Bangladesh Telecommunications Report Q4 2013: New research report available at Fast Market Research

BMI's medium-term outlook for Bangladesh's telecommunication sector remains bright, given growth potential in the nation's underserved mobile market. The latest Q113 result shows evidence of a strong subscriptions rebound after negative growth in Q412 due to government's ban on unregistered prepaid SIMs. However, we remain cautiously optimistic on data growth given repeated 3G auction delays. Internet penetration should increase in the medium term if government stays committed to internet infrastructure investment.

Key Data

* Mobile subscriptions rise to 112.0mn in Q113 from 107.3mn in Q412 - a 4.3% increase - after strong marketing campaigns by operators Grameenphone and Robi Axiata. Penetration is 72.5% as of Q113.
* Blended ARPU increases for both Grameenphone and Robi Axiata in Q113 due to higher MoU due to roll-out of more affordable mobile schemes. Banglalink experiences decline in both blended ARPU and MoU.
* Based on International Telecommunication Union (ITU) data, number of internet users increase to 9.6mn in 2012 from 7.6mn in 2011. Internet penetration remains at a low 0.34%.

Full Report Details at
- http://www.fastmr.com/prod/673213_bangladesh_telecommunications_report_q4_2013.aspx?afid=303

Key Trends And Developments

The BTRC has delayed 3G applications to August 12 2013, with the auction now set to take place on September 2 2013. Four 2,100MHz 3G mobile licences were scheduled to be auctioned, with one licence already reserved for state-owned Teletalk.

The government of Bangladesh said that domestically-listed mobile network operators will be subjected to an increase in the rate of corporation tax from 35% to 40%. Although the proposed new rate will still be lower than that applied to non-listed operators at 45%, this may not be sufficient to offset the additional financial management and compliance reporting borne by listed companies. Being the only listed operator, Grameenphone profit after tax is expected to be negatively affected.

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