শেয়ারবাজার :::: যশোরের নওয়াপাড়ায় ৪০ মেগাওয়াট বিদ্যুৎ প্রকল্পের জন্য খানজাহান আলী পাওয়ার কোম্পানি লিমিটেডকে পাঁচ বছর মেয়াদে দুই কোটি মার্কিন ডলারের ঋণ-সহায়তা দিয়েছে স্ট্যান্ডার্ড চার্টার্ড ব্যাংক।
এ ব্যাপারে সম্প্রতি একটি চুক্তি হয়েছে। চুক্তি স্বাক্ষর অনুষ্ঠানে স্ট্যান্ডার্ড চার্টার্ড ব্যাংকের ভারত ও দক্ষিণ এশিয়ার হেড অব ওসিসি ভেঙ্কটরামানন আনন্দরমন, দক্ষিণ-পূর্ব এশিয়া ও দক্ষিণ এশিয়ার হেড অব গ্রোথ মার্কেটস নিরকুট সাপরু; হেড অব রিজিওনাল স্ট্রাকচারড ট্রেড ফিন্যান্স অ্যান্ড ফিন্যান্সিং সল্যুশন্স মিলন মেহরা, স্ট্যান্ডার্ড চার্টার্ড ব্যাংক বাংলাদেশের সিইও জিম ম্যাককেইব, হেড অব অরিজিনেশন অ্যান্ড ক্লায়েন্ট কাভারেজ আবরার আনোয়ার, হেড অব সিটিএ মাহ্ফুজুর রহমান, পরিচালক-সিটিএ আরিফ আইনুল সুমন ও ফিন্যান্সিয়াল মার্কেট সেলসের সহযোগী পরিচালক সৈয়দ শাদমান রহিম উপস্থিত ছিলেন।
অন্যদিকে ইউনাইটেড গ্রুপের চেয়ারম্যান হাসান মাহ্মুদ রাজা, খানজাহান আলী পাওয়ার কোম্পানি লিমিটেডের পরিচালক কে এম আহ্সান শামীম এবং সামিট গ্রুপের অর্থ পরিচালক আয়েশা আজিজ খান ও পরিচালক জাফর উম্মিদ খান উপস্থিত ছিলেন। বিজ্ঞপ্তি।
Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith on Thursday said that the 2G (Second Generation) mobile license renewal fee for four mobile phone operators would be finalised within a month.
The licenses of four operators-- Grameenphone, Banglalink, Robi and Citycell –- will be expired on November 10 this year.
"We’ll are hopeful that we would be able to do it in a month," the minister told the reporter emerging from a meeting with a delegation of Association of Mobile Telecom Operators Bangladesh (AMTOB) at his office.
Muhith informed that the Finance Ministry would also be able to forward their views on the issue within 15 days.
Sources said the revised license renewal guideline is now at the finance minister’s office for his consent.
Muhith said that the operators would have a further chance to talk about the issues with the concerned ministry before it is finalised.
AMTOB president and Citycell CEO Mehboob Chowdhury, grameenphone CEO Tore Johnsen, Banglalink CEO Ahmed Abou Doma and Robi's CEO Michael Kuehner were present at the meeting.
Sources said the delegation members raised various issues like license renewal and sought the finance minister’s consideration for getting rid of those.
"I told the delegation members that the renewal fee had been reduced but I did not mention the figure," Muhith told replying to a query.
The Bangladesh Telecommu- nication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) in January this year published a draft guideline concerning the renewal of the 2G mobile licences of four mobile operators.
In the draft guideline, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) proposed Tk 140 billion as spectrum charge along with five per cent revenue sharing and 1.5 per cent social obligation fee.
Meanwhile, telecom ministry sources said non-telecom issues such as employment directives, corporate social responsibility (CSR), liability on gray traffic, separation of access and transmission, mobile number portability and initial public offering (IPO) will be omitted from the guideline.
The mobile operators informed that the proposed rate was too high as they have been asked to pay the total amount in advance, for 15 years period, said the finance minister adding: "They quoted the experience of other countries where it is staggered but not 15 years."
The minister said that the issues is very vital as there is no other sector in the country which has around 70 million clients. He, however, declined to comment on whether the proposed license fee was high.
He said that the Post and Telecommunications Ministry was earlier asked to look into the practices of other countries. The ministry did so as per the guideline and modified the proposal as per the recommendations of the BTRC.
He said that some international practices were considered and some were overlooked in reviewing the proposals on renewal of license fees.
The delegation also thanked the Finance Minister for lowering the tax on SIM cards in the proposed budget for next fiscal and requested to treat SIM tax as their expenditure.
The AMTOB delegation, however, expressed their concern about leakage of some audit reports conducted by the BTRC which is tarnishing their reputation, said Muhith.
এ ব্যাপারে সম্প্রতি একটি চুক্তি হয়েছে। চুক্তি স্বাক্ষর অনুষ্ঠানে স্ট্যান্ডার্ড চার্টার্ড ব্যাংকের ভারত ও দক্ষিণ এশিয়ার হেড অব ওসিসি ভেঙ্কটরামানন আনন্দরমন, দক্ষিণ-পূর্ব এশিয়া ও দক্ষিণ এশিয়ার হেড অব গ্রোথ মার্কেটস নিরকুট সাপরু; হেড অব রিজিওনাল স্ট্রাকচারড ট্রেড ফিন্যান্স অ্যান্ড ফিন্যান্সিং সল্যুশন্স মিলন মেহরা, স্ট্যান্ডার্ড চার্টার্ড ব্যাংক বাংলাদেশের সিইও জিম ম্যাককেইব, হেড অব অরিজিনেশন অ্যান্ড ক্লায়েন্ট কাভারেজ আবরার আনোয়ার, হেড অব সিটিএ মাহ্ফুজুর রহমান, পরিচালক-সিটিএ আরিফ আইনুল সুমন ও ফিন্যান্সিয়াল মার্কেট সেলসের সহযোগী পরিচালক সৈয়দ শাদমান রহিম উপস্থিত ছিলেন।
অন্যদিকে ইউনাইটেড গ্রুপের চেয়ারম্যান হাসান মাহ্মুদ রাজা, খানজাহান আলী পাওয়ার কোম্পানি লিমিটেডের পরিচালক কে এম আহ্সান শামীম এবং সামিট গ্রুপের অর্থ পরিচালক আয়েশা আজিজ খান ও পরিচালক জাফর উম্মিদ খান উপস্থিত ছিলেন। বিজ্ঞপ্তি।
Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith on Thursday said that the 2G (Second Generation) mobile license renewal fee for four mobile phone operators would be finalised within a month.
The licenses of four operators-- Grameenphone, Banglalink, Robi and Citycell –- will be expired on November 10 this year.
"We’ll are hopeful that we would be able to do it in a month," the minister told the reporter emerging from a meeting with a delegation of Association of Mobile Telecom Operators Bangladesh (AMTOB) at his office.
Muhith informed that the Finance Ministry would also be able to forward their views on the issue within 15 days.
Sources said the revised license renewal guideline is now at the finance minister’s office for his consent.
Muhith said that the operators would have a further chance to talk about the issues with the concerned ministry before it is finalised.
AMTOB president and Citycell CEO Mehboob Chowdhury, grameenphone CEO Tore Johnsen, Banglalink CEO Ahmed Abou Doma and Robi's CEO Michael Kuehner were present at the meeting.
Sources said the delegation members raised various issues like license renewal and sought the finance minister’s consideration for getting rid of those.
"I told the delegation members that the renewal fee had been reduced but I did not mention the figure," Muhith told replying to a query.
The Bangladesh Telecommu- nication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) in January this year published a draft guideline concerning the renewal of the 2G mobile licences of four mobile operators.
In the draft guideline, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) proposed Tk 140 billion as spectrum charge along with five per cent revenue sharing and 1.5 per cent social obligation fee.
Meanwhile, telecom ministry sources said non-telecom issues such as employment directives, corporate social responsibility (CSR), liability on gray traffic, separation of access and transmission, mobile number portability and initial public offering (IPO) will be omitted from the guideline.
The mobile operators informed that the proposed rate was too high as they have been asked to pay the total amount in advance, for 15 years period, said the finance minister adding: "They quoted the experience of other countries where it is staggered but not 15 years."
The minister said that the issues is very vital as there is no other sector in the country which has around 70 million clients. He, however, declined to comment on whether the proposed license fee was high.
He said that the Post and Telecommunications Ministry was earlier asked to look into the practices of other countries. The ministry did so as per the guideline and modified the proposal as per the recommendations of the BTRC.
He said that some international practices were considered and some were overlooked in reviewing the proposals on renewal of license fees.
The delegation also thanked the Finance Minister for lowering the tax on SIM cards in the proposed budget for next fiscal and requested to treat SIM tax as their expenditure.
The AMTOB delegation, however, expressed their concern about leakage of some audit reports conducted by the BTRC which is tarnishing their reputation, said Muhith.