Govt forms high-level panel to study Ncell share transfer agreement

KATHMANDU: The government has formed a high-level committee to study loopholes in Ncell’s share transfer agreement.

The cabinet meeting held on Thursday formed the five-member committee, according to the government spokesperson, Minister for Communication and Information Technology, Rekha Sharma.

Former Auditor General Tanka Mani Sharma leads the committee. Secretary Fanindra Gautam, joint secretary Babu Ram Bhndari, Ritesh Kumar Shakya, and Sujan Kumar Kafle, the president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nepal (ICAN), are the members of the committee.

Malaysian firm Axiata’s announcement that it has reached an agreement to sell all its 80% stakes in Ncell to UK-registered Spectrelight Limited has raised questions of transparency, as the transaction value is significantly lower than what it paid to buy the stakes from Swedish firm TeliaSonera in 2016.

The agreement is also suspicious given that Ncell is coming under government ownership after six years.