Liquidity repartee touches telecom!

"We have just collected quite a substantial amount of money from the 2G licence renewal fee and will get some more soon. Don't you understand why the question of liquidity crisis comes up?" Telecom industry is anxious to hear such reassuring words from the political front to face off the fiscal challenges. Does this foretell that something ominous is creeping into the sector? Though the operators submitted the licence renewal fees as per the guideline, the air is still quite heavy with legal and revenue-related complexities. The stakeholders are well aware of the desperate manoeuvres by the government to exploit every single option to mobilise revenue. The squeezed foreign fund flow coupled with frantic bank borrowings, have led the government to look for options at hand to tackle the liquidity crises. The amount government took from the banks during the last four and a half months is equivalent to the amount it wanted to borrow during the entire fiscal. This is enough to measure the gravity of the crises. Against the backdrop of this reality, the government is trying to tackle the situation on both the fronts, fiscal and political. Admittedly, the government's arsenal, in terms of talent to fight the crises, is quite formidable. The vastly experienced cabinet members, along with the technocrat advisers, are working round-the-clock. On the political front, even the head of the government is trying her hands to calm down the temperature. Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has apparently appeared as a useful tool to the policymakers to serve their purpose. Though BTRC had the authority to be run as an independent body during the caretaker government, it is now nothing more than an extension of the Telecom Ministry after the Telecom Act was updated in 2010. The pattern of recent erratic behaviour on the part of BTRC is not convincing enough to think that it is working solely for ensuring a better regulated regime for the telecom industry. It only makes the points strong, that suggests that the government has rolled up its sleeves to mobilise revenue from all possible sources. Admittedly, the telecom operators have to follow the regulations and pay all the dues in time. BTRC ensures that they follow the rules. However, it along with the government, should not take the operators as the golden-egg laying geese. Ensuring a business-friendly environment through the elimination of the fear factors will only guarantee more revenue. There is no reason to think that the fact is not quite clear to all the stakeholders. Moreover, it is up to the leadership now whether they want to tackle the crises of liquidity head on or just take it 'the quick rental electricity way.' In fact, the quick rental burden started the bleeding of the government exchequer. That has compounded the liquidity crises lately. The writer can be reached at e-mail: sabbir.osmani@gmail.com