The 18thAnnual General Meeting (AGM) of Grameenphone Ltd. was concluded successfully at the Bashundhara Convention Center today.
Chairman of Grameenphone Board, Sigve Brekke and Grameenphone CEO, Rajeev Sethi were present on the occasion, along with other Board members and senior officials of the company. The AGM was conducted by the Company Secretary, Hossain Sadat.
The Chairman thanked the shareholders for their trust on the company and briefly talked about growth potential in Bangladesh telecom sector, regulatory uncertainties, GP’s ambition to provide Internet for All etc., while the CEO mainly highlighted the operational & financial performance of the company and successful 3G rollout, in their respective speeches.
Speaking about the proposed spectrum auction the chairman said, “We are still expecting that the upcoming auction for the 1800 MHz spectrum band would be made technology-neutral, and the auction guideline condition that excludes Grameenphone will be rescinded to allow GP to participate. However, the investor’s decision not to commit to any new auction until resolution of the long-pending issues, such as SIM replacement tax claim, Tech neutrality, National Telecom Policy revision etc. still stands.”
GP has paid 95% Interim Dividend (Cash) during 2014. The Board of Directors also recommended 65% Final Dividend (Cash) making a total dividend of 160% of the paid-up capital (i.e. BDT 16 per share) for the year 2014. The shareholders approved the above total dividend for the year 2014. GP will run fast-track on-line dividend distribution towards its shareholders in keeping its promises following the practices of earlier years.
The other activities of the AGM were adoption of the Directors’ Report and Auditors’ Report together with the Audited Financials 2014, election/re-election of the Directors and appointment of Auditors.
This was the 6th AGM for the company since it become a listed company in 2009.