TeliaSonera, the parent company of Ncell, has decided to exit the Eurasian markets, including Nepal.

The company has said its board of directors has decided to pull out of Eurasia to focus on the European markets.

Ncell, however, will continue its Nepal operations under a different leadership once the Swedish telcom giant completes its Nepal exit.

Ncell CEO Erim Taylanlar told the Post the Ncell business in Nepal will be as usual.

“This is not an end for Ncell. As a company under operation, we will continue in the same spirit until a firm step is taken. As for TeliaSonera, our owner, it has just announced a change,” Taylanlar said.

TeliaSonera has its presence in countries like Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Tajikistan in the Eurasian region, apart from Nepal.

“TeliaSonera will increase its focus on its Regions Europe and Sweden within the strategy of creating the new TeliaSonera. A process has been initiated in order to reduce the presence in Region Eurasia and over time fully leave,” TeliaSonera said in a statement on Thursday.

“We now have better and more well-managed companies which we believe others can successfully develop further,” the statement quoted TeliaSonera President Johan Dennelind as saying.

“We realize that this will be a complex task that will take time. We are conducting this process market by market as each country and operation has its unique situation, but the ambition is to eventually leave the entire region.”

TeliaSonera entered Nepal in 2008, acquiring a controlling stake (80 percent) in then Spice Nepal Private Limited. Established in 2004, Spice Nepal was Nepal’s first private mobile operator and launched its services under “Mero Mobile” brand in 2005. Following the acquisition, “Mero Mobile” was rebranded to Ncell on March, 2010.

TeliaSonera, however, is unsure about how long it will take to exit Nepal.

The company has said it will continue to operate and develop the Eurasian operations in a sustainable and responsible way until it makes an exit.

Taylanlar told the Post the company will continue its focus on its expansion drive and increase its penetration in both voice and data segments. Ncell claims to have a 56 percent share in the Nepali telecommunications amrket.

Henrik Westman, head of group media relations at TeliaSonera, told the Post by email that the company would exit Nepal by transferring the ownership.

When asked whether the decision to exit Nepal had anything to do with the profit repatriation issues the company has been facing here, Westman said: “The decision is a part of the larger context. It has to do with the change and transformation of the telecommunications sector. In the rapid change in the telecommunications market, the management and Board have decided to focus time and resources on developing the operations in the Regions Europe and Sweden, in line with the current strategy for TeliaSonera.”

Ncell has been the largest tax payer to the Nepal government for the last three years.

In the last fiscal year, the company’s revenue stood at Rs52 billion, and it paid income tax worth Rs11.3 billion.