Grameenphone Ltd on Sunday publicly launched its first Corporate Social Responsibility Report at a simple ceremony organized at a local hotel in the city.The report was unveiled by Oddvar Hesjedal, Chief Executive Officer of Grameenphone Ltd in presence of senior representatives from both the public and private sectors.The objective of the publication was to create better understanding among the key stakeholder groups about Grameenphone's good corporate governance practices and its contribution to the socio-economic development of the country. As a responsible and sustainable business, Grameenphone's socio economic responsibilities extend beyond its financial performance. Grameenphone's investment strategies are thought through beyond mere balance sheets to act as a catalyst for prosperity and innovation that can spur economic growth for the country.In his presentation Grameenphone CEO, Oddvar Hesjedal, said that the company was geared to invest beyond business through its CSR initiatives and committed to work hand in hand with the government of Bangladesh and other development agencies in meeting the Millennium Development Goals of the country.Grameenphone recognizes the enormous potential for social and economic benefits to Bangladesh through telecommunication. It has a role to play in ensuring that these benefits are accessible to as many sections of the society as possible. This belief is crystallized as one of the key priorities in Grameenphone's CSR strategy.While the report is focused on the most significant issues and goals, through the report, Grameenphone would like to stress that transparency and corporate responsibility are embedded in every single aspect of the company's operations i.e. business, people, products, environment etc.
Grameenphone to continue Safe Motherhood, Infant Care .
Grameenphone Ltd. renewed the contract with Pathfinder International to provide free yet quality safe motherhood and infant care services to poor mothers and their infants throughout the country. An agreement was signed in this regard on 7th December, 2008. This agreement is a continuation of the partnership between the two organizations prevailing since May 2007.Under the agreement, Grameenphone, in partnership with Pathfinder International and USAID's network of Smiling Sun clinics in 61 districts, will help to provide free professional primary healthcare services through 318 static clinics, about 8000 satellite clinics and around 6000 community-based health-workers across the country. Grameenphone also aims to assist in necessary infrastructure development and extension of basic healthcare services, especially in the hard-to-reach and remote areas. Syed Yamin Bakht, Director, Public Relations, Grameenphone, and Dr. Shabnam Shahnaz, Country Representative, Pathfinder International, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organizations.Shuvashish Priya Barua, Head of CSR, Grameenphone, Juan Carlos Negrette, Chief of Party, Smiling Sun Franchise Program (SSFP), and other officials of Grameenphone and Pathfinder International were also present on the occasion.So far, a total of 940,251 economically-disadvantaged mothers and their infants received free healthcare service under the project. The Patiya and Bhola clinics, of FDSR and Swanirvar Bangladesh respectively, have been upgraded to Emergency Obstetric Care centers. In addition, five motorized vans have been provided to facilitate better patient referrals. Two clinic-on-wheels have been given to complement the existing service touch-points and enhance the accessibility of services in remote areas. 48 new community-based health workers (Depot Holders-DH) have also been recruited to generate awareness and increase service demand among the recipients.In Bangladesh, only 13% women get skilled attendants at delivery. The country has one of the highest maternal mortality rates (320 per 100,000) and infant mortality rates (52 per 1,000) in Asia. Henceforth, reducing infant mortality and improving maternal health have been identified as two of the eight millennium development goals.Through the Safe Motherhood and Infant Care Project Grameenphone aims to address the healthcare need of the less privileged members of the society, deprived of fundamental healthcare services as well as to provide continuing assistance to the Bangladesh Government and development agencies to make every life count and thus contribute to the shared dream of a thriving nation.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Grameenphone plans for $65 mln IPO
Bangladeshi mobile operator Grameenphone has filed its final application for an initial public offering (IPO) of US$65 million. The company expects the subscription period for the IPO to be late January or early February next year.
window.google_render_ad();
In July, Grameenphone, which is 62%-owned by Norwegian telecom operator Telenor said it planed to raise up to US$300 million in share sales on the domestic stock exchanges. This was later cut to US$125 million - and now has ended up with the final amount of just US$65 million.
"We are proud of our achievement in having reached this milestone. We remain committed to contributing to the development of the capital markets of Bangladesh and look forward to a successful completion of the largest IPO in the country" said Oddvar Hesjedal, CEO of Grameenphone.
window.google_render_ad();
In July, Grameenphone, which is 62%-owned by Norwegian telecom operator Telenor said it planed to raise up to US$300 million in share sales on the domestic stock exchanges. This was later cut to US$125 million - and now has ended up with the final amount of just US$65 million.
"We are proud of our achievement in having reached this milestone. We remain committed to contributing to the development of the capital markets of Bangladesh and look forward to a successful completion of the largest IPO in the country" said Oddvar Hesjedal, CEO of Grameenphone.
Bangladesh's top mobile phone carrier, Grameenphone controlled by Norway's Telenor (TEL.OL: Quote, Profile, Research), on Thursday filed its final application for an initial public offering (IPO) of $65 million, the country's biggest ever IPO.
The price for the IPO has been proposed at 7.00 taka, subject to Securities and Exchange Commission approval, Grameenphone said.
Last month, Grameenphone cut a planned share sale to $125 million from $300 million due to the sharp downturn in global markets. The revised plan includes a $75 million IPO and $50 million pre-IPO placement.
In the pre-IPO placement, Grameenphone raised a total $60 million at 7.4 taka per share due to strong demand from more than 50 local investors.
Initially the company had hoped to raise $150 million through a private placement and a similar amount through a subsequent domestic initial public offering.
"We are proud of our achievement in having reached this milestone. We remain committed to contributing to the development of the capital markets of Bangladesh and look forward to a successful completion of the largest IPO in the country," said Oddvar Hesjedal, Grameenphone's chief executive.
Citigroup (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research) is underwriting the share sale.
Grameenphone was founded in 1996 by Norwegian telecoms group Telenor, the second-largest foreign operator in Asia, and Grameen Bank, which was launched by microfinance pioneer and Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus.
At end-October, Grameenphone had 20.8 million subscribers, around 48 percent of the nation's total and well ahead of Egyptian Orascom Telecom's ORTE.CA Banglalink and Telekom Malaysia's (TLMM.KL: Quote, Profile, Research) Aktel.
The price for the IPO has been proposed at 7.00 taka, subject to Securities and Exchange Commission approval, Grameenphone said.
Last month, Grameenphone cut a planned share sale to $125 million from $300 million due to the sharp downturn in global markets. The revised plan includes a $75 million IPO and $50 million pre-IPO placement.
In the pre-IPO placement, Grameenphone raised a total $60 million at 7.4 taka per share due to strong demand from more than 50 local investors.
Initially the company had hoped to raise $150 million through a private placement and a similar amount through a subsequent domestic initial public offering.
"We are proud of our achievement in having reached this milestone. We remain committed to contributing to the development of the capital markets of Bangladesh and look forward to a successful completion of the largest IPO in the country," said Oddvar Hesjedal, Grameenphone's chief executive.
Citigroup (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research) is underwriting the share sale.
Grameenphone was founded in 1996 by Norwegian telecoms group Telenor, the second-largest foreign operator in Asia, and Grameen Bank, which was launched by microfinance pioneer and Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus.
At end-October, Grameenphone had 20.8 million subscribers, around 48 percent of the nation's total and well ahead of Egyptian Orascom Telecom's ORTE.CA Banglalink and Telekom Malaysia's (TLMM.KL: Quote, Profile, Research) Aktel.
Analysts predict the number of subscribers in the country could top 70 million by 2011, nearly half its population of more than 140 million.
($1 = 68.88 taka)
($1 = 68.88 taka)
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Service offered by grameen phone
Grameenphone offers subscription in two categories, Prepaid Subscription and Postpaid Subscription.
Prepaid subscriptions are sub-divided into three plans:
smile (mobile to mobile connectivity within Bangladesh),
smile PSTN (nationwide and international mobile and land line connectivity)
djuice (a youth based mobile to mobile connectivity within Bangladesh).
Postpaid plan:
xplore (nationwide and international mobile and landline connectivity)
Grameenphone also offers different value-added services including SMS, MMS, Welcome Tunes (Ringback Tones), Voice SMS, SMS Push-Pull Service, Voice Mail Service (VMS), and Fax and Data among others. Grameenphone was the first mobile operator in Bangladesh to offer EDGE services to its subscribers.
Other activities
Village phone
With the help of Grameenphone, Grameen Telecom operates the national Village Phone programme, alongside its own parent Grameen Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), acting as the sole provider of telecommunications services to a number of rural areas. Most Village Phone participants are women living in remote areas. Village Phone works as an owner-operated GSM payphone whereby a borrower takes a BDT 12,000 (USD 200) loan from Grameen Bank to subscribe to GP (Grameenphone) and is then trained on how to operate it and how to charge others to use it at a profit. As in September 2006, there are more than 255,000 Village Phones in operation in 55,000 villages around Bangladesh. This program has been replicated also in some other countries including in Uganda and Rwanda in Africa.[5]
A typical Grameenphone tower
Community Information Centers
Community Information Center (CIC) or GPCIC is aimed at providing internet access and other communications services to rural areas. In February 2006, 26 CICs were established across the country as a pilot project.[6] In this project, Grameenphone provides GSM/EDGE/GPRS infrastructure and technical support and other partners Grameen Telecom Corporation and Society for Economic and Basic Advancement (SEBA), are involved in selecting and training entrepreneurs to run the village centers. The computers in these centers in the pilot project are used by an average of 30 people a day, who pay a small fee to access email or Web pages.[7] These CICs are used for a wide variety of business and personal purposes, from accessing health and agricultural information to using government services to video conferencing with relatives overseas. Grameenphone also trains the entrepreneurs so that they can give people advice on how to set up an e-mail account and best make use of the Internet.
CIC project is giving up to 20 million people the chance to use the Internet and e-mail for the first time. Following a successful pilot project, Grameenphone is going to set up approximately 560 centers in communities throughout Bangladesh by the end of 2006. The centers will be located in each Upazila (sub-district) of Bangladesh. As a result, up to 15 villages containing up to 40,000 people will be within reach of each CIC. In this information center, there will be personal computers connected to Grameenphone's existing GSM mobile network, which has been upgraded with EDGE technology to offer data transfer speeds of up to 16 kilobytes per second.[8]
Grameenphone Centers
A gpc at Gulshan, Dhaka.
A franchised gpc at Tejgaon, Dhaka.A grameenphone center (GPC) serves as a "one stop solution" for customers, with all telecommunications products and services, under a single roof. A grameenphone center also sells phones from vendors like Nokia, Samsung, Motorola,Sagem and Benq. EDGE/GPRS modems and accessories such chargers and headphones are also sold at GPCs.
As of September, 2007, there are 76[9] GPCs and they are strategically located at all major locations of the country is operated by Grameenphone. As of late most of the newly opened gpc's are franchised. Most of these franchised outlets are in non-metropolitan areas.
The GPCs also provide the flexiload service without charging extra for small denominations unlike many retailers in the country. Thus making the gpc's and ideal place for many for such a service.
Every once a while, the GPCs tie up with handset manufactures and start a nationwide marketing scheme by selling the specific vendors products at a price lower than the market's or in bundle with a grameenphone connection loaded with free minutes.
Prepaid subscriptions are sub-divided into three plans:
smile (mobile to mobile connectivity within Bangladesh),
smile PSTN (nationwide and international mobile and land line connectivity)
djuice (a youth based mobile to mobile connectivity within Bangladesh).
Postpaid plan:
xplore (nationwide and international mobile and landline connectivity)
Grameenphone also offers different value-added services including SMS, MMS, Welcome Tunes (Ringback Tones), Voice SMS, SMS Push-Pull Service, Voice Mail Service (VMS), and Fax and Data among others. Grameenphone was the first mobile operator in Bangladesh to offer EDGE services to its subscribers.
Other activities
Village phone
With the help of Grameenphone, Grameen Telecom operates the national Village Phone programme, alongside its own parent Grameen Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), acting as the sole provider of telecommunications services to a number of rural areas. Most Village Phone participants are women living in remote areas. Village Phone works as an owner-operated GSM payphone whereby a borrower takes a BDT 12,000 (USD 200) loan from Grameen Bank to subscribe to GP (Grameenphone) and is then trained on how to operate it and how to charge others to use it at a profit. As in September 2006, there are more than 255,000 Village Phones in operation in 55,000 villages around Bangladesh. This program has been replicated also in some other countries including in Uganda and Rwanda in Africa.[5]
A typical Grameenphone tower
Community Information Centers
Community Information Center (CIC) or GPCIC is aimed at providing internet access and other communications services to rural areas. In February 2006, 26 CICs were established across the country as a pilot project.[6] In this project, Grameenphone provides GSM/EDGE/GPRS infrastructure and technical support and other partners Grameen Telecom Corporation and Society for Economic and Basic Advancement (SEBA), are involved in selecting and training entrepreneurs to run the village centers. The computers in these centers in the pilot project are used by an average of 30 people a day, who pay a small fee to access email or Web pages.[7] These CICs are used for a wide variety of business and personal purposes, from accessing health and agricultural information to using government services to video conferencing with relatives overseas. Grameenphone also trains the entrepreneurs so that they can give people advice on how to set up an e-mail account and best make use of the Internet.
CIC project is giving up to 20 million people the chance to use the Internet and e-mail for the first time. Following a successful pilot project, Grameenphone is going to set up approximately 560 centers in communities throughout Bangladesh by the end of 2006. The centers will be located in each Upazila (sub-district) of Bangladesh. As a result, up to 15 villages containing up to 40,000 people will be within reach of each CIC. In this information center, there will be personal computers connected to Grameenphone's existing GSM mobile network, which has been upgraded with EDGE technology to offer data transfer speeds of up to 16 kilobytes per second.[8]
Grameenphone Centers
A gpc at Gulshan, Dhaka.
A franchised gpc at Tejgaon, Dhaka.A grameenphone center (GPC) serves as a "one stop solution" for customers, with all telecommunications products and services, under a single roof. A grameenphone center also sells phones from vendors like Nokia, Samsung, Motorola,Sagem and Benq. EDGE/GPRS modems and accessories such chargers and headphones are also sold at GPCs.
As of September, 2007, there are 76[9] GPCs and they are strategically located at all major locations of the country is operated by Grameenphone. As of late most of the newly opened gpc's are franchised. Most of these franchised outlets are in non-metropolitan areas.
The GPCs also provide the flexiload service without charging extra for small denominations unlike many retailers in the country. Thus making the gpc's and ideal place for many for such a service.
Every once a while, the GPCs tie up with handset manufactures and start a nationwide marketing scheme by selling the specific vendors products at a price lower than the market's or in bundle with a grameenphone connection loaded with free minutes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
