Japan's DOCOMO buys 30pc stake of AKTel

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Japan's leading mobile communications company, NTT DOCOMO, Inc has announced its acquisition of 30 per cent stake in AKTel, Bangladesh's third-biggest wireless carrier, at a cost of $350 million.

The announcement of the Japanese cell phone giant came in a statement posted on its web site on Monday after the company reached agreement with A.K. Khan Co. Ltd, the owner of the AKTel's 30 per cent stake.

The statement said the NTT DOCOMO, INC. will acquire a 30 percent stake in TM International (Bangladesh) Limited (TMIB), a mobile phone operator based in Dhaka, Bangladesh, by directly acquiring all stocks in TMIB held by A.K. Khan Co. Ltd. and its four group companies.

The TMIB was incorporated on 15 November 1997 as a joint venture company between TM International Sdn Bhd (TMI), a subsidiary of Telekom Malaysia Berhad (70%), and AK Khan & Company (30%), one of the largest and oldest business houses of Bangladesh.

On the same day, the TMIB in Dhaka informed the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Body (BTRC) about DOCOMO's inclusion in the company.

"We have formally informed the BTRC today on receipt of the information," Fazlur Rahman, Director, Coordination and Regulatory Department of TMIB, told the FE Monday.

He said the TMIB will dispatch another letter to telecom regulatory body seeking its permission for transferring 30 per cent stake of the company to DOCOMO after receiving relevant documents.

A senior BTRC official said: "Telecom Regulatory board will seek to know about the details of the payment prior to issuing permission for transferring shares."

He said: "The BTRC is considering scrutiny of Banglalink and Singtel deals to locate the funds involved."

The DOCOMO said it will participate in TMIB's management and actively draw on its expertise to enhance the company's business in the fast-growing Bangladeshi mobile telecommunications market.

"The deal worth US$350 million is expected to be completed by the end of 2008," it said.

AKTel officials said the TMIB will soon chalk out huge investment plans to regain its position which it lost to Banglalink.

According to official statistics of the BTRC, AKTel's number of subscribers until May stood at 7.71 million out of the country's total 42.04 million mobile users where market leader Grameen Phone Ltd, Orascom Telecom Bangladesh Limited (Banglalink), PBTL (Citycell), Teletalk Bangladesh Ltd and Warid Telecom International L.L.C have 19.58 million, 8.99 million, 1.64 million, 0.99 million and 3.13 million customers respectively.

"We will sit soon with our new partner to formulate new roadmap for expansion of the company's entire operation," a senior official said.

Ettihad Etisalat, a consortium headed by the UAE's Etisalat with incorporation of six Saudi joint venture partners, and Vodafone, the world's leading mobile telecom group, had expressed interest to buy the stakes of the AKTel.

The official said: "The DOCOMO will make investment in TMIB under equity method."

DOCOMO, one of the global leaders in mobile communications, serves over 53 million customers, including 44 million people subscribing to FOMA