notable growth of ~21.7% during CY2024 essentially attributable to new product offerings including managed services. During 6MCY25, the topline reached ~PKR 7,429mln. The revenue distribution is as follows: the carrier segmebt contributes ~41.9%, international business accounts for ~17.4%, wholesale represents ~29.7%, LDI voice ~3.2% and corporate and other sources provide ~7.8%.

During CY24, gross profit margins clocked in at ~46.8% (CY23: ~52.2%, CY22: ~52.4%). The Company’s operating profit clocked in at ~36.2% in CY24 (CY23: ~42.1%, CY22: ~40.5%) with reduction directly attributable to certain one-off network restoration costs incurred during CY24. Consequently, the net profit margin also showed dilution and clocked in at ~16.8% in CY24 (CY23: ~17.9%, CY22: ~25.6%).

Transworld has started working on upgrading its domestic long-haul and metro networks under the LDI license issued to it by the PTA. This will further help Transworld to enhance its domestic penetration in the Urban markets of Pakistan. Transworld is also a consortium member of the SEA-ME-WE 6 submarine cable system (currently under construction), which will further enhance its network resilience and beef up its growth levels. Besides, Transworld is also acting as a Landing Partner of the Karachi Branch of the world’s longest cable system, namely 2Africa, which is set to be completed by the end of CY25. This strategic partnership enables TWA to bring massive capacity and network redundancy. It also elevates TWA market standing and open doors for strategic partnerships with other cloud players and hyperscalers in future.

TWA has efficiently managed its working capital requirements as the Company is in its expansion phase. In CY24, trade receivables reached 145 days (CY23: 166days, CY22: 146 days) while the trade payable days increased to 89 days during CY24 (CY23: 84 days, CY22: 70 days). Resultantly, the net working capital days decreased to 56 days in CY24 (CY23: 82 days, CY22: 76 days). This is driven by the combined effect of lower trade receivable days and extended trade payable days.

The Company's FCFO reached ~PKR 4,238mln during CY24 (CY23: ~PKR 3,998mln). The interest coverage ratio remains stable at 7.3x in CY24 (CY23: 8.7x, CY22: 8.4x). Furthermore, the debt coverage ratio reached 1.2x (CY23: 2.4x, CY22: 2.3x). While EBITDA/Finance Cost clocked at 9.6x in CY24 (CY23: 11.1x; CY22: 9.5x).

During CY24, the Company’s leveraging stood at ~47.7% (CY23: ~50.1%, CY22: ~51.9%). Short-term borrowing recorded at PKR 640mln in CY24 (CY23: PKR 759mln, CY22: ~PKR 1,713mln). However, mainly borrowing consists of long-term borrowing and is recorded at PKR 10,978mln in CY24 (CY23: ~PKR 10,458mln, CY24: ~PKR 8,431mln).