Banglalink Digital Communications Limited, the third-largest mobile phone operator in Bangladesh, plans to go public, a massive development for a stock market where investors have strong appetite for sound companies.

Once the listing completes, the multinational telecommunication company would be the third mobile phone carrier in Bangladesh to go public after Grameenphone and Robi Axiata.

Banglalink may raise more than Tk 800 crore through an initial public offering under the fixed-price method by offloading shares equivalent to 10 per cent of its paid-up capital.

Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) Spokesperson Mohammad Rezaul Karim confirmed the development, saying the telecom operator has disclosed its plan to get listed in the stock market.

Yesterday, a number of senior officials of Banglalink met with BSEC Chairman Shibli Rubayat-Ul-Islam and discussed the listing issue. Kaan Terzioglu, chairman of Banglalink, and group chief executive officer of VEON, the parent company of the operator, led the delegation.

In March last year, Terzioglu said Banglalink was aiming to enter the stock market in three years.

"VEON sees a long-term opportunity in Bangladesh and would like to make the people of Bangladesh a part of Banglalink's success story. In line with this, VEON had a good discussion with the BSEC and would be working together to explore future opportunities," said Taimur Rahman, chief corporate and regulatory affairs officer of Banglalink, yesterday.

Launched in 2005, Banglalink's revenue rose 12.1 per cent year-on-year to Tk 5,374 crore last year, according to the 2022 earnings report. This was the third double-digit growth in consecutive quarters.

The operator's annual service revenue grew 12.3 per cent last year while data revenue surged 26.6 per cent.

"The company has inter-company loans and a syndication loan. Moreover, it has a plan to go for expansion, so it needs funds," said Karim.

As the taka has depreciated significantly against the American greenback, its foreign currency loan is going to be costlier. The Bangladesh Bank is also suggesting it go to the stock market, he said.

"On top of that, Banglalink wants to see its proper valuation. So, it has decided to get listed."

The company's paid¬-up capital is about Tk 8,400 crore, so it would raise over Tk 800 crore from the market, according to Karim.

Banglalink crossed the milestone of four crore subscribers by acquiring 3.3 lakh clients in January 2023. With the new customers, its subscriber base stood at around 4.14 crore at the end of the month.

The company's strong performance can be attributed to mainly two factors: strong performance in ensuring service quality, especially data services, and massive network expansion.

As per Ookla's Speedtest Intelligence report, Banglalink delivered the fastest average download speed among the top local mobile network operators with 19 Mbps in the fourth quarter of 2022.

It recently completed the deployment of 4,000 base transceiver stations, taking the total to more than 14,500.

Taimur Rahman said: "Banglalink has been a catalyst for making telecom services affordable for the mass. It has been consistently performing well and the recent result indicates a strong foundation for future sustainable performance."

Grameenphone raised Tk 486.1 crore in 2009 and Robi issued shares worth Tk 523.7 crore in 2020. The two largest mobile phone operators have floated 10 per cent of their shares in the market. 

The listing of Banglalink would be seen, by both investors and analysts, as a positive development for the stock exchanges in Bangladesh since the number of listed sound and well-reputed companies is not high.