Johan Buse: Before coming to Bangladesh, I worked in Singapore, where corporate tax is around 22–23 per cent. In Bangladesh, the effective corporate tax is close to 50 per cent. In addition, there are various duties and taxes, including SIM card taxes. Overall, in the telecom sector, if we collect Tk 100 from customers, about Tk 70 goes directly to the government treasury.

There are also some unusual revenue rules here. For example, companies are taxed on turnover (revenue), whereas taxation should ideally be on profit. Spectrum costs in Bangladesh are also among the highest in the world. Pakistan can be a good example here. A few months ago, Pakistan reformed its spectrum strategy, reducing prices and making spectrum more accessible. The government still earns the same revenue, while operators can invest more efficiently and improve service quality.

However, I must say that in the last six to seven months, I have seen several positive steps in Bangladesh. For example, telecom licensing categories were reduced from around 26 to 13. These are positive developments.