GP AGM to mark a watershed in corporate history
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
Raihan M Chowdhury
June 8, 2010 is going to be a red-letter day in the history of country's corporate world.
"A huge arrangement, a mammoth job and an extravagance will mark the ensuing annual general meeting (AGM) of Grameenphone Ltd," said Raihan Shamsi, deputy CEO and chief financial officer of GP, country's largest mobile operator.
He said the whole area (inner and outer premises) of city's Bangabandhu International Conference Centre has been booked for the June 8 AGM of GP.
A total of 1,09,833 shareholders of GP, as per its record date (April 8, 2010) have been invited on the occasion. It is the first AGM after GP went public in late-2009.
"It will be the largest gathering of shareholders in any company in country's history and we feel proud of it," Mr Raihan added.
He said a total of nine printing presses were given the huge job to print the annual reports.
" A total of 15,000 copies are being sent to the respective shareholders every day," the GP senior executive said.
Commenting on the market growth, the GP executive said a Tk 800 SIM tax remains a major barrier.
We have already crossed 25 million-mark subscriber-base and if the SIM tax is withdrawn, the number of subscriber will be four time higher by 2015," Mr Raihan added.
He further added that the dream of digitization of Bangladesh will not be fulfilled, if such barrier is not removed.
So far, GP has invested more than Tk 149.5 billion in Bangladesh. In 2009, it invested over Tk 10 billion.
According to a GP study, significant economic benefits are projected from the Internet in Bangladesh and mobile phone users are also the major clients of internet.
Overall contribution to GDP is expected to accelerate, and will reach 2.6% p.a. in 2020. The key driver of this is the productivity gains experienced by business users in all industries.
Rising Internet penetration should also drive an increase in new business activity and job creation. By enabling people to transact across large distances, the Internet can help make up for shortages in other forms of infrastructure, such as roads, Potentially, the Internet could increase new business creation by up to 42,000 and add 129,000 jobs in 2020. Over the ten year period this is expected to amount to Tk 539 bn, approximate[y 4.6% of government revenues.
More than 90% of this tax will come from corporate taxes on the users of the Internet, while less than 10% will come from taxes and fees paid by the providers themselves, the GP study added.
This highlights that the Internet is a capital good that enables increased production across the economy. High taxes on the provision of such services, although they may be lucrative short term, will ultimately stifle development of the Bangladesh economy.
The Internet is expected to bring wide-ranging social gains in Bangladesh, with far greater impact than would be expected for a more developed country. The Internet can serve here as an alternative infrastructure backbone, making available services and processes that would otherwise have been unreachable,
For instance, healthcare is a fundamental concern, Bangladesh has a patient-doctor ratio of 4000:1,in comparison, India has a ratio of 1750:1. Through e-health initiatives, the Internet can help improve healthcare access, particularly in rural areas. An example is the Alokito initiative, where nurses out in the field have a wireless broadband link connecting the patients to doctors in the main city, In a country like Bangladesh, with rural areas that often affected by flooding, which makes them difficult to access, the Internet can also be a valuable instrument in tracking disease outbreaks.
Field medical officers can provide accurate, real time information from remote areas using handheld computer with Internet connections, allowing local and international health organizations to track the spread of diseases, Example concerns rural development: Most people living in rural areas in Bangladesh frequently face low and volatile incomes and experience lack of access to basic services and lifestyle options.
The Internet can help increase and diversify sources of income, for instance in agriculture, By improving price information and reducing the reliance on middlemen, the Internet can increase considerably the prices farmers receive for their output.
Access to reliable information on land registration records can also be critical for farmers seeking to protect their rights and prove ownership of their land. Improved access to information also improves transparency, reducing opportunities for corruption.
Commenting on the revised Telecom Act, Mr Raihan said there is no guideline on renewal of the telecom operators' licenses in the proposed act.
Licenses of some telecom operators will expire in November, 2011.
He also urged to relax the penalty provision.
"A Tk 3.0 billion penalty money is too much, no country has such tough law," Mr Raihan said.
June 8, 2010 is going to be a red-letter day in the history of country's corporate world.
"A huge arrangement, a mammoth job and an extravagance will mark the ensuing annual general meeting (AGM) of Grameenphone Ltd," said Raihan Shamsi, deputy CEO and chief financial officer of GP, country's largest mobile operator.
He said the whole area (inner and outer premises) of city's Bangabandhu International Conference Centre has been booked for the June 8 AGM of GP.
A total of 1,09,833 shareholders of GP, as per its record date (April 8, 2010) have been invited on the occasion. It is the first AGM after GP went public in late-2009.
"It will be the largest gathering of shareholders in any company in country's history and we feel proud of it," Mr Raihan added.
He said a total of nine printing presses were given the huge job to print the annual reports.
" A total of 15,000 copies are being sent to the respective shareholders every day," the GP senior executive said.
Commenting on the market growth, the GP executive said a Tk 800 SIM tax remains a major barrier.
We have already crossed 25 million-mark subscriber-base and if the SIM tax is withdrawn, the number of subscriber will be four time higher by 2015," Mr Raihan added.
He further added that the dream of digitization of Bangladesh will not be fulfilled, if such barrier is not removed.
So far, GP has invested more than Tk 149.5 billion in Bangladesh. In 2009, it invested over Tk 10 billion.
According to a GP study, significant economic benefits are projected from the Internet in Bangladesh and mobile phone users are also the major clients of internet.
Overall contribution to GDP is expected to accelerate, and will reach 2.6% p.a. in 2020. The key driver of this is the productivity gains experienced by business users in all industries.
Rising Internet penetration should also drive an increase in new business activity and job creation. By enabling people to transact across large distances, the Internet can help make up for shortages in other forms of infrastructure, such as roads, Potentially, the Internet could increase new business creation by up to 42,000 and add 129,000 jobs in 2020. Over the ten year period this is expected to amount to Tk 539 bn, approximate[y 4.6% of government revenues.
More than 90% of this tax will come from corporate taxes on the users of the Internet, while less than 10% will come from taxes and fees paid by the providers themselves, the GP study added.
This highlights that the Internet is a capital good that enables increased production across the economy. High taxes on the provision of such services, although they may be lucrative short term, will ultimately stifle development of the Bangladesh economy.
The Internet is expected to bring wide-ranging social gains in Bangladesh, with far greater impact than would be expected for a more developed country. The Internet can serve here as an alternative infrastructure backbone, making available services and processes that would otherwise have been unreachable,
For instance, healthcare is a fundamental concern, Bangladesh has a patient-doctor ratio of 4000:1,in comparison, India has a ratio of 1750:1. Through e-health initiatives, the Internet can help improve healthcare access, particularly in rural areas. An example is the Alokito initiative, where nurses out in the field have a wireless broadband link connecting the patients to doctors in the main city, In a country like Bangladesh, with rural areas that often affected by flooding, which makes them difficult to access, the Internet can also be a valuable instrument in tracking disease outbreaks.
Field medical officers can provide accurate, real time information from remote areas using handheld computer with Internet connections, allowing local and international health organizations to track the spread of diseases, Example concerns rural development: Most people living in rural areas in Bangladesh frequently face low and volatile incomes and experience lack of access to basic services and lifestyle options.
The Internet can help increase and diversify sources of income, for instance in agriculture, By improving price information and reducing the reliance on middlemen, the Internet can increase considerably the prices farmers receive for their output.
Access to reliable information on land registration records can also be critical for farmers seeking to protect their rights and prove ownership of their land. Improved access to information also improves transparency, reducing opportunities for corruption.
Commenting on the revised Telecom Act, Mr Raihan said there is no guideline on renewal of the telecom operators' licenses in the proposed act.
Licenses of some telecom operators will expire in November, 2011.
He also urged to relax the penalty provision.
"A Tk 3.0 billion penalty money is too much, no country has such tough law," Mr Raihan said.