Staff Reporter :
Attorney General Mahbubey Alam replied to a legal notice which had been sent to President Abdul Hamid by GrameenPhone’s parent company Telenor recently demanding international arbitration to resolve the telecom regulator’s “disputed” audit claim of Tk 125.79 billion by Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).
The reply was sent to ‘Allen & Overy”, a reputed global law firm of Hong Kong, China, on November 17 this year.
The Attorney General’s letter said, “You may already aware that in respect of the aforesaid dispute, GP has already filed a Title Suit No 710 of 2019 before the court of Joint District Judge, Dhaka and subsequently filed an appeal being FMAT No 888 of 2019 before the Honorable High Court
Division. At present, the aforesaid matter is pending before the Honorable Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh for order. This is for your kind information and record. “
Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar on Thursday said that GrameenPhone’s parent company Telenor recently sent a legal notice to President Abdul Hamid, demanding international arbitration to resolve the telecom regulator’s “disputed” audit claim of Tk 125.79 billion by Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).
“Recently, GrameenPhone [Telenor] has sent a legal notice from a Singapore-based legal consultant to the President of the country and there is no way to take it lightly,” the Minister said at a meeting with the Telecom Reporters’ Network Bangladesh (TRNB) at his office.
“We have already discussed it with senior lawyers of the country and found nothing to be worried about,” he added.
Allen & Overy LLP, a Singapore-based international law firm, sent the legal notice to the President on October 30, referring to the business protection treaty signed by Bangladesh and Singapore.
In its legal notice, Telenor said, “Telenor Asia is required to meet with Bangladesh to pursue an amicable settlement pursuant to the requirements of Article 7(1) of the Treaty and would welcome the opportunity to do so. It is our client’s strong hope that this matter may be resolved amicably without recourse to ICSID arbitration. We confirmed that Mr Oivind Burdal is Telenor Asia’s representative for the purposes of the meeting and would propose that the meeting be held in the week commencing 18 November 2019 in Dhaka.”
“In the event that no amicable settlement is reached within six months from the date of this notice, Telenor Asia reserves the right to initiate ICSID arbitration without further notice to Bangladesh,” also read Telenor’s legal notice.
Attorney General Mahbubey Alam replied to a legal notice which had been sent to President Abdul Hamid by GrameenPhone’s parent company Telenor recently demanding international arbitration to resolve the telecom regulator’s “disputed” audit claim of Tk 125.79 billion by Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).
The reply was sent to ‘Allen & Overy”, a reputed global law firm of Hong Kong, China, on November 17 this year.
The Attorney General’s letter said, “You may already aware that in respect of the aforesaid dispute, GP has already filed a Title Suit No 710 of 2019 before the court of Joint District Judge, Dhaka and subsequently filed an appeal being FMAT No 888 of 2019 before the Honorable High Court
Division. At present, the aforesaid matter is pending before the Honorable Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh for order. This is for your kind information and record. “
Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar on Thursday said that GrameenPhone’s parent company Telenor recently sent a legal notice to President Abdul Hamid, demanding international arbitration to resolve the telecom regulator’s “disputed” audit claim of Tk 125.79 billion by Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).
“Recently, GrameenPhone [Telenor] has sent a legal notice from a Singapore-based legal consultant to the President of the country and there is no way to take it lightly,” the Minister said at a meeting with the Telecom Reporters’ Network Bangladesh (TRNB) at his office.
“We have already discussed it with senior lawyers of the country and found nothing to be worried about,” he added.
Allen & Overy LLP, a Singapore-based international law firm, sent the legal notice to the President on October 30, referring to the business protection treaty signed by Bangladesh and Singapore.
In its legal notice, Telenor said, “Telenor Asia is required to meet with Bangladesh to pursue an amicable settlement pursuant to the requirements of Article 7(1) of the Treaty and would welcome the opportunity to do so. It is our client’s strong hope that this matter may be resolved amicably without recourse to ICSID arbitration. We confirmed that Mr Oivind Burdal is Telenor Asia’s representative for the purposes of the meeting and would propose that the meeting be held in the week commencing 18 November 2019 in Dhaka.”
“In the event that no amicable settlement is reached within six months from the date of this notice, Telenor Asia reserves the right to initiate ICSID arbitration without further notice to Bangladesh,” also read Telenor’s legal notice.
