VEON and JazzWorld Launch “Invest in Pakistan, NOW!” Inviting International Investors to Participate in Pakistan’s Growth
Rhea-AI Summary
VEON (Nasdaq: VEON) and JazzWorld launched the “Invest in Pakistan, NOW!” initiative on 8 February 2026 to invite international investors and promote public‑private partnerships. The program includes an MoU with Nutshell Group, senior government participation, JazzWorld’s 100 million customers, an Urdu LLM effort, and USD 11 billion invested in Pakistan since 1994.
Positive
- Signed MoU with Nutshell Group to advance digitalization and cross‑border investment
- JazzWorld serves 100 million customers, indicating large local reach
- USD 11 billion invested in Pakistan by JazzWorld since 1994
- Development of an Urdu large language model (LLM) to support local AI innovation
Negative
- None.
News Market Reaction – VEON
In the trading session that priced this news, VEON gained 1.86%, reflecting a mild positive market reaction.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.
Key Figures
Historical Context
| Date | Event | Sentiment | 24h Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 03 | Secondary offering | Positive | -0.6% | Kyivstar secondary offering oversubscribed, VEON receives USD 139.8M net. |
| Jan 30 | AI partnership | Positive | -1.9% | Strategic MindBridge deal to deploy AI-driven financial analytics group-wide. |
| Jan 29 | Offering announcement | Neutral | -1.9% | Announcement of Kyivstar secondary public offering of shares held by VEON. |
| Jan 28 | Earnings outlook | Positive | -0.1% | Kyivstar 2025 revenue and EBITDA expected to grow 24%–26% year over year. |
| Jan 26 | Network expansion | Positive | -0.2% | New Uzbekistan NOC and BuildX AI hub launched to support 7.7M customers. |
24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.
Recent positive corporate and financial developments have often coincided with flat to mildly negative next-day moves, indicating a tendency for the stock to underreact or fade good news.
Over the last few weeks, VEON has reported multiple positive milestones, including Kyivstar secondary offerings that generated USD 139.8 million net, strong Kyivstar FY2025 growth indications, and network and AI expansion in Uzbekistan. Despite this, the stock’s reactions were modestly negative or flat. Today’s Pakistan-focused digitalization and investment initiative extends VEON’s emerging-markets, platform-based strategy already seen in Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
Key Terms
memorandum of understanding regulatory
augmented intelligence technical
large language model technical
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
Dubai, New York and Islamabad, 8 February 2026: VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), a global digital operator (“VEON” or the “Group”), today announced the launching of its “Invest in Pakistan, NOW!” initiative in partnership with JazzWorld, VEON’s services company in Pakistan, during World Governments Summit in Dubai, UAE. “Invest in Pakistan, NOW!” invites international investors to take a fresh look at Pakistan as the country’s economic fundamentals strengthen, and long-term growth opportunities become more visible.
As a part of the initiative, JazzWorld and Nutshell Group of Pakistan, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to advance dialogue and partnerships around digitalization, inclusive growth, and cross-border investment in Pakistan.
The signing ceremony was attended by Bilal Azhar Kiyani, Minister of State for Finance and Railways of Pakistan, and His Excellency Shafqat Ali Khan, Ambassador of Pakistan to the UAE, as well as senior diplomats, business leaders, VEON Founder and Chairman Augie Fabela, VEON Group CEO Kaan Terzioglu, and JazzWorld CEO and VEON Group Executive Committee member Aamir Ibrahim, among others.
Zaheer Mehdi, JazzWorld’s Chief Corporate and Regulatory Affairs Officer, and Muhammad Azfar Ahsan, Founder and Chairman of Nutshell Group, have signed the MoU in a ceremony attended by Minister Bilal Azhar Kiyani, H.E. Ambassador Shafqat Ali Khan, VEON Founder and Chairman Augie Fabela, VEON Group CEO Kaan Terzioglu, JazzWorld CEO and VEON GEC member Aamir Ibrahim.
Mr. Bilal Azhar Kayani, Minister of State for Finance and Railways highlighted that Pakistan has achieved macroeconomic stability backed by the government’s initiatives to improve confidence and the business ecosystem for attracting foreign investment in the country. The Minister of State appreciated the initiatives of VEON, JazzWorld and Nutshell Group of Pakistan, expressing that such partnerships around digitalization and cross-border investment would set an example for other foreign investors to invest in Pakistan.
Kaan Terzioglu, VEON Group CEO, noted that the region is at the cusp of a historical paradigm shift. “We are at a point in history: Powered by AI, which we call augmented intelligence, human-centered innovation can fundamentally change the way we achieve growth and improve lives with services. “With the ‘Invest in Pakistan, NOW!’ initiative, we want to spark international investor interest and a new wave of public-private partnerships that will help Pakistan seize this moment. The World Governments Summit held here in Dubai, where VEON’s headquarters is located, is the perfect venue to start this journey.”
Aamir Ibrahim, Executive Committee Member of VEON Group and CEO of JazzWorld, underscored the transformation in Pakistan’s macro-level fundamentals: “Pakistan today is best understood through the scale and resilience of its long-term fundamentals. Investors who focus on these fundamentals will recognize the progress already taking place on the ground. With national-scale digital platforms already in place, Pakistan is well positioned for its next phase of growth and it is a powerful opportunity for regional and global investors. We look forward to making this potential more visible to the investor community with our ‘Invest in Pakistan, NOW!’ initiative.”
VEON’s own experience in Pakistan underscores the scale and pace of the country’s digital transformation. Through JazzWorld, its integrated digital services ecosystem encompassing Jazz, JazzCash, Tamasha and other platforms, VEON has built Pakistan’s leading digital services company, serving 100 million customers. JazzWorld delivers market-leading connectivity, digital financial services and digital entertainment, while expanding into enterprise solutions, insurance, digital healthcare, online marketplaces and adjacent digital services. The platform is also developing an Urdu large language model (LLM), supporting Pakistan’s ambitions in artificial intelligence and local-language innovation.
The “Invest in Pakistan, NOW!” initiative builds on VEON’s broader commitment to emerging markets and to Pakistan. JazzWorld has invested more than USD 11 billion in Pakistan since its founding in 1994.
About VEON
VEON is a digital operator that provides connectivity and digital services to nearly 150 million connectivity customers and 140 million digital users. Operating across five countries that are home to more than
About JazzWorld
JazzWorld is Pakistan’s leading integrated digital ServiceCo, serving over 100 million users through a portfolio spanning connectivity (Jazz), fintech (JazzCash), entertainment (Tamasha), ultra-app (SIMOSA), insurtech (FikrFree), enterprise cloud solutions (Garaj), gaming (GameNow), health-tech (Apna Clinic), fashion marketplace (Zarr), and more. This evolution reflects Jazz’s strategic shift from connectivity to capability, enabling platforms that ensure a better life for all through the power of technology. For more information, visit: www.jazz.com.pk
Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer
This release contains “forward-looking statements”, within the meaning of the Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to VEON’s and its subsidiaries’ strategic ambitions and partnerships. There are numerous risks, uncertainties that could cause actual results and performance to differ materially from those expressed by such statements, including risks relating to VEON’s and its subsidiaries’ strategic ambitions and partnerships, among others discussed in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in VEON’s 2024 Form 20-F filed with the SEC on April 25, 2025 and other public filings made by VEON with the SEC. The forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date of this release and VEON disclaims any obligation to update them, except as required by law.
Contact Information
VEON
Hande Asik
Chief Communications and Strategy Officer
pr@veon.com
