In what is expected to be Bangladesh’s biggest IPO to date, Bangladesh's largest mobile phone operator, GrameenPhone, plans to list on the Dhaka stock exchange by June.
 
The company, 62 percent owned by Norwegian telecom company Telenor (News - Alert), has more than 16 million of Bangladesh's 32 million cellular subscribers.

 
Grameen Telecom was established in 2006 by Nobel peace prize winner Muhammad Yunus and is currently owned by micro-finance giant Grameen Bank.
Grameen Telecom owns 38 percent of GrameenPhone .
 
GrameenPhone has named Citibank as its adviser for the Initial Public Offering (IPO), Bangladesh's telecommunications regulatory body said in a statement. As Grameenphone (News - Alert) is valued at more than five billion dollars, the IPO is to be the largest in the nation's history. Yawar Sayeed, chief executive officer of Bangladesh's AIMS brokerage said, “GrameenPhone is the largest company in the country (by sales) and a lot of people are waiting to have slice of the pie.”
 
Previously, the country's private Shahjalal Islami Bank, which raised 13.4 million dollars in early 2007, had the distinction of offering the biggest IPO in Bangladesh. The AFP's report notes that Representatives of Telenor and Grameen Telecom met officials of the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission and said they would list the company by June.
 
 
Raju Shanbhag is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To see more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.
Mark your calendars! Internet Telephony (News - Alert) Conference & EXPO — the first major IP communications event of the year — is just days away. It’s not too late to register for the event, which takes place in Miami Beach, FL, January 23–25, 2008. The EXPO will feature three valuable days of exhibits, conferences and networking that you won’t want to miss. So what are you waiting for? Sign up now!
 


Back to Communications Solutions