Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) – Grameenphone, the country’s largest mobile operator, is going to issue bond by the end of next month to raise maximum US$60 million from the market.

The company has also decided to defer the floatation of the initial public offering (IPO), citing global financial hurricane as the major reason.

Chief Financial Officer Arif Al Islam said if everything goes according to the plan, the company would launch the private bond sometime next month.

The official also expressed the hope to raise between US$40 and $60 million from banks, non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs) and insurance companies through private placement, depending on the market appetite.

A bond is a debt instrument, in which the issuer owes the holder a debt and is obliged to repay the principal and interest at maturity.

The value of the two-year tenure bond will be a minimum of BDT 100 million each and the coupon rate will not be less than 14.50 per cent, according to the official.

Turning to the issue of floating the GP’s IPO (initial public offering), the company’s chief executive officer Anders Jensen said the process is “on track” but it is being delayed due to ongoing global financial crisis and “other challenges.”

He also said that the company, which has downsized the public offerings by $150 million, now plans to make the final submission to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by the fourth quarter of 2008, according to the Financial Express (FE), the country’s lone financial daily, reports.

“Grameenphone missed the SEC deadline during its first IPO application mainly due to the ongoing global financial crisis and other challenges,” Anders Jensen was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

BBN/SI/SSF/AD/30October08-12:50 AM (BST)