Nepal Telecommunication Authority shows concerns over Ncell share transfer

Kathmandu January  6- Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) has expressed concerns over the Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) between Sunivera Capital Ventures and Neeraj Govinda Shrestha for acquiring 20 percent stake in Ncell.

In a letter to the Department of Industry (DoI) through the Industry Ministry, the telecommunication service regulator has stated that it had not been notified about the deal.
The process of transferring local shares had begun after the Swedish company TeliaSonera announced in September that it would leave the Eurasian market and Nepal. In December, TeliaSonera stated that it had agreed in principle to sell its entire stake to Malaysian telecom company Axiata.

The Article 27 of Telecommuni-cations Act 1997 states that in case a licensee desires to sell or transfer license to any other person, the licensee and the buyer or the transferee of the license will have to submit a joint application to the NTA stating the reason thereof along with the terms and conditions mutually agreed, for approval.

Upon the receipt of an application submitted, while making an inquiry by the authority, if it deems appropriate to sell or transfer the licence to the person mentioned in the application, the authority shall grant approval for such sale or transfer within 30 days of receiving the application, and if it deems inappropriate to permit the sale or transfer, a notification with reason shall be given to the applicant,” states Clause 2 of Article 27 of the Telecommuni-cations Act.
Source: TKP