1. Data Issues Bangladesh TRE and Investments Harsha de Silva and Abu Saeed Khan

2. LIRNEasia 17-18 September 2004, Colombo Availability  Generally not available Public information: InternalPublic information: Internal  BTRC does not have and does not collect?  Obligation of operators; not mandatory  Annual reports of companies not regular, if at all [most do not have] Public information: ExternalPublic information: External  Regular updates: World Bank, ITU…  Irregular research papers Private informationPrivate information  Costly

3. LIRNEasia 17-18 September 2004, Colombo Accuracy  Generally inaccurate Public: InternalPublic: Internal  Dated. Mostly FY 2001-02 [June 2002]  Aggregated  Incomplete  cannot find “reinvestment” figures. Public: ExternalPublic: External  Reconciliation problems with internal data. WB: USD 150m investment of BRTA? PrivatePrivate  Not standardized [measurement]

4. LIRNEasia 17-18 September 2004, Colombo Scope  Budgetary allocations Aggregated [ADP]Aggregated [ADP] Hard to reconcile with actual investmentsHard to reconcile with actual investments  Could even be to pay back debt of BTTB T&T bondsT&T bonds  GoB gilt-edged paper  New vs. re-investments State + Private w/o reinvestment data hard to get clear picture  bulk [?] missingw/o reinvestment data hard to get clear picture  bulk [?] missing Hard to assess TRE linkHard to assess TRE link  Supply side vs. demand side investments

5. LIRNEasia 17-18 September 2004, Colombo Discussion