Bangladesh parliamentary panel to probe Airtel deal
By IANSMonday, April 19, 2010
DHAKA - A parliamentary committee in Bangladesh is to probe a possible loss to the country from the sale of a substantial portion of mobile operator Warid’s stake to Indian telecom firm Bharti Airtel.
The parliamentary standing committee of the planning ministry Sunday asked the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to submit a report on how 70 percent of the shares of mobile operator Warid had been sold to Bharti Airtel only for Tk seven million ($100,937), New Age reported Monday.
Committee chairman Oli Ahmed Sunday said: “The country and the government sustained a loss as Warid was allowed to hand over its share for such a low price.”
The media report said that the government lost millions of dollars in transfer fees as the commission allegedly allowed Warid, which invested more than $600 million in the country, to hand over 70 percent of its stake to Airtel.
