Japanese mobile operator NTT DoCoMo has completed the USD350 million purchase of a 30% stake in Bangladesh’s third largest cellco TM International (Bangladesh) Limited (TMIB, operating under the AKTEL brand) from AK Khan & Co. Datuk Jamaludin Ibrahim, president of AKTEL’s 70% owner TM International (TMI), was quoted in the press as saying, ‘We are excited at the prospect of working with DoCoMo whose wealth of expertise will bring a new perspective as well as invaluable dimension to TMIB,’ whilst Bangladesh’s Foreign Affairs Advisor Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury also welcomed DoCoMo’s entry to the market, saying, ‘This deal will enhance bilateral relations with Japan.’ DoCoMo confirmed in June that it had agreed to acquire the stake and a management role in AKTEL, whose controlling shareholder TMI was the result of a demerger in April by state-owned Telekom Malaysia; Khazanah Nasional, the investment arm of the Malaysian government, owns a 44.5% stake in TMI.

Source:telegeography