Orascom eyes 10 mln cellphone users in Bangladesh

DHAKA, May 13 (Reuters) - Bangladesh's second largest cellphone carrier, Banglalink, owned by Egypt's Orascom Telecom Holding ORTE.CA, said on Tuesday its number of subscribers would reach 10 million soon.

"A population of 150 million and with a mobile penetration of 26 percent, there still exists a lot of untapped potential," said Naguib Sawiris, chairman of Orascom Telecom Holding, during his one-day visit in Dhaka.

Banglalink won 8.3 million subscribers by March through a strong network coverage and better customer services, Sawiris told reporters. He said that in the coming days it would introduce M-commerce, remittance and Wi-Max services.

Banglalink's market share jumped to 21 percent in March from 16 percent a year ago. So far, it has invested around $700 million in network development and expansion.

Sawiris also expressed interest in a number of potential areas of investment including tourism, construction and the financial sector.

"I see a great deal of potential for expansion of these sectors," he told reporters without giving details.

Banglalink's revenue more than doubled in the first quarter of 2008 to 4.75 billion taka ($69 million), jumping 124 percent over the same period a year ago, company officials said.

Banglalink competes with GrameenPhone, majority owned by Norway's Telenor (TEL.OL: Quote, Profile, Research); AKTEL, majority owned by Telekom Malaysia International (TLMM.KL: Quote, Profile, Research); CityCell, a joint venture between Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited and Singapore's SingTel (STEL.SI: Quote, Profile, Research); Warid Telecom of the United Arab Emirates and state-run Teletalk.

The six operators added 4.53 million new subscribers in January-March, lifting the user base to 38.93 million in one of Asia's fastest growing cellular markets, according to the Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory Commission.