ANNUAL REPORT 2007 - Grameenphone · ANNUAL REPORT 2007 Corporate Office: ... the majority...

ANN

UAL R

EPORT 20

07

Corporate Office:Grameenphone Ltd.Celebration Point, Plot 3 & 5, Road 113/AGulshan, Dhaka 1212, BangladeshTel: (880) 2 9882990Fax: (880) 2 9882970email: [email protected]: www.grameenphone.com

ANNUAL REPORT 07

Concept & Design: BOTTOMLINE

Contents

This is Grameenphone 3Vision and Values 5Another Successful Year 7The Shareholders 11Key Financial Figures 14Contribution to National Exchequer 21Directors’ Report 23Profile of the Directors 30Letter from the CEO 33Profile of the Management Team 37Organizational Chart 42Corporate Governance in Grameenphone 45Innovative, Relevant Products & Services 51Maintaining Network Quality 55Committed Customer Service 59Grameenphone wins Global Mobile Award Again 61

Grameenphone Annual Report ’07 2/3

This isGrameenphone

Grameenphone Ltd., the largest telecommunications service provider in Bangladesh, received its operating license in November 1996 and started its service from March 26, 1997, the Independence Day of Bangladesh.

Now, after 11 years of successful operations, Grameenphone is the largest mobile phone service provider in Bangladesh, with more than 18 million subscribers as of May 2008.

Grameenphone provides services to rural and urban customers across Bangladesh, where mobile telephony is acknowledged as a significant driver of socio-economic development, both for individuals and the nation.

We exist to help our customers get the full benefit of communications services in their daily lives. We want to make it easy for customers to get what they want, when they want it.

"We are here to HELP"


OurVision

Our ValuesMAKE IT EASYWe are practical. Everything we produce should be easy to understand and use.Because we never forget we are trying to make our customers' lives easier.

BE INSPIRINGWe are creative. We bring energy and imagination to our work. We want to be a partner in the development of our community. We are passionate about our business, customers and our country.

KEEP PROMISESEverything we set out to do should work. If it does not, we are there to put things right. We are about delivery, not over promising - actions not words.

BE RESPECTFULWe acknowledge and respect the local culture. We are respectful and professional in regard to all our interactions, both internally and externally. We are open, helpful and friendly.

Marking another successful year, Grameenphone ended 2007 with more than 16.5 million subscribers, up from 10.8 million in December 2006.

Grameenphone has played a leading role in increasing the country’s tele-penetration rate from less than one percent in 1997 to over 27 percent as of May 2008.

It is committed to making modern mobile telephony and data services available to everyone, both in urban and rural areas, thereby making a positive contribution to the lives of the people of Bangladesh.

In a report on Economic Impact of Mobile Communications in Bangladesh, Deloitte Consulting, UK states that “Mobile services have contributed to overall telephony penetration and have helped to bridge the communication gap between rural and urban areas. In addition, by providing a universal and reliable telephony services, mobile services have promoted economic development and direct investment in the country. Bangladesh’s mobile sector is estimated to have contributed BDT 260,000 million to the economy in 2007, representing 6.2% of GDP. This was an increase of 4.1% on 2004.”

Grameenphone has been able to maintain its leadership position in the industry by both continuing to deliver innovative and relevant products and services to its customers, and providing a quality network with the widest coverage.

BDT 111 billion investedThe company has so far invested more than BDT 111.5 billion to build the network infrastructure since inception on March 26, 1997. Over BDT 35.8 billion was invested during 2007 alone while BDT 21 billion was invested in 2006.

Grameenphone has built the largest cellular network in the country, covering 98 percent of the population. A total of 4181 new Base Stations were installed during the year, bringing the total number of Base Stations to over 10,000 located in around 6,000 sites country-wide.


Anothersuccessfulyear

Unique social service initiativesOver the years, Grameenphone has also taken up a number of internationally acclaimed social service initiatives: the Village Phone Program, providing access to telephone service in rural areas and employment opportunities to poor village women; the Community Information Centers, providing Internet access in rural areas; the Healthline service, a 24-hour Medical Call Center manned by licensed physicians; the Billpay service, enabling customers of the Power Development Board in Chittagong region to pay their electricity bills electronically; and the CellBazaar Service, a unique electronic marketplace connecting buyers and sellers of products and services through mobile phones.

Grameenphone was presented with the GSM Association's Global Mobile Award for ‘Best Use of Mobile for Social and Economic Development' for its CellBazaar Service, at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, Spain in February 2008. The HealthLine Service also received the same GSMA award last year while the Village Phone Program was recognized by the GSMA in 2000.

In addition, Grameenphone has an extensive CSR program in the areas of health, poverty alleviation, education and empowerment, specially targeted towards the under-privileged segments of society.

The Corporate Social Responsibility program was further expanded during the year. Grameenphone partnered with four major stakeholders in the health sector, namely the Ahsania Mission Cancer and General Hospital, Pathfinder International, USAID and Sightsavers International to support the delivery of primary healthcare services to the vulnerable segments of society.

Grameenphone also provided emergency relief materials and medical treatment to more than 55,000 people during the floods in August. In addition, BDT 43.1 million was donated to the Chief Advisors’ Relief Fund (BDT 20 million from Grameenphone, BDT 20 million from the majority shareholder Telenor, and BDT 3.1 million as one day’s salary from employees).

Similar relief efforts were made following cyclone SIDR, with Grameenphone and Telenor donating an additional BDT 10 million and BDT 23 million respectively. Grameenphone employees have donated one-day’s salary while Telenor affiliates in Pakistan and Denmark also contributed towards the cyclone relief efforts.

In the area of sports, Grameenphone has again successfully won the sponsorship rights for the National Cricket Team for another two years while also signing an agreement to sponsor the Grameenphone-Bangladesh Cricket Board National Cricket Academy.

Grameenphone sponsored the Bangladesh Special Olympics Team to the 2007 Special Olympics Summer Games, held in Shanghai, China in October. The 47 participants of the Special Olympics Team performed exceptionally well, winning a total of 71 medals, including 32 gold medals.

It has also built the largest fiber optic cable network in the country with over 2422 kilometers of fiber along the highways. It addition, it has leased from Bangladesh Railway another 2000 kilometers of fiber along the railway tracks. Furthermore, two of the first solar-powered base stations in the country were installed in the network last year.

The entire GP network is EDGE/GPRS enabled, allowing its customers access to high-speed Internet services from anywhere within its network. Presently, more than 4.5 million GP subscribers are using the EDGE/GPRS service to access the Internet through mobile phones compared to only about 600,000 fixed-line Internet users in the country. By far, more people are accessing the Internet through mobile phones than through any other means, which indicates the future trend.

The company has been a pioneer in introducing new products and services in the local market. It was the first operator to introduce the prepaid service and the international roaming service in 1999, the WAP service in 2000, EDGE service in 2005, launched the youth brand djuice also in 2005, Business Solutions for the business segment in 2006 and Blackberry solutions in January 2008 among many others.

Average tariff reduced by 30 percentA number of attractive promotional tariffs and exclusive value-added services and flexible data platforms for both pre- and post-paid customers were introduced during last year. The average tariff, which is among the lowest in the world now, was reduced by 30 percent during the year. Additionally, customers were extended greater savings on their everyday purchases through the growing list of Grameenphone thankyou partners. The Grameenphone youth lifestyle brand, djuice, has undergone re-branding and has become an even more exciting brand.

For the first time in Bangladesh, Grameenphone introduced international roaming for its pre-paid subscribers during the year. The service was introduced for Hajj pilgrims visiting Saudi Arabia and will be gradually extended to other countries.

Grameenphone has always been committed to provide quality after-sales service to its customers. It set up the country’s first 24-hour Call Center in 1999. The Call Center (121) capacity was further expanded while operations of the existing 600 Grameenphone Service Desks located in almost every Upazilla (sub-district) were strengthened during the year. In addition, there are 82 flagship Grameenphone Centers in operation around the country, to provide all sales and after-sales services under a single roof.

On another note, Grameenphone is the largest corporate tax payer in the country. It contributed BDT 101.35 billion in direct and indirect taxes to the National Exchequer since its inception, including more than BDT 34 billion last year.

The company also created employment opportunities for a large number of people. In addition to its 5000 employees, Grameenphone has generated another 150,000 or so jobs through its vendors, suppliers, contractors, retailers and other business partners.

As a socially responsible company, Grameenphone has put into practice an international standard Corporate Governance structure along with a set of Codes of Conduct for all employees, to ensure compliance and transparency in all its activities.



ShareholdersThe shareholders of Grameenphone contribute their unique, in-depth experience in both telecommunications and development. The international shareholder brings technological and business management expertise while the local shareholder provides a presence throughout Bangladesh and a deep understanding of its economy. Both are dedicated to Bangladesh and its struggle for economic progress and have a deep commitment to Grameenphone and its mission to provide affordable telephony to the entire population of Bangladesh.

Telenor Mobile Communications ASTelenor AS is the leading Telecommunications Company of Norway listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. It owns 62% shares of Grameenphone Ltd.

Telenor, a more than 150 year-old organization, has played a pioneering role in the development of cellular communications. Manual mobile telephony services were introduced in Norway in 1966, as a forerunner to the automatic NMT system, which appeared in 1981. Its digital successor, GSM, was introduced in 1993, and third generation mobile network, UMTS, was launched for commercial use in 2004.

TheShareholders

Grameen Telecom [38%]

Telenor Mobile Communications AS [62%]


Telenor's strong international expansion in recent years has been based on leading-edge expertise, acquired in the Norwegian and Nordic markets, which are among the most highly developed technology markets in the world. It has substantial international operations in mobile telephony, satellite operations and pay Television services. In addition to Norway and Bangladesh, Telenor owns mobile telephony companies in Sweden, Denmark, Hungary, Russia, Ukraine, Montenegro, Thailand, Malaysia, Pakistan and Serbia with more than 145 million mobile subscriptions worldwide as of 31st December 2007.

Telenor uses the expertise it has gained in its home and international markets for the development of emerging markets like Bangladesh.

As part of the conversion of Grameenphone from a private limited to a public limited company, Telenor Mobile Communications AS transferred 10 shares each on 31st May 2007 to its three affiliate organizations namely Nye Telenor Mobile Communications II AS, Norway; Telenor Asia Pte. Ltd., Singapore; and Nye Telenor Mobile Communications III AS, Norway.

Grameen Telecom (GT)Grameen Telecom, which owns 38% of the shares of Grameenphone, is a not-for-profit company in Bangladesh, working in close collaboration with Grameen Bank, winner of the Noble Peace Prize in 2006 along with its founder Professor Muhammad Yunus. The internationally reputed bank for the poor has the most extensive rural banking network and expertise in microfinance. It understands the economic needs of the rural population, in particular the women from the poorest households.

GT’s mandate is to provide easy access to GSM cellular services in rural Bangladesh and creating new opportunities for income generation through self- employment by providing villagers, mostly to the poor rural women with access to modern information and communication-based technologies.

GT is also one of the three National distributors of Nokia brand handsets in Bangladesh and also the authorized service provider of Nokia Care network, providing after-sales services to the Nokia customers.

With the help of Grameen Bank, Grameen Telecom, with its field network, administers the Village Phone Program, through which Grameenphone provides its services to the fast growing rural customers. Grameen Telecom trains the operators, supplies them with handsets and handles all service-related issues.

GT has been acclaimed for the innovative Village Phone Program. GT and its chairman Nobel Peace prize laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus have received several awards which include: First ITU World information Society Award in 2005; Petersburg Prize for “Use of the IT to improve Poor People’s Lives” in 2004; and the GSM Association Award for “GSM in the Community” in 2000.

As part of the conversion of Grameenphone from a private limited to a public limited company, Grameen Telecom transferred one share each on 31st May 2007 to its two affiliate organizations namely Grameen Kalyan and Grameen Shakti.


KeyFinancial

Figures

Profit & Loss Account

Revenue: Traffic revenue Subscription revenue-postpaid Connection revenue Roaming revenue Interconnection revenue - mobile operators Other operating revenue

Other income, net

Operating expenses: Direct cost of network revenue Network operation and maintenance expenses General and administrative expenses Selling and distribution expenses Bad debt expense Depreciation and amortization

Operating profit

Finance costs, net Loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment Compensation to BTRC Share of profit/(loss) of associate company Profit before tax Income tax expense Profit for the year

Audited Financials: Key Figures 2007

2007

46,684,747448,537

384,660386,933

4,605,3781,792,891

54,303,14638,156

54,341,302

(12,792,566)(2,442,553)(5,627,680)(6,660,418)

(135,290)(10,395,824)(38,054,331)

16,286,971

(968,503)(101,963)

(1,684,243)2,591

13,534,853(10,475,013)

3,059,840

in '000 BDT2006

39,085,284489,854

487,211351,395

3,815,5661,411,105

45,640,415102,285

45,742,700

(10,072,244)(2,105,687)(3,915,212)

(3,944,291)(41,641)

(7,468,350)(27,547,425)

18,195,275

(918,824)(258,821)

-1,876

17,019,506(9,535,549)

7,483,957

Notes :

1) The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Bangladesh Accounting Standards (BAS), Bangladesh Financial Reporting Standards (BFRS), International Accounting Standards (IAS), International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), Companies Act 1994 and other applicable laws in Bangladesh and audited by KPMG Rahman Rahman Huq.

2) Closing conversion rates for 2007 and 2006 against USD are BDT 69.20 and BDT 69.65 respectively.

Revenue (million BDT)

29,473

45,640

54,303

200

7

200

6

200

5

Net Profit (million BDT)

6,9137,484

3,060

200

7

200

6

200

5


Balance Sheet

Assets:Non current assets: Property, plant and equipment, net Intangible assets Other non current assets

Current assets

Total assets

Equity and Liabilities:Shareholders' equity Share capital Reserves Retained earnings

Non-current liabilities: Loans and borrowings, net of current portion Finance lease obligations, net of current portion Deferred tax liability Other non-current liabilities

Current liabilities

Total equity and liabilities

2007

80,318,1901,275,733

16,06481,609,987

6,851,054

88,461,041

2,430,3502,169,803

21,510,95426,111,107

3,367,6205,315,55916,510,153

711,94625,905,278

36,444,656

88,461,041

in '000 BDT2006

55,413,498888,407

12,56056,314,465

10,442,193

66,756,658

2,430,3502,169,803

19,909,32424,509,477

2,448,4524,229,27711,097,313

904,56718,679,609

23,567,572

66,756,658

in '000 BDT

Key Financial Ratios:Net profit to turnoverReturn on total assets (ROTA)Earning per share (EPS)Dividend per share (DPS)Dividend pay out ratio

6%18%

54.1426.66

49%

16%27%

132.4125.80

19%

Cash flow information

Cash generated from operationsNet cash used in investing activitiesNet cash used in financing activities

2007

24,135,594(30,470,044)

(4,295,358)

2006

26,165,093(22,607,517)

(2,345,614)

2005

16,836,801(16,198,340)(1,229,983)

Balance as at 1 January 2005Profit for the year 2005Final dividend for the year 2004Dividend distribution tax onfinal dividend for the year 2004Transfer to tax holiday reserve

Balance as at 31 December 2005

Net profit for the year 2006Final dividend for the year 2005Transfer from retained earningsto tax holiday reserve

Balance as at 31 December 2006(restated)

Net profit for the year 2007Final dividend for the year 2006

Balance as at 31 December 2007

Reserves

1,454,417--

-509,073

1,963,490

--

206,313

2,169,803

--

2,169,803

Sharecapital

2,430,350--

--

2,430,350

--

-

2,430,350

--

2,430,350

Retainedearnigns

9,556,8906,912,877

(1,921,672)

(192,167)(509,073)

13,846,855

7,483,957(1,215,175)

(206,313)

19,909,324

3,059,840(1,458,210)

21,510,954

Total

13,441,6576,912,877

(1,921,672)

(192,167)-

18,240,695

7,483,957(1,215,175)

-

24,509,477

3,059,840(1,458,210)

26,111,107

Capital expenditure (million BDT)

26,151

21,656

35,763

200

7

200

6

200

5

Operating assets & equipment(million BDT)

41,580

55,413

80,318

200

7

200

6

200

5

(Restated)

Statement of Changes in Equity

18_Page Page_19


Retained profit reinvested for expansion [29%]

Employees and channel partners [15%]

Contribution to Government [50%]

Providers of debts and banks [2%]Dividend to Shareholders [4%]

Distribution of Value Added (2007)

Retained profit reinvested for expansion [37%]

Employees and channel partners [13%]

Contribution to Government [43%]

Providers of debts and banks [3%]Dividend to Shareholders [4%]

Distribution of Value Added (2006)

Statement of Value Added

Value createdRevenueOther incomeVat on above

Less: Cost of network and servicesLess: Deferred Tax

Value distributedEmployees and channel partnersContribution to GovernmentInterest for debts and banksDividend to Shareholders

Value retained:DepreciationRetained profit

%

100%

15.1%50.3%

2.3%3.6%

71.3%

25.0%3.7%

28.7%100%

2007

54,303,14638,156

8,151,19662,492,498

15,475,6635,412,841

41,603,994

6,276,78120,903,046

968,5031,506,817

29,655,147

10,395,8241,553,023

11,948,84741,603,994

2006

45,640,415102,285

6,861,40552,604,105

11,035,9504,892,228

36,675,927

4,909,35615,895,440

918,8241,458,210

23,181,830

7,468,3506,025,747

13,494,09736,675,927

in '000 BDT

%

100%

13.4%43.3%

2.5%4.0%

63.2%

20.4%16.4%36.8%100%


Contribution toNational Exchequer

Contribution to Governmentas of December 31, 2007

BDT 34 billion paid in 2007The collective contribution to the National Exchequer from inception up to December 2007 was BDT 101.3 billion, of which BDT 34.2 billion was made in 2007 alone. Grameenphone has been the largest corporate taxpayer in the country for the last three years.

Grameenphone has also generated direct and indirect employment for a large number of people over the years. The company presently has over 5,000 employees while another 150,000 people are directly dependent on Grameenphone for their livelihood, working for the Grameenphone dealers, retailers, scratch card retail outlets, suppliers, vendors, contractors andother business partners.

With the payment of taxes and the investments in the network, Grameenphone ismaking a significant contribution to the country’s development and growth.

The following chart illustrates how the National Treasury was augmented over the years:

BD

T in

Mill

ion

Grameenphone Ltd. has contributed more than BDT 101 billion to the National Exchequer in taxes, duties and payments to various Government bodies since its inception in 1997 up to December 2007.

125

0

34

53

309

1997

27

155

32

39

133

1998

38

188

75

156

290

1999

47

457

213

460

416

2000

62

368

575

1,104

1,071

2001

96

1,130

712

1,269

2,081

2002

407

1,066

650

1,365

3,726

2003

3,285

277

1,189

1,168

5,606

2004

1,001

1,555

1,239

3,248

9,166

2005

838

1,942

2,523

2,334

12,874

2006

445

3,584

4,767

5,739

19,639

2007

For the year ending December 31, 2007Dear Shareholders, Your Board of Directors welcomes you to the 11th Annual General Meeting of Grameenphone Ltd. and is pleased to present the Directors’ Report, together with the Audited Financial Statements of the Company for the year ending December 31, 2007 and the Auditors’ Report thereon, for your consideration and approval.

A year of Challenge and TransformationBy the end of 2007, Grameenphone reached a subscriber-base of 16.5 million, adding 5.7 million subscribers during the year – around 53 percent higher than last year. The Company continued to be the telecom market leader of the country, with network coverage of approx. 98 percent of the population. The entire Grameenphone network is also EDGE/GPRS enabled, allowing its subscribers to access the Internet from anywhere within its coverage area. The company’s prime target is to remain the choice of two out of three new customers as their most preferred mobile telecom and data service provider.

Grameenphone is the first mobile phone operator in the country that converted its status to a public limited company on 25th June 2007 in conformity with a new Securities and Exchange Commission regulation requiring such conversion for the high capital base companies of the country. Grameenphone is also considering listing of its shares in the capital market, subject to approval from the Shareholders.

In 2007, Grameenphone advanced its strategic priorities by strengthening its financial results, growing its brand value, enhancing its ability to meet critical challenges and building a solid foundation for continued growth.


Directors’Report

Though Grameenphone managed to retain its market position, it faced few challenges in 2007. Fierce competition on prices continued in 2007 in terms of tariff cuts, higher acquisition costs, freebies, etc. Entrance of a sixth cellular operator, Warid Telecom, fueled competition further, putting downward pressure on tariff. Natural calamities like floods and cyclone, have imposed major setbacks in 2007, both in terms of incurring internal cost and weakening the country’s economic condition, hampering mobile penetration and growth rate. Customer retention was challenging with rising trend in multi SIM usage behavior.

Political and Socio-Economic Landscape-2007The State of Emergency prevailed in the country with restricted political activity for most of the year 2007. The Election Commission (EC) announced the roadmap for the 9th Parliamentary Election to be held by December 2008. Besides that, separation of the Judiciary from the Executive Branch, a crackdown on corruption, and formation of a Regulatory Reforms Commission and the Better Business Forum are the significant achievements in good governance.

The country faced severe economic pressure throughout the calendar year 2007. Soaring prices of essential food grains and fuel oils coupled with recurring floods and the devastating cyclone SIDR resulted in an abnormal rise in inflation, slowing down the economy. The cost of living increased 16.77 percent in 2007, the highest in the past 15 years. Double-digit inflation rate in 2007 has affected people’s purchasing capacity. USD-BDT exchange rate was mostly stable during 2007. Remittance inflow increased by 25 percent to USD 6 billion and foreign exchange reserve rose to about USD 5.5 billion for the first time. But the investment, both local and foreign, was lower compared to that of 2006.

Telecommunication Industry Scenario The telecommunication sector being one of the largest infrastructure providers of the economy experienced milestone growth where the tele-density reached at 24% with 35.55 million people having access to telecommunication facility. The number of land phone users also increased to 1.18 million subscribers during the year. At present, 6 mobile phone operators and Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB) along with 12 private PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) operators are connecting the people of Bangladesh within and outside the border. Reduction in start -up price and significant tariff reduction (by 30 percent) for both prepaid & postpaid segments continued. Attractive offers with bundled handsets were also made to attract customers. All the operators emphasized on freebies with new connections; focused to win back churned out subscribers through aggressive loyalty & retention campaigns and on increasing non-voice revenue sources. The operators will continue to explore untapped potential markets both in rural & urban areas of the country with innovative products and services.

Innovative Products & Services –Creating value for the Customers Grameenphone continued its efforts to develop innovative and useful new products and services. A number of products and services were launched during the year. Business Solutions was re-launched with additional features and facilities for the business community. The BlackBerry solution, the leading wireless enterprise solution, was launched for the first time in Bangladesh, focused to meet the special needs of the businesses.

A number of innovative Value Added Services (VAS) were also introduced during the year. Postpaid bill payment with Flexiload, International roaming service for Pre-paid subscribers for the first time in Bangladesh, Web SMS service, Internet service through Grameenphone mobile, Missed Call Alert, PayForMe service for both voice and SMS are some examples of the innovative services. ThankYou - a customer loyalty and retention program, rewarded millions of prepaid and postpaid customers throughout the year.


Customer Service – Our Commitment & PriorityThe world of communications is becoming increasingly complex. Technology is developing at a rapid pace. At the same time, it is becoming more and more difficult for users to keep up with the changes. Grameenphone has been always committed to guide its customers with professional service and to serve its customers in the best possible way. Grameenphone Centers (GPC) – a flagship sales and service point under one roof – are especially designed considering the needs of the subscribers. Total 82 Grameenphone Centers are currently operational around the country. More than 600 Grameenphone Service Desks (GPSD) in 61 districts all over the country are rendering customer service at customers’ doorsteps. “Grahak Katha Online” an internet based service – first of its kind in the country - is allowing subscribers to directly interact with its Customer Managers for solving any mobile related queries. Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and Call Center are meeting the service need of increased customer base. Trained call center professionals are available round the clock, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Our Employees – Future Leaders The driving force behind Grameenphone’s continued success over the years has been its professionally competent and dedicated team of people working for the Company. The Directors are proud to have such a competent team working for the Company in meeting the challenges in a dynamic business environment. Grameenphone also put in place a number of initiatives to build a strong corporate culture, upgrading existing skills of its employees and developing future leaders. Grameenphone believes in investing in human capital and empowerment of employees in order to improve the productivity. With that philosophy in practice, it has continuously trained and developed its employees for enhancing their competencies and leadership qualities. During the year, Grameenphone trained employees both at home and abroad in various fields. Grameenphone is also concerned about the health and safety of its employees. A dedicated unit - Health Safety & Environment (HSE) - is working for ensuring suitable working environment in the workplace. Common values have been established across the organization to align the team towards a common vision. A performance driven corporate culture along with ample opportunity for career growth, has made GP a preferred employer in the Bangladesh job market.

Continuous Investment – Enhancing Our Ability to Deliver Better ServiceGrameenphone continued to invest in its network to deliver quality service with more than 10,000 base stations in over 6,000 locations around the country covering more than 98 percent of the population. In 2007, Grameenphone made fresh investment of more than BDT 35.8 billion to further increase the capacity and coverage of its nationwide network. The cumulative investment reached over BDT 111.5 billion at the end of the year.

Grameenphone is always committed to ensure a quality network, offer innovative products and services and provide committed after-sales service to its valued customers. A total of 4,181 new base stations were rolled out during 2007. Indoor coverage has also been increased in the important public buildings of different cities of the country. In another initiative, new types of monopole, camouflaged base stations and micro-cell sites, and solar-powered base stations were installed for the first time in the country. A total of 603 km new fiber optic cable has been deployed in 2007, increasing the fiber optic network to 2,422 km. In addition, Grameenphone also operates another 2000 km fiber optic network leased from Bangladesh Railway.

Enhanced Value of Shareholders’ InvestmentGrameenphone continued to increase the value of its Shareholders’ investment in spite of adverse business conditions. In 2007, the growth in the subscriber base has made a positive contribution to the revenue but operating profit declined due to drop in average revenue per user and increase in cost of subscriber acquisition. Regulatory challenges, economic slowdown and high inflation negatively affected 2007 revenue growth. Revenue in 2007 increased by 18.6 percent compared to previous year while Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) has fallen sharply due to substantial tariff reduction over the period and also because the new subscribers are coming from the financially constrained segment.

The Board and the Management are dedicated to maintain a decent growth in the coming years, ensuring continued enhancement of value for the Shareholders’ investment.

Regulatory Environment The regulatory environment remained quite active during 2007. After the new Caretaker Government took charge in January’07, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) initiated a campaign to eliminate illegal VOIP business in the country and allegations were made against mobile & PSTN operators for illegal VOIP operation and a number of PSTN and ISP licenses were also cancelled. On the ground of alleged involvement in the VOIP business, the Government penalized a number of mobile phone and PSTN operators. BTRC announced the International Long Distance Telecommunication Services (ILDTS) Policy 2007 where the existing mobile and PSTN operators were restricted from applying for these licenses.

In 2007, the mobile industry of the country faced sudden outbreak of regulatory directives from multiple grounds starting from re-registration of subscriber to the matter of public listing of the mobile companies. A number of changes were brought to the regulatory & tax arena of Telecom sector. The Corporate Tax rate for mobile companies increased from 40% to 45%. BTRC reduced interconnection charge to BDT 0.40/minute from BDT 0.66/minute, issued 8 point directives on tariff & promotions and instructed to include VAS revenue in calculating 5.5% revenue sharing. BTRC also amended licensing procedures 2004 and brought 3G, WiMax, IGW (International Gateway), ICX (Interconnection Exchange), IX (Internet Exchange), IP (Internet telephony), CC (Call Center) and T-VA (Telecom Value Added) services under separate licensing regimes.

The telecom sector is the largest private sector infrastructure provider in Bangladesh. Regulatory regime of the country however is still passing through a transition process. The procedural safeguards of the legal and regulatory regimes are still being developed and, therefore, existing laws and regulations may not be applied consistently. Instability and uncertainties relating to the regulatory and legal environment could have a material adverse effect on mobile phone business, financial conditions and the results of their operations. Unpredictable tax & regulatory regime, fair allocation of frequency are still the key issues to sustain the growth of the industry.

It is hoped that the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission will ensure a level-playing field in the telecom industry, bringing in a stable and enabling regulatory environment.

Our Commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)Being a socially responsible company, Grameenphone has clearly demonstrated its commitment towards the betterment of the society. Along with serving the communication needs of more than 16.5 million subscribers, Grameenphone, through its CSR program, concentrated on, health, education and empowerment projects for the underprivileged segments of the country.


Grameenphone is now one of the leading private sector investments and the largest corporate tax payer in the country while creating employment opportunities for more than 100,000 people. In 2007, Grameenphone introduced a number of community service initiatives. With the objective of bridging the “Digital Divide”, 567 Community Information Centers (CIC) are running in 454 Upazillas. The internationally acclaimed Village Phone program is contributing to empower poor village women by providing them a good income earning opportunity. Healthline and Billpay initiatives are bringing services at peoples’ doorstep. Grameenphone has extended its support to the Government relief effort to help the people affected by the floods, landslides and the devastating cyclone SIDR. The enthusiastic support and participation of the Grameenphone employees in these efforts was very encouraging. In 2007, Grameenphone has partnered with a number of renowned national and international organizations with an aim to make a valuable contribution in Bangladesh’s health sector, with particular emphasis on serving the disadvantaged segments of the population. Among others, a few CSR initiatives by Grameenphone in 2007 are Safe Motherhood and Infant Care project run by Pathfinders International, free eye care camps run

by Sightsavers International, awareness campaign on polio vaccination with WHO, campaign on HIV/AIDS with UNAIDS; scholarship opportunities for

underprivileged bright students; support for rehabilitation of acid victims, treatment and rehabilitation support for the drug

addicts, etc.

Grameenphone renewed its sponsorship with the Bangladesh Cricket Team for another two years till

2009 and also set up Grameenphone BCB National Cricket Academy to play a major role as

partner in the development of cricket in the country.

Village Phones – Empowering the Rural WomenThe internationally acclaimed Village Phone Program

with the help of Village Phone operators is providing telecommunication services in over 85,000 villages in 61

districts of the country. Started since the inception of Grameenphone in March 1997, the Village Phone Program is

a unique initiative to provide telecommunications facilities in remote, rural areas all over Bangladesh. The Village Phone is a

shared access model which links the telecommunications sector with the microfinance sector to enable microfinance clients

especially women to borrow the money needed to establish a Village Phone business in rural areas. The Village Phones have

proven their immense potential in boosting income of poor households in rural areas, promoting health care, development of

agri-business and in the social empowerment of rural women. Recently all Village Phones were converted into prepaid for more convenience of the subscribers. The Village Phone Program has also been replicated in a number of countries including Uganda and Rwanda in Africa.


unstable market conditions and regulatory challenges. Another challenging year is being anticipated in 2008. Grameenphone is in an excellent position to move forward to the next phase of growth by working together with common goals and clear strategies. We have a lot of work ahead of us on many fronts to be successful and lead the way. We approach this work with a confidence reinforced by our strong position in the market, and our proven ability to make the change needed for continued success. We are confident we will stay ahead through innovation and operational excellence. We look forward to growing together with our many stakeholders in 2008 and beyond. With the same spirit the shareholders of the company are positively looking into share GP’s success with the people of the country by listing the company in the stock exchanges.

Mr. Anders Jensen has joined Grameenphone in October’07 as the new Chief Executive Officer replacing Mr. Erik Aas, who served the company for three years. The Board congratulates Mr. Anders Jensen and wishes him success in leading the Company to a notable height in the competitive, but an emerging, dynamic Bangladesh Market which will ensure the interests of the company and its customers as well as the shareholders.

AppreciationMembers of the Board take this opportunity to express their gratitude and sincere thanks to the Shareholders for their continued support and guidance.

The Board is also grateful to the Government of Bangladesh, Ministry of Post and Telecommunications (MOPT), Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), Bangladesh Railway, National Board of Revenue (NBR), Bangladesh Bank, Board of Investment (BOI), Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSC), Chief Controller of Export & Import, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Grameenphone’s bankers, vendors and other business partners for the positive support and active cooperation that the Company has received from them.

The Board acknowledges with thanks the contribution of the valued customers by making Grameenphone their preferred service provider. The Board also records its appreciation for the employees at all levels for their dedicated service, sincerity, hard work and strong commitment which enabled the Company to rapidly advance on what we perceive to be a sustainable growth path and meeting exciting challenges. Our ambition is to continue to build on the excellent track record of Grameenphone and to maintain its position as the market leader while remaining a transparent and fully compliant Company.

Thanking you all and with best regards.

For and on behalf of the Board of Directors of Grameenphone Ltd.,

Arve JohansenChairmanGrameenphone Ltd.

3GSMA Global Mobile Award 2008CellBazaar, an innovative market-access service from Grameenphone Ltd., has won the 3GSMA Global Mobile Award 2008 recently, in the category of "Best Use of Mobile for Social & Economic Development." CellBazaar is a user-generated market, accessible via mobile phone or computers in Bangladesh. It is a low cost, pay-as-you-use service where users pay the standard SMS or GPRS charges each time the service is accessed. This grass root level initiatives enables rural folks to sell and trade their goods, ensures increased price transparency and offers help for the illiterate. It should be mentioned that in February 07, Grameenphone was presented with the 3GSMA Global Mobile Award 2007 for its HealthLine service in the category of "Best Use of Mobile for Social & Economic Development," and was awarded the "GSM in the Community Award" for its Village Phone program in February 2000.

Notable Contribution to the National ExchequerGrameenphone has become one of the largest contributors to the Government Exchequer in recent years. Since its inception till December 2007, the company contributed BDT 101.35 billion, in direct and indirect taxes to the Government Exchequer. During 2007 alone, the company contributed BDT 34.17 billion to the Government Treasury which is 67 percent higher than last year. The contribution is expected to grow further with the expansion and growth of the organization.

DividendThe Directors are pleased to recommend a final dividend @ 62% of the paid up share capital amounting to BDT 1,506.82 million (@BDT 26.66 per share of BDT 43.00 each) for the year 2007 for consideration and approval of the shareholders for distribution.

Directors of the Board All the Directors of the Board will retire at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) as per their appointment and will be eligible for re-appointment, if so nominated by the shareholders. The composition of the Board of Directors during the year was as below:

1. Mr. Arve Johansen, Telenor Mobile Communications AS, Director & Chairman2. Mr. Per Erik Hylland, Telenor Mobile Communications AS, Director (replaced Mr. Ragnar Korsaeth in June 2007)3. Mr. Ole Bjørn Sjulstad, Telenor Mobile Communications AS, Director4. Mr. Dipal Chandra Barua, Grameen Telecom, Director 5. Mr. M. Shahjahan, Grameen Telecom, Director

AuditorsAs per Articles of Association, the external auditors of the Company, Rahman Rahman Huq, Chartered Accountants, a member firm of KPMG, will retire in this AGM and, being eligible, offered their willingness to be re-appointed for the year 2008. The Board recommends their re-appointment for the year 2008 till holding of the next AGM.

Looking to the Future – Commitment for Next Phase of GrowthGrameenphone with its dedicated employees and very able guidance of its Management and the Board has made remarkable progress in 2007 in terms of subscriber growth, expansion and improvement of network, and improved customer service, despite increasing competition,


Profile of theDirectors

Arve Johansen

Ole BjørnSjulstad

Per ErikHylland

He was appointed to the Board on December 18, 2002. Mr. Sjulstad graduated in Mechanical Engineering and Business Administration from Kongsberg Ingeniorhogskole, Norway in 1983.

Most of Mr. Sjulstad’s career has been spent in the telecommunications business, primarily in the South East Asian region. Earlier he was in the offshore oil & gas engineering and production business.

Mr. Sjulstad joined Telenor Asia Pte Ltd, Singapore, as Vice President in 2000 and served as its Managing Director from 2002 till 2004. After relocation to Norway, he continued focusing on the emerging markets in Asia as Senior Vice President and Director of Corporate Development of Telenor, Asia region, until April 2007. Mr. Sjulstad has served as Director of the Board in Telenor companies in Thailand (UCOM) and Malaysia (DiGi). At present he is the chairman of the Board of Telenor Russia, AS.

Currently, Mr. Sjulstad is Senior Vice President in Telenor ASA, Central & Eastern European region.

(46 years of age, Norwegian)

He was appointed to the Board on June 26, 2006. Mr. Johansen received his M.Sc in Electrical Engineering (Telecommunications) from the Norwegian Institute of Technology in 1973 and participated in the Program for Management Development at Harvard Business School in 1988.

Mr. Johansen joined Telenor in 1989 and has held a number of positions in the Group. He has served as Senior Executive Vice President and Head of Mobile from 1999 to 2005 and was Chief Executive Officer of Telenor International AS from its inception in 1993 to 1999. Prior to joining Telenor, Mr. Johansen was employed at EB Telecom (Ericsson Norway), where he served as Executive Vice President and at the Norwegian Institute of Technology, as a research engineer at ELAB.

Currently, he is Deputy CEO of the Telenor Group and Head of Telenor Asia operations. Mr. Johansen is Chairman of the Board of Grameenphone, DiGi.Com and Telenor Pakistan. In addition, Mr. Johansen is a Director in Wireless Matrix, Eltek, VimpelCom and the GSM Association.


M. ShahjahanHe was appointed to the Board on June 26, 2006. He obtained his B.Com (Hons) in

Accounting from University of Dhaka in 1976 and completed his masters both in Accounting and Finance from the same university in 1977 and 1981 respectively.

He started his career in Grameen Bank. He has served in several Executive Management positions in Grameen Bank including Chief of Audit Department and Zonal Manager. He

also serves as Chairman of the Treasury Committee in Grameenphone.

He has delivered speeches at various national and international seminars, conferences and workshops on micro-credit management and financing agricultural projects and

other related issues at home and abroad.

Presently he is the General Manager and Head of Accounts, Finance, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Division of Grameen Bank. He is also Member of the Board of

Directors of several Grameen peer companies that work in the field of Agriculture, Welfare, Renewable Energy, Telecommunications, Venture Capital Financing and

Merchant Banking.

(52 years of age, Bangladeshi)

He was appointed to the Board on June 25, 2007. Mr. Hylland has his professional experience from the banking, IT and telecommunications industry.

Mr. Hylland joined Telenor in 1994 and has since then held several senior management positions. The past nine years, Mr. Hylland has lived and worked in nine countries acting as a Telenor representative in Central and Eastern Europe, North Africa and Asia. During the same period, Mr. Hylland has been a Director in several Telenor companies in Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia.

Currently, Mr. Hylland is Senior Vice President, Corporate Development in Telenor Asia.


He was appointed to the Board on June 26, 2006. Mr. Dipal Chandra Barua is the Deputy Managing Director of Grameen Bank and founding Managing Director of the Grameen Shakti in Bangladesh.

He is one of the core builders of Nobel Peace prize winning organization Grameen Bank, now occupying the number two position in the bank. He has gained extensive experience in the field of poverty alleviation, micro-credit, rural development and people’s participation as a result of his affiliation with Grameen Bank since its inception. He started his work with Professor Muhammad Yunus from the village Jobra and became an active participant of his works and has continued with him ever since.

He obtained the degrees of BA (Hons) and M.A. in economics from the University of Chittagong. As a micro-credit expert he has worked with Grameen replication projects based in China, Myanmar, South Africa, Egypt and Turkey. In addition, he serves as a Director of 16 Grameen sister Organizations.

(53 years of age, Bangladeshi)

Dipal Chandra Barua


Letter from the ChiefExecutiveOfficer

A year of continued growthIt was a year of consolidation and continued growth for Grameenphone in 2007, reinforcing its leading market position.

The subscriber-base grew from 10.8 million to 16.5 million customers while the organization was further strengthened and is geared to meet future challenges. Revenue growth remained robust, increasing by 18.6 percent percent and standing at BDT 54.3 billion at the end of the year.

A healthy competitive environment among the six cellular operators prevailed in the market during the year, benefiting the customers and helping the market to grow at a faster pace.

Grameenphone’s premium brand image for providing the best quality network, innovative and useful products and services, and providing committed customer service continued to remain the pillars of our success. This is the main platform for our continued success as we move into 2008.

Best NetworkGrameenphone has the largest nationwide network with the widest coverage around the country, covering more than 98 percent of the population. With the highest single-year investment of BDT 35.8 billion, a record 4181 Base Stations (BTS) were added to the network during the year, bringing the total to well over 10,000 Base Stations.

The entire network is also EDGE/GPRS enabled, allowing our valued customers high-speed Internet access from anywhere within the network coverage area. There are now more than 4.5 million EDGE/GPRS users in the Grameenphone network. This means that more people are now accessing the Internet through mobile phones than through any other means by far and that is the trend of the future.

The nationwide fiber optic backbone network of Grameenphone, the largest in the country, was further expanded during the year. We now have a fiber network of 4422 kilometers, 2000 kilometer leased from Bangladesh Railway and 2422 kilometer we have built along the national highways.

The robustness of the GP network was tested during the floods and the subsequent cyclone during the year. Despite severe power supply disruptions, we managed to provide uninterrupted service in majority of the areas while quickly restoring service in the most affected areas, through back-up batteries and of course the hard work and dedication of our team.

In another development, Grameenphone deployed two solar-powered Base Stations and installed a number of mono-pole camouflaged Base Stations in important public places for the first time in the country during the year.

The Grameenphone network has managed to make optimum utilization of the allocated spectrum and additional spectrum allocation is now needed to cater for the new subscribers joining the network every day. We hope that the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) will soon allocate additional spectrum based on the actual needs of the operators.

Relevant InnovationAs an innovative company, the focus of Grameenphone is to always provide products and services useful for its customers. A number of new services were launched during the year including pre-paid International Roaming for Hajj pilgrims, Pay-For-Me collect call service, Missed Call Alert service, web to SMS service and many others.

The youth lifestyle brand djuice was refreshed with an attractive new logo while some new services were added to the Business Solutions portfolio to provide customized solutions to the business segment.

The average tariff was reduced by 30 percent while a number of major promotional campaigns managed to successfully attract new customers. The handset bundled offers generated very good response confirming Grameenphone’s leadership in this area. The “Thank-you” program to benefit the existing Grameenphone customers was also further strengthened during the year.

In addition, the innovative initiatives like Community Information Centers, BillPay, HealthLine and CellBazaar, which were launched in 2006, were further improved and continued to attract new users and international recognition. The HealthLine Service received the GSMA Global Mobile Award in 2007. Earlier this year, the Grameenphone CellBazaar service won the GSMA Global Mobile Award and the Telecom Asia Innovation of the Year 2008 Award.

Quality Customer InteractionGrameenphone is committed to provide quality customer service at all touch-points. The single-point customer service 24-hour Hotline 121 has been further improved with IVR technology and an increased number of Customer Service Managers specially trained to handle customer queries.

The Grahak Katha Online, an Internet-based customer service, is another reliable channel to receive after-sales service and is gaining popularity among the customers. Business Solutions clients are provided special customer service through their dedicated Key Account Managers.

Making customer service easily accessible is another important focus area for Grameenphone. There are 600 Grameenphone Service Desks located around the country to meet any after-sales service needs of our valued customers. In addition, the 82 flagship Grameenphone Centers are designed to provide all sales and after-sales services under a single roof. Expanding our retail footprint and position as a retailer is a key task in our continued journey.

Organizational RealignmentIn order to ensure that Grameenphone retains its leading position in the market the organization has been adjusted to improve efficiency and reinforce focus on some key areas. This was done by removing existing organizational overlaps and further streamlining functional activities.

The 5000-member professional and dedicated Grameenphone Team is the primary driving force behind the success of the company. Special attention is given on developing future leaders from within the company by providing appropriate trainings and career growth opportunities. During the year, a total of 270 training sessions, both at home and abroad, were organized benefiting over 2600 employees.

Market EnvironmentCompetition among the six mobile phone operators remained intense throughout the year. Promotional campaigns with attractive offers resulted in a substantial reduction of the average airtime tariff rates.


According to a recent research conducted by an international organization, the average cost of using a mobile phone is the lowest in Bangladesh among the eight countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). This indicates that the existing mobile phone tariff in the country is perhaps the lowest in the world.

The Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) required the registration of all new mobile phone subscribers from March 2006. And last year BTRC required the re-registration of all subscribers who purchased their subscriptions prior to February 28, 2006. The deadline for re-registration has now been fixed for May 31, 2008, following a number of extensions.

Having the largest subscriber-base, a substantial number of Grameenphone subscribers needed to be re-registered. After increasing the countrywide re-registration points and launching an advertisement campaign to inform the subscribers, initially the response was quite good but after some time the urgency to re-register began to decline among the subscribers who are required to do so. We have again taken up a renewed campaign to re-register the remaining Grameenphone subscribers within the deadline. This task will remain a major challenge up till the very end of the process.

Business OutlookThe mobile phone market in Bangladesh has been one of the fastest growing markets in the world in recent years. However, according to BTRC figures released in May this year, there are around 42 million mobile phone users in the country, meaning a mobile phone penetration rate of about 27 percent.

Thus, given the comparatively low penetration rate even compared to the regional countries, the robust market growth is expected to continue during this year and at least for the next few years.

The growth can be further expedited if the existing BDT 800 SIM tax and the BDT 300 import duty on handsets are either withdrawn or substantially reduced. As the market is now growing among people with a very limited income, such taxes increase the start-up costs and acts as an entry-level barrier for them. Taxes collected from increased mobile phone usage by a much larger number of people will by far offset any reduction of Government revenue due to the withdrawal of these taxes.

An increasing percentage of the future growth will now come from the rural areas. And that is why we will immediately give special attention to developing the rural market and cater to their needs. This is the foundation for the continued growth in the market and although it comes with some challenges, Grameenphone remains committed to the rural people of Bangladesh and we dare to see the potential.

Grameenphone’s continued vision and strategy is to provide quality mobile phone and data services at affordable prices to both urban and rural users. The company will continue to make fresh investments to increase the network capacity in order to cater for the projected large customer intake.

The shareholders of Grameenphone have already expressed a keen interest to list the company in the local capital market and we feel the timing is perhaps just right to do that this year.

Finally, on behalf of the Management Team, I humbly express my sincere gratitude to all Grameenphone customers for giving us the opportunity to serve them. The continued guidance and support provided by the shareholders and the dedication and professionalism of every member of the Grameenphone Family is also respectfully noted.

The continued cooperation received from the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, BTRC, Board of Investment, National Board of Revenue, Bangladesh Bank, Bangladesh Railway and all other organizations is greatly appreciated. A special thanks to all our business partners, banks, vendors, suppliers and retailers for the excellent support provided to Grameenphone over the years.

Anders JensenCEOGrameenphone Limited


Profile of theManagementTeam


Emad Ul Ameen(52 years of age, Bangladeshi)

Emad Ul Ameen was appointed as Director, Human Resources Division, in November 2003. He has a Masters degree in Marketing from Dhaka University and has extensive experience working in responsible positions in reputed multinational organizations in Human Resources functions.

Prior to joining Grameenphone, he was Director of a leading consultancy firm in the country providing services as a management consultant to various multinational and local companies. He has also worked as Director Human Resources of British American Tobacco, Director Human Resources of American Express Bangladesh and had also been with BOC Bangladesh Ltd. in various positions in its Personnel function.

Shafiqul Islam(37 years of age, Bangladeshi)

Shafiqul Islam was appointed as the Director of Networks Division in 2006. He has been working with Grameenphone since its inception. He has a Bachelors degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology.

Shafiq started as planner of Grameenphone mobile network and was involved in different areas of planning and was the Head of Network Planning since 1999. He also has been a member of the Grameenphone Business Planning team.

Syed Yamin Bakht (50 years of age, Bangladeshi)

Syed Yamin Bakht is the Director of the Public Relations Division. He joined the company as the Head of Information Department in June 1999. He is the company’s main point of contact for media related queries.

Educated in the United States as a Journalist, he has more than a decade of previous working experience in the media, both at home and abroad. He has worked in senior positions of some leading newspapers in Bangladesh.

Raihan Shamsi(35 years of age, Bangladeshi)

Raihan Shamsi was appointed as the Company Secretary in January 2005; He is also the Director of Financial Management.

A Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh, Raihan has experience of working in the Financial Management and Internal Control functions for around 11 years.

Prior to joining Grameenphone, he worked in a number of multinational organizations including Shell, Unilever and KPMG Bangladesh.

Farhad F. Ahmad(40 years of age, Bangladeshi)

Farhad F. Ahmad joined as the Head of Internal Audit in December 2006. He has a Master in Business Administration degree from the University of Liverpool, UK, and a Bachelor in Business Administration degree from the University of Houston, USA.

Prior to joining Grameenphone, Farhad was the Chief Operating Officer of STS Group (Apollo Hospital and International School Dhaka). He has also worked as the Internal Audit Manager and in various Finance roles in British American Tobacco, Bangladesh.

Anders Jensen(38 years of age, Swedish)

Anders Jensen joined Grameenphone as its Chief Executive Officer in October 2007. Prior to joining Grameenphone, Anders served as Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Consumer Market in Telenor Sweden since 2005.

He has eight years of experience from the Internet and telecommunications industry with Europolitan, Vodafone and Telenor working in various markets including Sweden, Italy and the UK. He also has several years of experience working with fast moving consumer goods and retail.

Md. Arif Al Islam(37 years of age, Bangladeshi)

Md. Arif Al Islam was appointed as the Chief Financial Officer in 2006. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Certified Accountants from UK.

He has over five years of public practice experience in the UK with a range of experience in audit, taxation and financial consultancy services. He has been with Grameenphone over the last eight years. He had major contributions in the areas of strategic and business planning, financial reporting, financial system implementation and business analysis.

Khalid Hasan(52 years of age, Bangladeshi)

Khalid Hasan was appointed as Director, Corporate and Regulatory Affairs, in May 2001. He has a Masters Degree in Business Management from Dhaka University.

Khalid has acquired a wide range of experiences during the last two decades in international business development, specializing in breakthrough joint ventures and global partnerships in rapidly changing, highly competitive environments.

Prior to joining Grameenphone, he was the country manager for General Electric (GE).

1

3

5

2

4

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78

910

11

12

1. Anders Jensen

2. Md Arif Al Islam

3. Khalid Hasan

4. Emad Ul Ameen

5. Shafiqul Islam

6. Syed Yamin Bakht

7. Raihan Shamsi

8. Farhad F. Ahmad

9. Arnfinn Groven

10. Rubaba Dowla

11. Frode Støldal

12. Laszlo Barta

40_Page Page_41


Frode Støldal(36 years of age, Norwegian)

Frode Støldal joined Grameenphone as the Director of IT Division in November 2007. He joined Telenor in 2001, and has held a number of senior positions as Project Director Global Coordination, Strategy adviser for Group CIO and Head of CRM solutions for Telenor Norway.

Prior to Telenor, Frode worked for four years in the consulting and internet industry for PricewaterhouseCoopers and Infostream. Frode has a Master of Technology Management degree from NTNU/Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Sloan School of Management, Boston, specializing in Business Value of IT.

He attended Harvard Business School specializing in Managing Networked Businesses and he also has an MSc degree in Economics and Business Administration from the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration (NHH).

Rubaba Dowla(36 years of age, Bangladeshi)

Rubaba Dowla was appointed as the Director of Marketing in January 2008. She completed her MBA, with a major in Marketing, and shortly embarked on her career in Marketing in Grameenphone in 1998.

She attended executive education organized by the London Business School and an executive program organized by Stockholm School of Economics.

Prior to becoming the Director of Marketing, Rubaba headed the marketing division in 2006, followed by head of Brands and customer service in 2007. She also led Market Research & Development team for a considerable length of time.

She has worked with Telenor in many projects, and acquired knowledge of the International Telecommunications industry.

Arnfinn Groven (50 years of age, Norwegian)

Arnfinn Groven, Director, Customer Service Division, joined Grameenphone as Senior Advisor in the Customer Management Division in August, 2007. He was appointed as Director in February 2008.

Graduating as a Work Psychologist, from the University of Oslo, Arnfinn started his career in 1984 at the Work Research Institute in Oslo as a Scientific Assistant. For the next 12 years he developed his expertise in Human Resource Management and Career Counseling in different reputed organizations in Norway.

In 1996, Arnfinn joined Telenor Consumer Customer Service. In 2000, he became the Operational Director of Telenor Customer Service in Oslo.

Laszlo Barta(39 years of age, Hungarian)

Laszlo Barta was appointed as Director of Sales Division in January 2008. He joined the company as the Head of SME Department in August 2005. He was the project manager of Business Solutions and later was appointed as Head of Sales under Commercial Division in 2007.

Laszlo holds a DMS degree from Buckinghamshire Chilterns University, England, a bachelor degree from the College of Finance and Public Accountancy, Budapest and an engineering degree from the Faculty of Landscape Architecture, Protection and Development, University of Budapest.

He has seven years of working experience from the telecommunications industry with Ericsson, Pannon, and Telenor. He also has several years of experience working with fast moving consumer goods and retail.

CustomerService

Arnfinn Groven

Technology**Oddvar

Hesjedal

SalesLaszlo Barta

MarketingRubaba Dowla

FinanceMd. Arif Al

Islam


OrganizationalChart

CEOAnders Jensen

* Not part of Executive Management Team

** As of June 1, 2008

FinancialManagementRaihan Shamsi

NetworksMd. Shafiqul

Islam

InformationTechnologyFrode Stoldal

CHQPetter Russ

Public RelationsSyed Yamin Bakht

Financial ServicesDelwar Hossain Azad

Human ResourcesEmad Ul Ameen

Climate StrategyN K A Mobin

Corporate AffairsKhalid Hasan

Company ComplianceOfficer*

TBA

Company SecretaryRaihan Shamsi

Senior Assistant toCEO*TBA

Internal AuditFarhad F Ahmad

Special Initiatives*


CorporateGovernance inGrameenphone

Corporate Governance is the structured process through which an organization is directed, controlled and held accountable. It clearly defines the rights and responsibilities of the Board, Management, Shareholders and other Stakeholders like Government and the society at large. Grameenphone believes in the continued improvement of corporate governance. This in turn has led the Company to commit considerable resources and implement internationally accepted Corporate Governance Standards in its day-to-day operations.

The Board of Directors and the Management Team of Grameenphone are committed to maintaining effective Corporate Governance through a culture of accountability, transparency, well-understood policies and procedures. The Board of Directors and the Management Team also ensure maintaining of compliance with all laws of Bangladesh and internally developed policies, procedures and controls.

The Articles of Association (AOA) is the key governance guideline for the company set by the Shareholders. The Board of Directors and Management Team run the affairs of the Company in compliance with the guidelines of the AOA and the Companies Act, 1994. Internal and external rules and procedures provide Grameenphone with a sound platform for good corporate governance and for further development of a positive, responsible and healthy corporate culture.

Board of DirectorsThe Directors of the Board are appointed by the Shareholders in the Annual General Meeting (AGM) who are accountable to the Shareholders. The Board is responsible for guiding the company towards the goal set by the Shareholders. The Board also ensures that Grameenphone’s policies and procedures and Codes of Conduct are implemented and maintained; and the Company adheres to generally accepted principles for the governance and effective control of company activities. In addition to the other legal guidelines, the Grameenphone Board has also adopted “Governance Guidelines for the Board” for ensuring better governance in the work and the administration of the Board. The Board of Directors in Grameenphone is composed of five members including the Chairman who is elected from amongst the members.


The AOA requires the Board to meet at least four times a year and otherwise when duly called for in writing by a Board member or Shareholder. Dates for Board Meetings in the ensuing year are decided in advance and published as part of the Board Calendar together with the main agenda items and the notice of each Board Meeting is given in writing.

Management Team (MT)The Management Team is the executive committee of Grameenphone managing the affairs of the Company. The Management Team consists of the CEO and other key leaders across the company. The CEO is the leader of the team. The Management Team endeavors to achieve the strategic goals and mission of the Company set by the Board of Directors. The Management Team meets on a weekly basis to monitor the business performance of the Company.

Treasury CommitteeThis committee consists of two representatives from the Shareholders and the Chief Financial Officer of the Company. All significant financial matters which concern the Board are discussed in this committee in detail. Upon endorsement of the Treasury Committee, such issues are forwarded to the Board for their final review and approval.

Control Environment in Grameenphone In implementing the right Governance in Grameenphone, the Board and the Management Team ensures the following:

a) Business Plan & ForecastThe Management each year prepares the Strategy and Business Plan which is approved by the Board. Such plans are prepared and modified from time to time considering the forecast and market situation.

b) Financial Reporting Grameenphone has strong financial reporting procedures in line with the requirements of the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS), Bangladesh Accounting Standard (BAS) and other local legislations. In 2006, Grameenphone implemented total automation under the ERP model (Enterprise Resource Planning). Financial reports are generated from this automated platform. Apart from the statutory reporting, Grameenphone also maintains regular group reporting to its group company Telenor which consolidates all its subsidiarys’ financial information in its consolidated Financial Statements.

c) Management of AssetsGrameenphone is continuously investing in telecom network and other related infrastructure in line with the Business Plan. To maintain accountability and proper utilization of assets, it complies with clearly defined and approved policies starting from procurement, recording, reporting and up to the level of disposal of assets. To ensure proper safeguarding of assets, physical verification of network assets is conducted periodically and all risks relating to these assets are properly insured both locally and internationally.

d) Internal ControlGrameenphone has established an effective internal control system to maintain accountability, integrity and security of its assets, as well as information. The internal control system guides every member of the company with regard to processing of every transaction, authority level for approval of the transaction, documentation, access to the systems and related responsibilities. As the business evolves, amendments and improvements are also brought to the internal control system. The external auditors and the internal auditors review the company’s internal controls on a regular basis.

e) Sarbanes Oxley Compliance

Grameenphone also implemented sound internal controls over financial reporting in line with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) in 2006.

Although the group Company Telenor is no longer enlisted in NASDAQ, it adopted a strategy in line with the requirement of SOX that such internal control monitoring shall continue as if Telenor was a US listed company. Grameenphone has successfully implemented a strong set of internal control points in its major class of transactions as well as in the IT section.

f) Statutory AuditStatutory Audit of the Company is governed by the Companies Act, 1994 of Bangladesh. The Companies Act explicitly provides guidelines for the appointment, scope of work and retirement of auditors. Shareholders appoint auditors and fix their remuneration in the Annual General Meeting. The Shareholders appoint Auditors upon evaluation in the AGM. M/S Rahman Rahman Huq, a member firm of KPMG, is the Statutory Auditor of the company. In addition to the annual audit, the auditors carry out interim audit and review the quarterly financial reports of the Company.

g) Compliance with Rules & Regulations of the Country As the leaders of a compliant Company, the Management Team of Grameenphone is accountable not only to its Board or Shareholders but also to various external regulatory bodies. These regulatory bodies maintain a close look on Grameenphone, which has become one of the largest organizations in Bangladesh for its large subscriber base, wide network and highest contributions to the Government Exchequer. In this context, the Company provides full-fledged financial reports to the National Board of Revenue (NBR), Registrar of Joint Stock Companies & Firms (RJSC) and the Board of Investment (BOI). In compliance with a new law of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Grameenphone has converted its status in 2007 to a public limited company from its earlier status as a private limited company.

h) Internal AuditThe Internal Audit Department is responsible for monitoring the operational activities of the Company in the light of the policies and procedures set by the Board of Directors and the Management Team for ensuring effective internal control, transparency and accountability in the organization. In addition, this unit has to follow the Group Internal Auditing Guideline, being a subsidiary of Telenor. On the basis of reports from the Internal Auditor, actions are taken to bring developments and rectifications in the processes and policies.


i) Business Continuity Management (BCM)Business Continuity Management (BCM) process has been adopted in Grameenphone for identifying and addressing the potential risks and threats related to environmental, technical and operational areas of the company. In this process, after an assessment of the probability and impact of the potential risks, detail plans have been prepared in order to prevent and manage the risks and to secure the continuity of the business in the long run.

j) Codes of ConductGrameenphone has adopted a clearly defined Codes of Conduct approved by the Board of Directors for securing good business ethics in all aspects of the company’s activities. The Codes of Conduct are properly communicated to all the employees, who are strictly required to abide by it.

k) Management & Leadership DevelopmentEmployees are one of the most important assets of Grameenphone. Transparency of their goal and performance measurement plays an important role in achieving the target of the organization. Grameenphone has adopted the following tools to develop leaders from within the company:

i. Telenor Development ProcessTelenor Development Process (TDP) has been adopted by Grameenphone since 2005 as a leadership development procedure. The TDP process aims to set direction, manage performance and develop individual, team and organizational capabilities to deliver business results. Under this process, critical positions are identified, along with the requirements to fill such positions. Talents and potential successors are also identified, as are candidates for future management positions. TDP at Grameenphone supports leaders and employees in developing capabilities in strategic areas thereby ensuring a responsible and productive corporate environment.

ii. Internal Value Creation (IVC)Each year a formal survey named Internal Value Creation (IVC) is conducted where all the employees participate and express their independent views about the organization, their motivation, processes and improvement opportunities. The survey provides valuable information for the strategic work and is an important management tool used actively in the organizational development. The Management undertakes an action plan based on the survey results. IVC contributes to ensuring a fair, transparent and professional working environment in Grameenphone.

Grameenphone believes in transparency and accountability to society as a whole through establishment of efficient and effective Corporate Governance procedures. It also believes that Corporate Governance is a journey not a destination and it needs to be continuously developed and adapted to meet the changing needs of a modern business.

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Grameenphone is the pioneer in providing world-class telecommunications services in Bangladesh with innovative products and services while delivering and maintaining superior customer experience.

Grameenphone strives to provide the full benefit of communication services through easy-to-use products, addressing the diverse needs of the people of Bangladesh. Keeping to its tradition of introducing exciting innovations in the market, GP continued to offer its valued customers with relevant products and services and attractive new packages in 2007 as well.

To bring products within the affordable reach of all, start-up price for both pre-paid and post-paid packages were significantly lowered along with tariff rates. Among the new offerings in 2007 for prepaid and postpaid subscribers, noteworthy ones are:

• Great handset-bundled offer with Nokia and other renowned brands including bonus talk-time and free value-added-services• Reduced tariff for Friends and Family (F&F) numbers for strengthening the community network• Additional BTTB (PSTN) connectivity in pre-paid number series• Free EDGE (Internet) trial offer• International Roaming service for pre-paid users• Grameenphone Public Phone for urban PCO market

Through a brand refreshment program, the youth brand ‘djuice’ got a fresh look on its birthday, which coincided with Bengali New Year’s Day in April. During this occasion, promotional offer included more F&F, reduced community call rate, and free SMS. Later in the year, BTTB (PSTN) connectivity and handset bundled-offer were launched for djuice subscribers. djuice also organized lifestyle fairs, as well as the ‘d-rockstar’ music talent hunt campaign. djuice also tied up with the British Council and Bishsho Shahitto Kendro to promote educational programs.

Innovative, RelevantProducts & Services


Among the many attractive features introduced in 2007, ‘Pay for Me’ service stands out for enabling subscribers to make emergency collect calls, and help them to stay connected at all times. In addition, IVR- and SMS-based postpaid bill payment service was launched, allowing subscribers to have a much easier bill payment experience.

A special Hajj promotion was introduced for pre-paid International Roaming service, allowing pilgrims visiting Saudi Arabia to easily stay connected with their loved ones back home.

For the business market, attractive and relevant value-added services, namely Bull Stock Information and Business Directory, were introduced for Business Solutions subscribers, during the brand refreshment on its first birthday in February 2007.

In another development, Missed Call Alert Service was launched to help the subscribers to get an alert when the mobile phone is switched off or is out of network.

To strengthen the relationship with its subscribers, Grameenphone offered promotional unlimited validity of subscription in pre-paid category and gave an opportunity to the subscribers to reconnect themselves to the largest mobile network. Moreover, Grameenphone increased the number of ‘thank-you’ partner outlets, enabling its subscribers to enjoy discount facilities in more places than before.

Much of Grameenphone’s success is due to its ability to adapt to the needs of its customers. It has always implemented customer-driven innovations that meet the specific needs of a segment. In continuation of that effort, Grameenphone launched BlackBerry push-mail service in Bangladesh for the first time, bringing in the next level of global connectivity for businesses. The Blackberry platform is the gold standard in mobility for business users around the world, providing complete secured mobile e-mail solutions.

With all these efforts, Grameenphone aims to continue its efforts to delight its customers with dedication and complete service and thus remain the “people’s brand, the people’s choice”.

MaintainingNetworkQuality


Best network in BangladeshGrameenphone has the largest network with the widest coverage in the country. The GP network now covers over 98 percent of the population and over 87 percent of the land area with the remaining areas mostly falling under the Sundarbans and the Chittagong Hill Tract areas where mobile phone coverage is not allowed.

The company invested more than BDT 35.8 billion in 2007 primarily to further expand the coverage and increase the capacity of its network. A record 4181 new base stations were put into operation around the country during the year, crossing the 10,000 base station milestone in the process. In addition, the entire Grameenphone network is EDGE/GPRS enabled, allowing its customers to access high-speed Internet from anywhere within the coverage area.

Radio Access Rollout:Base Stations

Huge capacity in the core networkThe core network capacity was also significantly increased during the year to support the largest subscriber base. A large number of switches, Home Location Registrars (HLR), Media Gateways, Transit Switches (TSC/TSS) and signaling systems were added to the network.

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Over the years, the Networks Division of Grameenphone has been ensuring the best-in-class GSM cellular mobile network for the customers in Bangladesh. Ensuring customer satisfaction through enhanced coverage, expanded capacity and improved quality and performance of the network continued to be the primary focus of the Networks Division in 2007.


Largest Fiber optic networkGrameenphone has the largest transmission backbone capacity with its countrywide fiber optic network. It has built its own fiber optic network which is 2422 km long and has also secured a long-term lease of the 2000 km fiber optic network of the Bangladesh Railway. This huge transmission backbone capacity has played an instrumental role to secure the number one position for Grameenphone in the mobile network industry of Bangladesh. The fiber optic network will continue to play an important role in supporting all future expansions and products and service offerings for the customers.

Pioneering initiative with solar powered base station

Using solar power for operating base stations is a comparatively new idea. Grameenphone pioneered this technology in the country with two pilot sites at Habiganj in 2007.

The two solar-powered base stations are located at Kumri and Paharpur of Habiganj district. Both of these base stations are now running successfully, connecting several thousand customers in these comparatively remote areas. This initiative also indicates the huge prospect of reducing operational expenses of the network.

This new technology will enable Grameenphone to make its network available even at the remotest locations of Bangladesh where regular electricity supply is either unavailable or irregular.

Environment friendly camouflaged Microcell base stations

Increasing traffic demand and diminishing availability of space needed for constructing a traditional base station pushed Grameenphone to look for alternative solutions. Thus, it started to deploy Microcell base stations which require less space, relieve road side congestion, withstand weather and are aesthetically environment friendly. This was the driving force behind introducing camouflaged Microcell base stations in the Grameenphone network.

For the first time in the country, three camouflaged Microcell base stations were deployed in Dhaka city in 2007. All of these base stations were camouflaged with aesthetically good looking cages and decoration. The pre and post-testing of the locations showed that a significant improvement of network quality was achieved by this solution.

A network for the customersThe Networks Division of Grameenphone constantly strives to ensure customer satisfaction. A large number of optimization works are carried out regularly to improve the network performance. Customer perceptions and difficult experiences are analyzed and worked out to ensure improved network experience at all times.

Grameenphone has already established an international standard mobile phone network. To ensure quality, the Networks Division has developed a high-performance culture with its teams by developing expert and skilled resources, and has improved its efficiency and performance by proper network planning, fast roll out and effective operations management.

EDGE/GPRS (Data) Coverage

BANGLADESHCOVERAGE PLOT

Edge Coverage (EO March’08)GPRS Coverage (EO March’08)Incremental [predicted] Edge Coverage (EO Q2’08)

Indoor Coverage [0~-75dBm]

BangladeshCoverage as EO March’08

Radio Network (voice) Coverage

GP Fiber Networkalong Bangladesh Railway TrackGP Highway Fiber Network

Outdoor Coverage [0~-95dBm]

Radio network coverage

Fiber optic network routes

Bhangabazar


In 2007, over 12 million subscribers were served through the Inbound Hotlines, Online Service and through Outbound calls. In order to give a positive and sustaining experience to the ever increasing subscribe base, Grameenphone Customer Service is continuously improving on its processes and procedures. Language and dialect based service for djuice subscribers has been launched through the Hotline by introducing English language and Chittagong dialect from February 2007.

Business Solutions subscribers of Grameenphone are provided customer service through their dedicated Key Account Managers. Moreover, 121 has been made toll-free for all Business Solutions postpaid subscribers from June 2007.

Customer satisfaction has been declared as a major key performance indicator (KPI). In this regard, a survey was conducted to measure the satisfaction of the customers calling at the GP Hotline in September 2007. And later on Weekly Survey has been conducted on a regular basis to measure customer satisfaction level. The results showed a sharp decline in waiting times followed by a substantial increase in customer satisfaction.

This was achieved through a strong focus on training the employees handling customer queries. A number of extensive training programs took place on systems and products and on the actual dialogue with the customers.

Grameenphone Online Customer Service, an Internet-based customer service, has completed its first year in December 2007. Grameenphone Online Customer Service started its journey with a very new idea and developed it into a reliable channel for customers to get information and service from Grameenphone. In spite of the low internet penetration rate in the country, a good number of GP customers used the Grameenphone Online Customer Service as a customer service window in the past one year.

In addition, a large number of customers were also served through responses to written queries via emails, faxes and letters.

The focus now is to move up to the next level with an ambition “To provide the best-in-class Customer Service in Asia” by establishing the most reliable, friendly and quality customer service.

CommittedCustomerService

A significant measure of success for any company is how satisfied the customers are with the service. The Grameenphone Customer Service Division is committed to go the extra mile to meet the needs of its valued customers.


Grameenphone was awarded the 3GSMA Global Mobile Award 2008 for its CellBazaar service in the category of "Best Use of Mobile for Social & Economic Development," the second consecutive year that the company received this prestigious honor.

The award, announced at the 3GSMA World Congress in Barcelona, Spain in February 2008, was yet another recognition of Grameenphone’s commitment to bridging the existing digital divide in Bangladesh through the innovative use of technology.

CellBazaar is a unique market-access service. It is a low cost, pay-as-you-use service where users pay the standard SMS or EDGE/GPRS charges for accessing the service. There are no monthly or posting fees.

Using Grameenphone CellBazaar, buyers and sellers are able to trade basic goods (eg, rice, fish, motorcycle, used goods) from their mobile phones, bringing the benefits of information exchange, community networking and one-to-many trading to a previously unwired rural population.

Additionally with CellBazaar, the seller and buyer can use their mobile phones to check market prices, or use the information to attain favorable prices or make an informed purchase decision in the market. The value proposition is in the ability to create a many-to-many marketing community.

In February 2007, Grameenphone was also presented with the 3GSMA Global Mobile Award 2007 for its HealthLine Service, again in the category of "Best Use of Mobile for Social & Economic Development.” Grameenphone was given the "GSM in the Community Award" for its Village Phone Program in February 2000.

The CellBazaar service is one of a number of such social initiatives introduced by Grameenphone over the years. Other such initiatives are as follows:

Grameenphonewins Global MobileAward again

Village Phone ProgramAdministered by Grameen Telecom in cooperation with Grameen Bank, it enables rural people who normally cannot afford to own a telephone to avail the service while providing the Village Phone operators, mostly poor village women, an opportunity to earn a living.

The Village Phone Program started on the same day Grameenphone’s commercial operations was launched in March 1997. Village Phones have proven their immense potential in boosting income of poor households in rural areas, promoting health care, development of agri-business and in the social empowerment of rural women.

HealthLine Service Launched in November 2006, the HealthLine Service is a 24-hour Medical Call Center manned by licensed physicians which allows Grameenphone subscribers an opportunity to consult a doctor, through an interactive teleconference, for health-related advice. It also maintains a large countrywide database of doctors, hospitals, clinics and diagnostic centers and refers patients nearest to their locations.

In a country where there is only one doctor for every 4000 people, this service has helped expand primary health care service and information to the entire subscriber base of Grameenphone.

Community Information Centers (CIC)Grameenphone initiated the Community Information Center (CIC) project in 2006. CICs are Internet kiosks, set up through independent entrepreneurs across rural Bangladesh. CICs are providing access to the Internet through Grameenphone’s nationwide EDGE-enabled network.

Currently there are 567 CICs across the country. These Centers have narrowed the gaping digital divide between the urban and rural populace, giving over 20 million people access to the Internet and email service for the first time.

Set up with technical assistance from the GSM Association, the Community Information Centers are equipped with the minimum of a computer, a printer, a scanner, a web-cam and an EDGE-enabled modem to access the network.

BillPay ServiceIntroduced in Chittagong in 2006, this service enables Power Development Board (PDB) customers in Chittagong to pay their bills electronically at any Grameenphone authorized BillPay center. The service is reliable, quick and convenient, ensuring end-to-end transparency and ultimate convenience for the electricity consumers.

This was the first time a mobile phone operator launched a service with "universal access" for all citizens, i.e. equal service to anybody with or without a mobile phone from any operator.

The BillPay Service has since been expanded to Cox’s Bazaar and other southern areas of the country. The BillPay Service will be expanded to cover other cities and include more utility services under its umbrella.


CSR initiatives in Health, Empowerment,Education & Poverty AlleviationAs a socially responsible corporate citizen, Grameenphone intends to contribute towards achieving the development targets of Bangladesh. The company’s core focus in terms of social investment is targeted towards the bottom 50 percent of the socio-economic segment. Specific theme-based cycle-plans have been adopted for project selection and implementation to ensure greater and sustainable impact.

Healthcare was chosen as the first theme last year. Grameenphone has launched a number of healthcare related projects in long-term partnership with reputed development partners. It has also recently initiated its second cycle-plan concentrating on empowerment, partnering with renowned organizations like Special Olympics Bangladesh, Acid Survivors’ Foundation and CARE Bangladesh.

Commitments towards all these development projects entail that Grameenphone provides not only financial assistance but also incorporates voluntary employee involvement while deploying its in-house technical expertise in the project work.

Some of the significant CSR initiatives in these areas are:

Safe Motherhood and Infant Care ProgramIn partnership with Pathfinder International and USAID, Grameenphone supports the national “Safe Motherhood and Infant Care” program, aiming to meet the Millennium Development Goals for reducing maternal and infant mortality rates in the country.

Under the program, free comprehensive primary healthcare services are provided to 800,000 economically disadvantaged pregnant mothers and infants annually through the 320 Smiling Sun clinics located in 61 districts around the country.

Between August 2007 and January 2008 alone, 558,143 economically disadvantaged mothers and infants received this free healthcare service under the project. In addition, Grameenphone also provided five motorized vans to facilitate better patients’ referral and two clinic-on-wheels to increase the accessibility of the services in the hard-to-reach areas.

Free Eye Camps In partnership with Sightsavers International, eye camps are organized in rural areas to provide free eye-care services to the economically disadvantaged population. Around 12,000 patients were provided free eye-care support, of them, more than 1,350 Intra Ocular lens or cataract surgeries have been performed through eight eye-camps organized till May 2008.

Free Cancer TreatmentGrameenphone has sponsored the complete development and upkeep of five wards and an Operation Theater at the under-construction Dhaka Ahsania Mission Cancer and General Hospital. One-third of the beds sponsored by Grameenphone will be reserved for more economically disadvantaged patients who will receive free admission and full treatment. The rest of the disadvantaged patients screened will also receive treatment, which will be significantly subsidized by Grameenphone.

National Immunization Day AwarenessBangladesh could not yet achieve the target of Universal Child Immunization of 80%, due to lack of awareness about immunization and its importance. The main objective of this unique campaign, in cooperation with the Government and the WHO, is to raise awareness about child immunization. The campaign created awareness through SMS alert to subscribers, newspaper announcements, and public service announcement in radio in April, June and October 2007.

Empowering the Intellectually ChallengedIn partnership with Special Olympics Bangladesh, the project aims to empower the intellectually challenged athletes to nurture their sporting capabilities. Being the sole sponsor, Grameenphone provided necessary support and training for the athletes to participate in the Special Olympic Games 2007. The team went on to win 71 medals (32 Gold, 15 Silver and 24 Bronze) at the Special Olympic Games held in Shanghai, China in October 2007.

Grameenphone will also organize national talent hunts for intellectually disabled athletes, who would participate in the next Special Olympics in 2011.

Rehabilitation of Acid VictimsLending support to the Acid Survivors’ Foundation (ASF) in the rehabilitation of acid victims, Grameenphone has recruited six individuals who have been supported earlier by the Acid Survivors’ Foundation. These individuals have also been provided with the training to help them develop the necessary skills to take on their new responsibilities in the company.

Information BoatThe main objective of this project, in partnership with CARE Bangladesh, is to provide necessary livelihood information to the riverine communities of Bangladesh. A typical Information Boat will be equipped with computers, Internet and email facilities, photocopiers, fax machines, printers, webcams and video machines, scanners and much more, depending on the needs of a specific community. These boats will also be equipped with digital contents, such as livelihood and

agricultural information, suited for the specific areas served by the designated boats. At the same time, skilled trainers from CARE Bangladesh will provide training to the local community on different livelihood options.

Scholarship for the underprivileged studentsIn collaboration with Grameen Shikkha, an organization of the Grameen Bank Family, Grameenphone aims to provide financial assistance to 100 bright but underprivileged students through a scholarship fund at different academic levels annually. Of these scholarships, 60 percent is reserved for female students.

In 2007, Grameenphone also made a significant contribution towards the emergency relief efforts at the time of natural calamities.

In August 2007, Grameenphone employees worked jointly with relevant Government agencies and partner NGOs to mitigate the suffering of the flood-affected people. Along with the one-day salary contribution of the employees, Grameenphone and Telenor donated BDT 43.1 million to the Chief Advisor’s Relief Fund. In addition, nearly 22,000 family packs containing food and other essential items were distributed at 39 locations nationwide. Nine medical camps (7 static and 2 floating) were also organized serving some 55,000 patients in the affected areas. Additionally, gruel kitchens were organized to serve cooked food to over 36,000 families in Dhaka Division.

Grameenphone provided in-kind assistance worth of BDT 2.4 million in the Government relief effort, as an emergency support, towards the affected people of a landslide in Chittagong city.

Immediately after the SIDR cyclone, Grameenphone again came forward with emergency relief support. In November, immediately after the cyclone struck, a contribution worth of BDT 10 million was made to the Chief Adviser’s Relief Fund. In addition, Telenor, the majority shareholder of Grameenphone, donated another BDT 23 million towards Grameenphone’s ongoing relief activities. Grameenphone employees contributed their one-day’s salary and Telenor affiliates in Pakistan and Denmark also made contributions towards the relief effort.

In all, a total of 14,000 family packs were distributed from 16 distribution points in the eight

worst-affected districts. Sixteen medical camps, including 3 floating ones, were set up in the affected areas and more than 15,000 patients were given medical assistance with free prescription and medication. Grameenphone also came out with an innovative way to help the affected people when 400 families in Barguna districts were provided with 400 temporary tents, made from old Grameenphone billboard vinyl. Finally, donation boxes were also set up in 50 Grameenphone Centers to collect donations from subscribers to contribute in the Chief Advisor’s relief fund. Almost 200 employees voluntarily participated during the relief effort.

A rehabilitation plan for the SIDR affected areas is currently underway. Four (4) primary schools-cum-cyclone shelters will be built at Barisal and Khulna region.

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