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ATM services provider to raise Tkl50cr from capital market

Sajjadur Rahman
IT Consultants Limited (ITC), a manager of Q-cash brand of ATM and different cards, has decided to go for initial public offerings to raise Tk 150 crore, according to the company officials.
"The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has asked us to raise the company's paid-up capital Tk 50 crore from the current Tk 37 crore following our application a couple of months ago,” Saifuddin Munir, managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of ITC, told The Daily Star.
Munir said: "The SEC has given us time till December this year to raise the paid-up capital before going for IPO.” The ITC CEO is confident that they will be able to oblige the SEC decision.
If the SEC condition to raise the ITC paid-up capital to the required amount within the stipulated time is not fulfilled, the company will need to get the regulator's nod afresh.
The move, the Q-Cash top manager believes, would expand the brand's services and networks in Bangladesh.
ITC, which started business in 2001 as a private limited company, now becomes the local leader in the rapidly growing electronic payment and transaction system. The company provides banks and retailers with advanced infrastructure for transaction processing. It operates the largest independent ATM network of over 100 in the country. ITC also operates a wide point-of-sales (POS) centres network.
ITC is building its electronic transaction processing capacity in the country through further investment, officials said. It has tied up with 14 local private commercial banks for sharing Q-cash ATM and card services.
"The company promoters have already invested Tk 50 crore in the business," Raziur Rahman, head of administration and general services division of ITC, said.
Within two months, some other 5 banks will join the network. "Of the new banks, three will sign agreements this month,” the ITC MD said.
ITC as the operator of the network gets fees from every transaction, i. e., about 25 percent of the total charge the banks impose. The company CEO said most of the banks charge Tk 10 for each transaction.
“Our monthly average turnover has reached Tk 1 crore," Saifuddin Munir, the CEO of the 7 years old company, said. "We incurred losses for 5 years since the company's inception in 2001, now the company is making profits," he added without figuring out the profit.
Now the company wants to increase its capital for business expansion, although as a private limited entity it has some limitations, Munir said.
"Most of the banks are now preferring ownership of the ATM network," he said. “ITC will just maintain the network after being enlisted in the capital market," he noted.
“We are sensing huge potentials of Q-cash business in Bangladesh. Once the ITC as the operator of the network becomes enlisted in the capital market, the state-run banks that have huge network of branches would be encouraged to come into the Q-cash network,” Munir observed.
Besides ATM network, ITC provides services for card and credit management, merchant transaction processing and “ switching, e-commerce, ATM processing and account aggre-gation, KIOSK (Deposit Machine) and SMS banking.
sajjad@thedailystar.net