Harka Sampang Wants to Bid for Ncell Shares as its Sold for Cheap

Harka Sampang Rai, the Mayor of Dharan Sub Metropolis, infamous for his social media post, recently commented on the Ncell case.

Early on Thursday, he posted, “If Ncell is being sold for Rs 6 billion, Dharan Sub Metropolis is ready to bid Rs 10 billion. Will they accept it?”

Netizens has given mixed response to this post; while some are thinking its just another typical Harka post while some are saying he is questioning this transfership process.

If not being serious, it seems like Sampang is questioning the transparency of Ncell’s share transfer process, suggesting that the shares were sold at a lower value to avoid taxes without proper disclosure to Nepal’s regulatory authorities.

Stakeholders have said that there was an attempt to evade capital gains tax in the purchase and sale of Ncell in 2016, and even now they are trying to evade revenue by buying and selling shares in an opaque manner.

Foreign investor Axiata has sold its shares for Rs 6.65 billion. Axiata sold 80 percent of its holdings to Spectrolite UK. Reynolds Holding Limited, owned by the Axiata Group, has been bought by Spectrolite UK Limited. A company registered two months ago has bought 80 percent of the shares of Reynolds Holding Limited in Saint Kitts and Nevis, Asia. The British company, which opened at one US dollar, was sold to Spectrolite UK Limited for US$ 50 million.

In 2016, Axiata bought 80 percent of Reynolds Holding’s shares in Ncell for Rs 143 billion. After seven years, the selling of the same shares for just 4.65 percent of the purchase price, i.e. 95.35 percent less than the sale price, shows a clear intention to evade tax.

The government of Nepal has released an official opinion regarding the purchase and sale of Ncell’s, a private telecom company, share ownership.

Issuing a press release Tuesday evening, government Spokesperson and Communications Minister Rekha Sharma has said that if any irregularity is found through the study and investigation, the government will immediately take strict action against all concerned under the law.

In the statement, it is also mentioned that the Government of Nepal is committed to protect the interests of Nepal and Nepali people and ensure compliance with prevailing laws.