GP debuts today

Grameenphone (GP) shares trade begins on Dhaka and Chittagong bourses today.

With this trading debut, the leading mobile phone operator is going to be the largest-ever issue in Bangladesh capital market with its Tk 486 crore initial public offerings (IPO), oversubscribed by more than 3.5 times.

The company had raised this Tk 486 crore from public last month by issuing 6.943 crore ordinary shares of Tk 10 each, in addition to Tk 60 as premium per share.

A total of 277,757 lots of shares were allocated to local investors through lottery, while 34,720 lots went to non-resident Bangladeshis and 24 to mutual funds.

Earlier, the company also raised another Tk 486 crore through pre-IPO or private placement.

According to GP, it will use the proceeds from the issue to expand its network and develop information technology and for corporate purposes.

Norway's telecom giant Telenor owns GP's 62 percent stakes, while the rest is owned by local Grameen Telecom.

GP is the most profitable mobile phone operator in the country, with its revenue expecting to hit billion dollars mark by the year-end.