Shamim Ahmed
bdnews24.com correspondent
Dhaka Oct 19 (bdnews24.com)—Grameenphone must pay the Tk 30 billion in 'unpaid revenue, SIM taxes and interest', but there is still time for talks, the BTRC chairman said on Wednesday – just five days before the regulator's deadline.
"They have to pay," retired major general Zia Ahmed told bdnews24.com in an exclusive interview, "the doors for discussions are still open."
The BTRC deadline for GP ends on Oct 24, but both parties refused to soften their positions, fighting a war of words through the media since the Tk 3034 crore letter arrived at the operator's imposing headquarters in capital's Baridhara on Oct 3.
"Grameenphone can always get a copy of the audit report if they want," Zia Ahmed insisted.
"They can also bring international experts to negotiations with us," he added.
Zia Ahmed was responding to GP offensive in the past few days when Norway's Telenor-controlled mobile operator termed the audit "flawed" and said the auditors lacked sufficient knowledge of the industry.
Three days earlier, Sigve Brekke, the Bangkok-based chairman of Grameenphone, said on Sunday he did not see any reason for the company to pay that sum and alleged that the audit by the regulators was 'flawed'.
"We would like to see the audit report," Brekke had told a press conference.
"We are not questioning the regulator's right to conduct audit but we have concerns about the process," said the Telenor official. "They have to follow best practices and international standards."
The GP chairman said he wanted international auditors to do the job. "As an investor, we will protect our investment, as well as the interest of our thousands of shareholders and 35 million customers."
"If they can prove that some parts of the audit report exaggerate the claims, we'll obviously deduct that amount," Zia Ahmed said in Wednesday's interview.
"Grameenphone must sit for negotiations by Oct 24," he told bdnews24.com. "I firmly believe that Grameenphone will pay up."
GP has been saying it is ready for talks but only after the 'withdrawal' of the Oct 3 letter. The BTRC says the taking the letter back has not been on the cards.
The BTRC chairman defended the audit process. "Grameenphone hadn't raised any objections when the audit began six months ago. Why are they talking about international audit now?"
On Sunday, the telecoms minister Raziuddin Ahmed Razu said at a function: "The government will act within the law."
In the wake of the deadlock, Jon Fredrik Baksaas, the group CEO of Telenor, the majority owners of Grameenphone, met prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday and expressed concern about the fate of its investment in Bangladesh.
A day later, Brekke, also the Asia chief of the Norwegian company, said he saw "a huge potential" for Bangladesh's telecom industry, with high demand for voice and data connectivity.
Telenor owns 55.8 percent stake in GP, Grameen Telecom 34.2 and the rest 10 percent is held by public and GP employees.
bdnews24.com/sha/gna/2153h.
