Nepal Telecom Floatation Fails to Raise Expected Funds

The planned floatation of shares in Nepal Telecom may be in trouble after far fewer applications for shares were received than had been hoped for. Local reports, citing the Citizen Investment Trust (CIT), the issuing manager, estimated that NT received applications worth Rs 2.5 billion (US$40 million) - compared to the hoped for Rs. 15 billion (US$240 million).

Tenders for the shares closed last Tuesday.

"We are yet to receive the exact data on how much applications was filed for the shares, but the last three days saw a high volume of subscription," Nanda Hari Sharma, executive director of CIT, told Kantipur Daily.

The government has announced a loan to the CIT to underwrite the share offer and will try to promote the sale to government employees.

Nepal Telecom is the country's largest operator with an estimated 842,000 subscribers at the end of last September. Spice Nepal, which launched its network at the end of 2005 is fast catching up though, and the Mobile World estimates it had 796,000 subscribers at the same period.

On the web: Mobile World - Nepal Telecom

Posted to the site on 27th February 2008