Investors are getting jittery as the largest corporate company in Bangladesh waits anxiously to see if it gets government approval to raise further funds.
The rural poor have benefited greatly by
having access to mobile phones
The mobile phone operator Grameenphone is valued at $3.2bn and requires the capital for new investments ahead of the introduction of its 3G services.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is awaiting government instructions before it can give the go-ahead for Grameenphone to offload shares worth $65m in an Initial Public Offering (IPO).
"The approval of the Grameenphone IPO is under process," says Farhad Ahmed, the SEC's director, but investors say the delay may discourage the listing of big companies in the future.
"This delay may dampen market interests," says Salahuddin Ahmed Khan, former head of the Dhaka Stock Exchange. "The SEC should approve the IPO immediately."
Showcase
When the idea was first mooted in the summer of 2008, the company planned to raise $300m, but that figure has since been more than halved.
"Because of the ongoing global slowdown, the sum we are looking for is $125m," says Grameenphone's Oddvar Hesjedal, "with $65m from the stock market and $60m from private placement."
"The money will be raised entirely within Bangladesh," he adds. "There is strong support from more than 50 local institutional investors."
"We will use the Grameenphone share issue as a showcase for other investments "
Yawer Sayeed AIMS asset management
The company admits it is under pressure from shareholders who have already committed themselves to a stake in the company.
Yawer Sayeed, of the local asset management company AIMS, says he placed a large order with issue managers City Global some three months ago.
"We are locked into our commitment for a full year so, until the share debuts and starts trading, our money is sitting there without earning any interest," he says.
He also believes the share issue will open up new markets.
"People want to invest in infrastructure, along with gas and oil exploration," he says.
"There are also bridges to be built across our huge rivers, elevated highways, and the deep water port at Cox's Bazaar," he enthuses.
"We will use the Grameenphone share issue as a showcase for other investments."
There is concern, however, that the government is now more focused on settling the crisis stemming from the recent mutiny in the border security forces.
At the time, the mutineers said their revolt was over pay and working conditions, but the government now says it was part of a wider conspiracy aimed at destabilising Bangladesh.
Social Benefits
Grameenphone is the market leader among six mobile phone operators in Bangladesh, with 21 million subscribers.
The company has bucked the global trend of spiralling plunges and saw its profits rise by a staggering 68% in 2008.
Since its inception in March 1997, Grameenphone has built the largest cellular network in the country and nearly 98% of the country's population is within the coverage area of its network.
Villagers initially visited the 'phone lady'
to make their calls
It also pays more tax to the government than any other business in Bangladesh.
The company was founded in partnership with Norway's telecom giant Telenor, after the microfinance banker Professor Muhammad Yunus envisaged how gaining access to to the outside world would help the poor in rural villages.
Prof Yunus explains how farmers can determine the best time to sell their produce by keeping in touch with market prices, and how they can get veterinary advice about their animals.
Grameenphone has generated direct and indirect employment for a large number of people over the years.
It has more than 5,000 full and temporary employees, while another 100,000 people are directly dependent on Grameenphone for their livelihood, including retailers and Sim card outlets.
In addition, the Village Phone Program provides a good income-earning opportunity to more than 210,000 - mostly women.
The programme is a unique initiative to provide universal access to telecommunications service in remote, rural areas.
At its conception, only one person might have had a phone and other villagers would go to what became known as the "phone lady" who would let them use her appliance to make their call.
Ten years later, the entire Grameenphone network is also enabled to allow access to high-speed internet and data services.
"The universal use of mobile telephony is a useful tool to lift people out of poverty, because it will help them become better educated," Prof Yunus advocates
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