Bangladesh Telecommunication Company Limited (BTCL) overcame 15 years of continuous losses and turned around as a profitable company in the financial year 2021-22. In the financial year 2007-08, BTCL’s losses were around Tk 350 crore. Before that it was about five hundred crore taka. BTCL’s loss for the last financial year 2020-21 was Tk 247 crore. After overcoming this continuous loss, the company made a profit of Tk 6 crore 72 lakh this year.
This information was conveyed to the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Mustafa Jabbar, after the annual general meeting held on Thursday at the Telecommunications Building in Dhaka.
BTCL Board Chairman Post and Telecommunication Secretary Md. Khalilur Rahman, BTCL Managing Director Dr. Md. Rafiqul Matin and other Board members were present at that time.
Explaining the various reasons behind this achievement of BTCL, the minister said, we have successfully done everything possible to bring BTCL to a competitive place, starting from adoption of new technologies.
He expressed strong hope that BTCL will soon be established as an exemplary instance by making proper use of the huge immovable assets including the infrastructure of BTCL across the country.
Expressing strong hope that all the government institutions under the Department of Posts and Telecommunications, including the Directorate of Posts, will turn around like BTCL, the minister said, the main goal of government institutions is not only to do business, but to serve the people. BTCL is doing both profit and service – this is unique.
Valiant freedom fighter Mustafa Jabbar also said that there was nothing to say about the private sector after independence. In such a country there was nothing to call industrial establishments. Bangabandhu saved the abandoned industrial mills of the Pakistanis by making them sector corporations. Now all sectors are open to private sector. The public sector therefore has to survive by competing with the private sector. Bangladesh has come a long way today under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. His investment-friendly policies resulted in establishment of private investment in every sector. In the country today, an environment of competition has been created in every field including industrial trade.
This pioneer of digital technology development mentioned that government service institutions are playing an important role for fair competition.
He said that the public and private sector will exist side by side and they will survive in the midst of competition. The minister highlighted the provision of broadband internet services to marginalized communities, 418 video conferences and provision of Wi-Fi network services in 587 educational institutions during the Covid-19 pandemic. The minister expressed his deep satisfaction in turning around BTCL from a loss-making organization to a profitable one and said that many things are involved in the transformation of this institution into a profitable institution, including the adoption and implementation of new technologies in keeping with the times. Hopefully BTCL will set an exemplary case as a profitable state-owned enterprise in the coming days. BTCL Board expressed deep gratitude to all concerned including Chairman, Managing Director and members for the achievement.