Kathmandu

Axiata-Ncell has responded to the Nepal Telecommunication Authority regarding the dispute over share ownership purchase and sale. Ncell, in a letter to the authority, addresses the sale of 80 percent of the company’s shares and asserts its commitment to full compliance with Nepalese laws.

The Malaysian company, Axiata Group Berhad, opted to sell 80 percent of Ncell’s share ownership to Spectrlite UK Limited. The transaction, conducted without prior notification to relevant regulatory bodies, raised concerns about financial uncertainty.

The controversy arises from the alleged low trading value of the shares. In 2016, TeliaSonera, a Swedish company, sold 80 percent of its shares in Ncell to Axiata for $1.365 billion. However, these shares are now reported to have been sold for only $50 million, raising concerns and sparking debate.

Following the revelation that Ncell shares were sold without regulatory approval on December 1, the authority sent a letter seeking clarification.

In response to the controversy surrounding the low reported trading value of the shares, Ncell explained that it is in the process of gathering documents, including the bilateral agreement for the share purchase and sale. Once these documents are collected, Ncell intends to submit an application to the authority for approval of the share purchase and sale.

The letter states, “We would also like to inform you that we are promptly collecting the necessary documents and will submit an application for the approval of share purchase and sale to the authority in accordance with Regulation 15 ‘1’ ‘TA’ of the Telecommunications Regulations 1998 and Regulation 4 ‘A’ of the Share Purchase Regulations 2020.”