Smart Telecom gripped by ownership dispute

KATHMANDU, NOV 28 -Smart Telecom, which is planning to launch nation-wide GSM mobile service, has been embroiled in an ownership dispute. The dispute surfaced after a group, claiming that it has bought a 54 percent stake in the company, appointed a new chairman. But the founding group says it has not sold any stake and that it has complete ownership in the company.

In a statement on Wednesday, Smart Telecom Chairman Sachin Lal Acharya said the company has neither sold its stake nor has it held its annual general meeting. Singapore-based Lal Sahu Distribution holds an 80 percent stake in Smart Telecom, while Square Network has 20 percent.

Acharya’s statement came after the media reported that Dipak Timalsina had been appointed new chairman of Smart Telecom through its sixth annual general meeting (AGM). Timalsina, according to the media reports, represented River Road International Limited in the company.

“We have not held an AGM and there is no change in share ownership,” Acharya told the Post, adding a group of people, claiming to have bought a majority stake, on Sunday took over the management forcefully with the help of goons showing fake documents.

Acharya has accused the River Road group of changing the ownership using forged signatures of him and Satish Acharya, the owner of Lal Sahu Distribution. “We’ve found that our signatures have been forged,” said Acharya. The establishment group have also filed complains of forgery in Police, Lalitpur District Administration Office, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority, Department of Industry and Company Registrar’s Office.

However, River Road’s Timalsina claimed the change in share structure took place through a legal procedure. River Road claimed all the documents, including the share purchase agreement, “are genuine”. “We bought the 54 percent shares of Smart Telecom at $1 per share,” said Timalsina.

Amid the controversy, Satish Acharya of Lal Sahu Distribution is scheduled to visit Nepal on Thursday. His company, which initially owned a 70 percent stake in Smart Telecom, had bought an additional 10 percent from Israel-based Gilat Network.

The Nepal Telecommuni-cations Authority (NTA) had granted unified licence to the company allowing the operation of multiple telecom services, including GSM mobile, in April this year. Smart Telecom was gearing up to launch mobile service nationwide from mid-April 2014.

The telecom regulator, NTA, has said it has not received any notification about the change in share structure in Smart Telecom. Generally, investors are required to inform the NTA after the any change in share ownership.