Merger Talks Emerge in Bangladesh Mobile Market

Two of Bangladesh's mobile operators may merge to try and stem ongoing losses in the market. Banglalink, owned by Egypt's Orascom Teleco, and Telekom Malaysia/DoCoMo joint venture, AKTEL are the two firms rumoured to be in talks, who between them would control just over 42% of the market.

"Except for the market leader, others are continually posting losses. In order to sustain in this fiercely competitive market, and in line with our growth ambitions, we are considering many strategies of which consolidation is an option," said Ahmed Abou Doma, chief executive officer of Banglalink, in a statement.

His statement came following media reports about the merger issue, which was disclosed by Orascom Telecom Holdings' Chairman Naguib Sawiris recently.

Doma also dismissed concerns about job losses saying that the merged company would gain market share and hence require more staff, not fewer.

Ahmed Abou Doma took up the top job at Banglalink last December after spending several years as Marketing Director of Egypt's Mobinil.

According to figures from the Mobile World analysts, Banglalink ended last year with 10.4 million customers, while AKTEL had 8.7 million customers. Market leader Grameenphone ended the year with just under 21 million customers.

On the web - Mobile World - Banglalink - AKTEL

Posted to the site on 22nd May 2009