Announcing the new brand, officials of OTH said they intend to turn Sheba into a leader in the Bangladesh mobile phone sector by expanding its GSM (Global System for Mobile) network.

"We hope to offer quality services at affordable prices soon," OTH Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Naguib Sawiris told a press conference in Dhaka yesterday.

Sawiris said the accelerated network deployment will require an estimated $250 million in investment over the next few years.

He said the expansion of the newly acquired company may be hindered if 1800 MHz frequency, which is allocated to its competitors GrameenPhone and AKTEL, is not given to Banglalink.

He expressed his optimism that the government will take adequate steps to ensure an even playing field for all operators.

Citing example of OTH growth in Pakistan, Sawiris said, "We hope to increase our subscriber base by four million in two years in Bangladesh but the government has to ensure a congenial atmosphere for the growth."

OTH acquired 100 percent shares of Sheba Telecom and related operational rights and services for US$50 million in cash and has repaid roughly US$10 million in financial debt. The transaction was completed and it will not require any additional regulatory approvals.

"Bangladesh is a highly attractive market for mobile services due to its large and concentrated population, low penetration of telecommunications services and high growth in mobile phone subscribers," OTH said.

OTH also has its operations in Algeria, Egypt, Pakistan, Iraq and Tunisia. Sheba now has about 60,000 subscribers in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh with a population of 140 million has only 950,000 fixed lines and approximately 2.5 million GSM mobile phone subscribers. Mobile service was introduced in 1989 but the growth was accelerated in recent years with expansion growing more than 200 percent in the last two years.

Ezzat Saad El Sayed, assistant minister for Asian affairs of Egypt, and Paul Kearney, interim CEO of Sheba Telecom, also spoke at the function.

Earlier, local firm Integrated Services Ltd (ISL), a joint venture partner of Sheba Telecom, bought the stakes of Malaysian Technology Resources Industries Bhd (TRI) in the cellophane company for US$15 million.

The companies reached in consensus following a long arbitration in Singapore between the firms.

TRI, a concern of Malaysian state-owned Telekom Malaysia, had signed the settlement agreement with ISL on June 15.

The deal involves TRI's selling of Sheba stake to ISL for $15 million and a liability of US$10 million with Standard Chartered Bank in Dhaka.