Airtel denies report of business closure in Bangladesh
The news of Airtel winding up their business in Bangladesh is nothing more than a speculation said Bharti Airtel and Airtel Bangladesh.
When asked about this report, the head of Airtels PR and IC, Shamit Mahbub Shahabuddin, told The Independent that the news is just a speculation and as per the policy of the company there is no comment on it.
A senior official of Post and Telecommunication ministry told The Independent that the news is just another rumour. To sell or to buy a telecom company, post and telecomm ministry must be informed and so far this news has not been even informed to them informally, he addded.
The sixth mobile phone operator of the country is doing good business now, even the BTRC report shows Airtel has crossed more than 90 lakh subscribers.
The news of Airtel winding up their business from Srilanka and Bangladesh was reported recently in moneycontrol.com and CNBC-TV18 which stated Airtel revives plans to sell Srilanka and Bangladesh assets.
The report also added that the move is part of the company s plan to consolidate its operations, reduce debt and get out of unproductive, low margin business.
According to reports published in media, recently Bharti Airtel has entered into exclusive talks with France based company Orange to sell its businesses in four African countries: Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone. Bharti Airtel had entered the African region in 2010 though from the very beginning the company has not seen any huge profit.
According to the financial reports given by Airtel Bangladesh and Airtel Srilanka the total income is 380 crore rupees in the first quarter (January to March) of this year which is 11 per cent lower than the first quarter of last year.
