The government of Nepal has announced an ambitious plan to increase public ownership in Nepal Telecom (NTC) and to retain its stake to 66%. The decision was announced by the finance minister, Swarnim Wagle, on Friday, Jestha 15, 2083, during his budget speech for FY 2083/84. The government plans to utilize the funds generated from selling NTC shares to transform Nepal into a tech hub.
If this comes true, the company will generate large funds from the public, which can be used to improve its services. It will also bring the public closer to the government business and strengthen trust. And the government looks keener than ever. The company has felt the need for resources and more public participation after the Gen Z protests. Therefore, it might expedite the process to allocate its shares to the public soon. Do read on how to check SIM registered name and transfer for Ntc, Ncell
The increased public share in Ntc would strengthen the government’s idea of public participation in financial aspects. NT is one of Nepal’s profitable public enterprises. Even though the company has seen financial lows in recent years, it’s still making profits. The government predicts that the company would generate over 9.55 arba in FY 2081/82.
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Increase in public share in Nepal Telecom
The plan to divest 30% of Nepal Telecom shares to the public is not an isolated plan either. In the FY 2078/79 budget speech, the government shared a plan to increase the public share in the company to 22 percent. Then, the government shared a plan to increase public ownership in the telecom company to 25%. Similarly, the earlier government planned to increase the public share to 30% in the FY 2082/83 budget. These didn’t materialize for various reasons.
Currently, the government owns 91.49% of shares in Nepal Telecom. 8.48% of shares have been owned by the general public, while the Citizens Investment Fund holds 0.03% of ownership shares in the country’s largest telecom firm. Here is the share structure of the company.
| Nepal Telecom shareowners | Shares (percentage) |
| Government of Nepal | 91.49% |
| General public | 8.48% |
| Citizen Investment Fund | 0.03% |
As the government decides to keep only 66% in its portfolio, the public share will go up to ~34%. Still, the major decisions will be taken by the government in the telecom company.
Who could buy shares in Nepal Telecom?
It’s possible that one needs to be a Nepal Telecom service customer to be eligible to apply for Ntc shares. That means, you might need to be a customer of a mobile service, a Landline, ADSL, or FTTH NT Fiber. If you are neither of them, the easiest workaround would be to get an NTC SIM.
So, increasing the public’s share to 34% means an increase of 25.5 % of stakes from the current 8.48%.
The government wants to allocate more shares in Nepal Telecom to promote public ownership in state-owned enterprises.
As of writing this post, Ntc has a total of Rs 18 billion paid-up capital and a reserve fund of Rs 72.70 billion.
Currently, NTC has only 66 lakhs and 60 thousand active shares, and its price remains high. Last time NTC’s share was traded for Rs 900.
NTC will first conduct its DDA and conclude on its minimum share price per unit. It will be followed by an auction, and the bid for the highest amount will determine the final price of NTC’s price per unit of share.
The price will also boil down to its demand among the investors. The high demands will likely inflate the price, or the other way round, a traditional inverse relationship between the demand and supply ratio.
Do Read: How to Take Loan in Ntc | Latest Updated
Will NTC Share Bring Benefits?
As we know, Nepal Telecom is the largest telecom operator in Nepal with a 51 percent market share in telecom and has over 1.45 crore 4G users. Therefore, investing in it is certainly a matter of interest among the public.
Apart from being a telecom operator, it is also an Internet Service Provider. Nepal Telecom has heavily invested in its NT fiber service, providing next-gen fiber internet and also replacing the ADSL service with it.
As for economics, NTC remains profitable despite seeing financial lows in recent fiscal years. Being the lead in Nepal’s telecom sector and with the government’s shares, it’s likely to stay strong in financial terms.
Check out: Ntc VoWifi Service launched | Find Price and Activation details
As NTC is backed by the state, it has no shortage of means and resources to sustain and compete with other telecom giants. Therefore, it will remain stable due to its ever-expanding network and services. For any potential investor, NTC would be a strong entry into their portfolio.
Check out: Nepal Telecom launches VoLTE with Voice, Video calls.
How excited are you about this announcement of increased Ntc share allocation to the public? Will you be applying for the Ntc shares? You can drop your opinion in the comments section below.
