The largest telecom operator in Bangladesh, Grameenphone (GP) has awarded the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited in Bangladesh the mandate to manage the company’s annual and interim dividends for two consecutive years, 2015 and 2016 (if any).
The selection of the banking partner has been made based on a RFP (Request for Proposal) floated by Grammenphone. The RFP required participant banks to meet specific banking requirements to be qualified for the mandate.
Chief Financial Officer of Grameenphone, Dilip Pal and Chief Executive Officer of HSBC Bangladesh, Francois de Maricourt signed the dividend distribution mandate. The ceremony was attended by senior officials from both the organisations including Director Corporate Finance and Treasury, Grameenphone, Mustafa Alim Aolad, Director and Company Secretary of Grameenphone, Hossain Sadat, Head of Large Corporate, HSBC Bangladesh, Riaz A Choudhury and Head of Payments and Cash Management, HSBC Bangladesh, Jishan Shamsad.
Under this mandate, HSBC will coordinate and manage the dividend distribution service for the shareholders of Grameenphone in an efficient and effective manner by utilising the bank’s comprehensive expertise in handling large volume transactions through BEFTN (Bangladesh Electronic Fund Transfer Network) and award winning payments and cash management services that include customised banking solutions and sophisticated online transaction platform, HSBCnet.
This is the seventh time HSBC is managing the dividend distribution service for Grameenphone since GP went public in 2009.
Commenting on this banking partnership, Chief Financial Officer of Grameenphone, Dilip Pal said “Timely delivery of dividend among the shareholders is a priority to us and we have already set a benchmark on fast payment. We hope this agreement will help us to do even better. ”
Chief Executive Officer of HSBC Bangladesh, Francois de Maricourt commented “We are very proud of this partnership as it signifies HSBC’s strength in providing best in class and customised payments and cash management solutions for our clients. With our in-depth local knowledge combined with HSBC’s unmatched global expertise, we are perfectly positioned to help Bangladeshi corporates connect to rising opportunities.”
GP started its operation in Bangladesh in 1996 and today, it is the largest telecom operator in Bangladesh with around 52 million subscribers. HSBC is the first bank in Bangladesh to initiate handling of high volume transactions through BEFTN for GP’s dividend.