Ncell really interested in floating public shares

ShareSansar, April 23:

The private sector telecom giant Ncell has expressed willing to transform into a public company and issue public shares.

“We are very interested to make additional effort with regards to an opportunity to issue ordinary shares in the condition that we can list the company in the local as well as the international market,” Chief Executive Officer of Ncell Erim Taylanlar told Karobar daily.

“We have been asked to formally submit the proposal,” he added. “We will happily present it.”

This comes five years after TeliaSonera, which has been in the telecom sector for nearly 150 years and listed in the international market, bought majority stakes in Mero Mobile and rebranded it as Ncell. Nirag Govinda Shrestha holds the remaining 20 percent stakes in Ncell.  

But he was quick to add that Nepal’s capital market should be really prepared for the listing and floating of an international company such as Teliasonera that runs Ncell.

Taylanlar further stated Kcell, another telecom company run by TeliaSonera in Kazakhstan, has been listed at both Kazak Stock Exchange as well as London Stock Exchange.

He added that they have already held informal meeting with the regulatory authorities of Nepal, and that they were willing to hold further discussion if the Ministry of Finance and Nepal Rastra Bank were positive about the double listing of the company.

It may be noted that following a study on cross holding, Nepal Telecom Authority (NTA), the regulatory body of the telecom sector, has already suggested the stock market regulators to introduce a mandatory provision for any telecom company with a paid-up capital of more than Rs 5 crore to convert into a public company.

As per the recommendation, a telecom company that is in operation must convert into a public limited within a year, and float public shares in five years.

However, the Ncell’s CEO is against a mandatory provision to convert a privately run telecom company into a public company.

“We should be given the choice whether to convert into a public company or not,” Taylanlar said.

Spokesperson of the Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON), the regulator of the stock market, Niraj Giri said that conversion of an international telecom company into a public company would provide a good investment opportunity to share investors.

Entry of a real sector company will go a long way to promote the stock market of Nepal, which has been largely dominated by BFIs, insurance and hydropower companies.

“Entry of Ncell in the stock market will also encourage other real sector companies to follow the suit,” he added.

For a long time all the stakeholders in the capital and stock market have been insisting on the need to bring in real sector companies to expand the depth and scope of the stock market.

It may also be noted that there was an overwhelming repose to the IPO issued by the state-run Nepal Telecom a few years back, and the company has the highest number of shares in the only share market of the country.