Local electronics brand Walton has extended its ongoing Digital Campaign after witnessing huge customers'  response. 

The campaign provide chance of getting Tk 10 lakh or Tk 1 lakh or attractive amounts of cash vouchers on the purchase of any model of fridge, washing machine and microwave oven from Walton Plaza, distributors’ outlets or E-plaza across the country.

Under the Digital Campaign Season-7, already, a good number of customers became millionaire, also received Tk 1 lakh worth and different amounts of cash vouchers, said a press release.

Walton has been conducting ‘Digital Campaign’ across the country to make customer database for delivering online based sales service.

The details of the customers and their purchased products including are being stored on a server through the digital registration. As a result, customers are getting the after sales service from any Walton service center any time, even if they lost the product’s warranty card.

Engineer Al Imran, CEO of Walton Home Appliances, said they have 12 models of semi-automatic and automatic top and front loading washing machines.

Prices range from Tk.6,900 to Tk.45,500 with nine models of Walton microwave ovens will cost between Tk.6,990 and Tk.19,000.

Walton refrigerators have received several standard certifications at national and international level, including BSTI’s ‘Five Star’ energy rating, ISO, OHSAS, EMC, CB, ROHS, SASO, ESMA, ECHA, G-Mark, E-Mark etc. Walton refrigerators are also being exported to different countries of the world as well.

Huawei Technologies (Bangladesh) Limited on Monday inaugurated its annual programme - ‘Seeds for the Future 2020 in Bangladesh’.

State Minister for Information and Communication Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak,  was the chief guest of the virtual inauguration ceremony, said a press release.

 Palak said, “We believe this program will boost the students in their career paths and help them to gain knowledge about new technologies such as big data and IoT. Besides, this will aid them in helping the country to achieve the Vision of Digital Bangladesh 2021.”

‘Seeds for the Future’ is a flagship CSR programme of Huawei which mainly focuses on bridging the gap between academic and industry knowledge and also a long-term CSR activity dedicated to the top STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) students worldwide.

This year, students from Dhaka University (DU), Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Chittagong University of Engineering & Technology (CUET), Khulna University of Engineering & Technology (KUET), and Rajshahi University of Engineering & Technology (RUET) will be participating in the program.

The students from DU, CUET, and KUET will be from the Electrical and Electronics Engineering (EEE) department and in contrast, the students from BUET and RUET will be from Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) department.

Two best students from the final undergraduate year in the said department from each university will be chosen based on their CGPA (Cumulative Grade Points Average), spot examination and their presentation on new technology and innovative companies.  

The selected students will be attending five days online programme of cultural and technological training from the Huawei Headquarters of China (Beijing and Shenzhen). 

Banglalink, the third largest mobile operator company of Bangladesh, said the data revenue and data customer base grew by 30.3% YoY and 3.3% YoY respectively in Q2 2020 during coronavirus pendamic.

Erik Aas, Chief Executive Officer of Banglalink came up with the announcement on Banglalink’s performance in Q2 2020 at a virtual press conference held on Monday, said a press release.

He shared his views on Banglalink’s role during the pandemic, its key undertakings, customers' benefits and other related issues with the journalists.

Banglalink’s continued investment in 4G network contributed to 30.3% YoY data revenue growth in Q2 2020, said a press release.

The enhanced 4G network enabled Banglalink to achieve 79.2% YoY increase in data usage supported by accelerated 4G penetration which resulted in 3.3% YoY growth in data customers during the quarter.

Moreover, the strengthened 4G network attributed to Banglalink’s winning of the Ookla® Speedtest® Award as the fastest mobile network in the country for Q1-Q2 2020.

As part of Banglalink’s increased focus in embracing digital services, Banglalink actively promoted the use of digital channels to facilitate top-ups, account management and the adoption of additional services.

As a result, the user base of the Banglalink self-care app increased by 58% during 2Q20 compared to 1Q20 while Banglalink’s video streaming app “Toffee” saw a 62% uplift in its user numbers.

In line with the general industry trend resulting from Coronavirus outbreak, Banglalink experienced decline in its customers base and total revenue during 2Q 2020 although there were impressive growth in data customers base and data revenue.

Aas said, “As part of our prompt response to the pandemic, we had to implement the ‘home office’ work model to make sure that our employees stay safe and keep working for providing uninterrupted services. It is really encouraging to see our earnest efforts yielding positive results, especially in the digital business segment. Our digital endeavors have received the recognition from the recent Ooklaaward. It was given for being the fastest mobile network in the country for Q1-Q2 2020, which is the result of our technological advancement such as the expansion of 4G network and more spectrum per customer. We would like to dedicate it to our valued customers, whose consistent support always inspires us to move forward as a digital service provider.”

During the virtual discussion session with the journalists, Aas highlighted some of the initiatives taken by Banglalink during the pandemic such as setting up free Corona hotline numbers, launching e-learning facilities through “Teach It”platform, introducing virtual internship and seminars for university students and distributing relief among affected households in association with Bangladesh Sena KalyanSangstha and Bangladesh Army.

Aas concluded the session welcoming Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC)’s initiative to implement the Significant Market Power (SMP) Guidelines, which he believes is a positive step towards establishing a level playing field in the industry.

He also reiterated Banglalink’s firm commitment to enhancing customers’ digital experiences by introducing more innovative digital products and platforms.

Taimur Rahman, Chief Corporate & Regulatory Affairs Officer, Banglalink, Cem Velipasaoglu, Chief Financial Officer, Banglalink, Mohammad Zubayed Ul Islam, Sales & Distribution Director, Banglalink and other top management members of the organization also participated in the virtual press conference.

Internet users in Bangladesh are experiencing slow speeds as the power supply to a submarine cable has been disrupted at Kuakata in Patuakhali district.

Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Ltd, is working for recovery, said Moshiur Rahman, managing director of BSCCL on Sunday.

“There is a problem in the power supply of the second submarine cable (SEA-ME-WE-5) in Patuakhali. Work is going on since afternoon to fix it. Hopefully that will be resolved by today. About half of the bandwidth usage in the country is supplied from the second submarine cable. The internet is slowing down across the country following closure of the line,” he said.

According to BSCCL, Bangladesh was connected with the first submarine SEA-ME-WE-4 in 2005. Bangladesh was connected to SEA-ME-WE 5 in 2017 through the 2nd submarine cable landing station in Kalapara of Patuakhali.

Bangladesh receives 1,500 gigabits per second or Gbps of bandwidth from the Southeast Asia-Middle East-Western Europe International Consortium Submarine Cable (SEA-ME-WE-5) through the landing station.

Also read: Internet use rose 50pc during Covid-19 pandemic: Palak

Public subscription of Walton Hi-Tech Industries Limited (WHIL) is scheduled to begin Sunday with the company aiming to raise Tk 1 billion from capital market under the book building method. 

The IPO subscription will continue until August 16.

A beneficiary account (BO) holder can apply only for a single lot and each lot is consisting of 20 shares. 

Price of Walton’s each share for both resident and non-resident Bangladeshis has been set at Tk 252 and thus a BO account holder can apply for a single lot at Tk 5,040. 

According to capital market sources, the opening of Walton IPO made the capital market’s general investors enthusiastic. Walton’s last year Earnings per Share (EPS) as well as Net Assets Value (NAV) per share allured the IPO (Initial Public Offering) investors. 

Considering Walton’s EPS, NAV and overall business performance, the general investors hoped that they will earn desired capital gains through investing in Walton shares. And so, they have been awaiting  the public subscription of Walton.

As per the company’s financial statement as of June 30 of 2019, WHIL’s NAV with revaluation reserve per share was recorded at Tk 243.16 while its EPS was Tk 45.87. 

It was known that Walton Hi-Tech is going to be listed in capital market with ever highest EPS recorded during the IPO. 

Analyzing the last year’s financial statements of the listed companies in the capital market, it was found that Walton is in the eighth position in terms of EPS Tk 45.87 while securing the fifth position in terms of NAV per share.

Walton’s EPS’s was even higher than the EPS of the listed multinational companies. 

Kazi Ahsan Habib, chief of business operation of Prime Bank Securities, said that Walton EPS, NAV and overall business performance posted in its prospectus were very satisfactory and also fulfill the criteria of a good issue.

Dr Md Mizanur Rahman, chairman of Marketing Department of Dhaka University, said that Walton’s listing would have a positive impact on the capital market. This initiative will not only bring back the general investors’ confidence in the market but also assist to accelerate the progress of the national economy, he added.  

Md Ataur Rahman, a general investor from Joytun Securities International, said no IPO has been issued in the capital market for the last seven months. 

Most of the listed companies through IPO in last year could not meet investos’ desired expectations, he said, adding that, “we (general investor) lost our confidence in capital market investment.”

In this situation, the listing of Walton Hi-Tech like strong asset based company raises hopes for the general investors.  

Now, most of the investors are awaiting for investing in Walton share through IPO, saying it he expressed the hope of earning good capital gains from that investment. 

Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) on June 23 approved the IPO proposal of the Walton Hi-Tech to raise a fund worth Tk 1 billion by issuing nearly 2.93 million ordinary shares.

As per the stock market regulator approval, the eligible investors will get 1.38 million shares of the company at the cut-off price of Tk 315 each, fixed earlier through electronic bidding.

And, the general investors will get the remaining 1.55 million shares through IPO at Tk 252 each, a 20 per cent discount on cut-off price, as the company gave 10 per cent additional discount considering the interest of the capital market and small investors.

The IPO proceeds will be utilised for expansion of its businesses, repay bank loans and meeting the IPO related expenses. AAA Finance is in charge as issue manager of the company.