The government wants state owned mobile operator Teletalk to merge with an appropriate foreign company so that it can survive in a competitive market and provide better services to subscribers. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina gave such an order to officials concerned at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) at the NEC conference room at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the capital yesterday. Briefing reporters after the meeting, Planning Minister AHM  Mustafa Kamal said, “The prime minister gave an order to them ( Teletalk) to search for an appropriate foreign company to merge with to become a competitive player in the market and provide better services to their customers.” Contacted, State Minister of the Post and Telecommunications Division Tarana Halim refused to make any comment on the issue.
At yesterday’s meeting, the prime minister also approved a project of Teletalk worth Tk 675 crore to expand its network. The state owned mobile operator Teletalk will get the money from the government as equity supply that the company will return from the earnings.