Having been given the unofficial OK from the telecoms regulator, Vodafone has opened negotiations with the Bangladeshi mobile operator Aktel--the second largest in the country.
To acquire a 30 per cent share in Aktel it is thought that Vodafone will need to pay US$300 million to AK Khan, a privately owned textiles-to-telecoms company. Presently, Telekom Malaysia owns the remaining 70 per cent, and the Bangladeshi telecoms regulator is understood to have given Vodafone an assurance that it will not block a move to acquire the AK Khan stake.
However, Vodafone is reported to be considering several options to enter this particular market--the fifth biggest in Asia--and were said to have shown interest in acquiring a share in Telekom Malaysia, a story that has gone cold more recently.
For more on this story:
- read The Daily Telegraph and Telecom Paper
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