by William Gomes

First computers will hit the market in June with a price tag of US$ 175. Laptops will be manufactured in cooperation with a Malaysian company, but the goal is to achieve maximum autonomy.

Dhaka (AsiaNews) – State-owned telecom company Bangladesh Telephone Shilpa Sangstha Ltd (BTSS) will sign an agreement with Malaysia’s TFT to manufacture laptops. BTSS’s Managing Director Ismail Hossain said the new joint venture would market its product at 12,000 taka (US$ 175) per unit. The first laptops are expected to go on sale in June.

International tenders were invited to manufacture laptops in Bangladesh; four local and overseas companies took part in the process. The foreign companies were from Malaysia and China.

Tender documents were sent to Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) for scrutiny of the technical aspects.

Once the BUET recommended the Malaysian company, a letter was sent to the TFT in Malaysia within a day or two seeking details of its offer. After that, an agreement can be signed to start production.

TFT will provide technical assistance and BTSS will gradually build up its production, Hossain said.

At present, there are preparations to manufacture 10,000 laptops per month. Most of the raw materials would come from Bangladesh; only a few would be imported.

The Bangladesh Telephone Shilpa Sangstha Ltd was founded in 1967 under the name of ‘Telephone Industries Corporation’ under a joint venture agreement between the Government of Pakistan (then in control of Bangladesh) and West Germany’s M/S Siemens AG.

When the country achieved independence, the Telephone Industries Corporation was incorporated under its current name as a limited company in accordance with the Companies Act of 1913.

• bangladesh
• economy
• development
• information
• technology
• telecommunications
• computer
• informatics