Bangladeshi mobile network operator, Grameenphone expects to be able to proceed with its long planned stock market floatation in the very near future. The company has already raised US$60 million through the pre-IPO private placement offer. The full floatation should raise up to US$300 million, which will see the company listed on the Dhaka and Chittagong stock exchanges.
"We have fulfilled all requirements set forth by the SEC," Ferdousur Rahman, a senior official at Grameenphone told the Reuters news agency.
Grameenphone is 62 percent owned by Norway's Telenor and 38 percent by local Grameen Telecom.
There has been tension in the past between the two co-owners of the phone network, with the Nobel Price winning founder of Grameen Bank claiming that Telenor has reneged on an agreement to allow the bank to take a controlling stake in the phone company.
The country currently has six operators - and according to figures from the Mobile World, ended Q1 '09 with just under 46.3 million mobile subscribers - which is still a population penetration level of 29.7%. Also worth noting is that while the country has six operators, only four of them are of any significant scale, Grameenphone (21m), Banglalink (10.8m) and Aktel (9.3m) and finally, Warid Telecom (2.3m). The two remaining long term incumbents, Citycell and Teletalk add up to 2.8 million customers between them.
Grameenphone originally received a license for cellular phone operation in Bangladesh from the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications on November 28, 1996. Grameenphone started operations on March 26, 1997, the Independence Day in Bangladesh.
On the web: Reuters - Mobile World
Posted to the site on 27th June 2009
Posted to: www.cellular-news.com/story/38241.php