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Published : 07 Jul 2026, 02:17 PM
The government has ruled out selling state-owned mobile operator Teletalk despite interest from several companies in buying or partnering with it.
It has instead planned to upgrade the operator to strengthen its position in the telecom market.
On Tuesday, Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Faqir Mahbub Anam made the announcement during an exchange of views with journalists.
He said a number of companies had expressed interest in acquiring Teletalk, but the government had no plans to sell it as it wanted to retain a presence in the competitive mobile market.
Recently, VEON, the parent company of private mobile operator Banglalink, wrote to the government expressing interest in partnering with two state-owned firms -- Teletalk and Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited (BTCL).
The company proposed merging Teletalk with Banglalink and also expressed interest in investing in mobile financial service provider Nagad.
VEON Chairman Augie K Fabela met Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Jun 29 and pledged support in securing $1 billion in investment for Bangladesh.
Of that sum, VEON itself would invest $250 million, or Tk 30.81 billion, as the lead investor, calculated at Tk 123.25 per dollar, while helping attract the rest of the funding.
The proposed investment would target next-generation digital infrastructure, digital banking, mobile financial services (MFS), artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced connectivity technology.
Alongside its own investment, VEON plans to use its global network to draw in investors from different countries to Bangladesh's fast-growing digital economy.
Asked about reports that VEON wanted to buy or invest in Nagad, the minister said the government would decide on the matter after legal proceedings involving the mobile financial service are resolved.
In response to a question about reports under the previous interim administration that alleged billions of taka had been siphoned off from Nagad, he said the matter would be handled by the Anti-Corruption Commission.
"Once money leaves people's pockets, it is very difficult to recover," he added.
