Kyrgyz Telecom

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Kyrgyz Telecom, the national telecom operator of Kyrgyzstan, started to be privatized in June 1997 when the government sold a 5% stake to institutional investors. About 3% of those shares priced at US$1 per share were listed on the Kyrgyz Stock Exchange in May 1998. The listing was conducted directly with the stock exchange, no underwriter was involved. The company had a market capitalization of about US$80 million by 1998. Kyrgyz Telecom was the only state-owned enterprise registering a profit in the country by 1997. Profits were US$2.3 million in 1997. The company received loans from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and World Bank in 1997. The government had started to look for a strategic partner for the company in 1997. As of 2005, The Kyrgyz Government owned 77.84% of Kyrgyztelecom, with the Government's Social Fund owning another 12.51%. Company employees and management owned 6%, with private shareholders holding the remaining 3.65%. The company had a charter capital of 620 million Soms (approx. US$13.5 million), and in 2002 posted a net profit of 78 million Soms. In June of 2003, six companies from Sweden, Germany, Russia, Turkey and Kazakhstan took part in a tender to buy a 51% stake in Kyrgyztelecom. The first attempt to privatize the company in 1999 was unsuccessful. Swedtel Aktiebolag, a subsidiary of Sweden's Telia, in consortium with PriceWaterHouseCoopers and American Equipment Limited, offered US$15.6 million for the 51% stake in Kyrgyz Telecom. The next step was for the Tender Panel to examine the Bid Proposals; however, the divestiture did not proceed. KyrgyzTelecom's installed capacity was set at 507,610 numbers as of April 1, 2005. The company held a GSM license but did not offer any mobile service as of December 2005. In 2008, implementation of telecommunication project "Digital Future" allowed Kyrgyztelecom to bring the total installed capacity of stations local networks to 721.6 thousand numbers. In 2008, the Kyrgyz government launched a tender to sell its 77.84% stake in Kyrgyztelecom. Six bidders participated in the tender, with three making it to the final stage. In February 2010 the 77.84% stake was awarded to a consortium of KSD LLP [Kazakhstan], Nimisco Holdings Co. Ltd [Cyprus] and Colimar Holdings Co. Ltd [Cyprus] and Ala-Too Keni [Kyrgyzstan]. The consortium offered to pay US$40 million (KGS 1.78 bn). However, in April 2010, it was announced that the board of the State Property Ministry had annulled the results of the tender. As of 2011, Kyrkyz telecom became the first operator for digital TV IPTV extending their services to telephone, Internet and interactive TV. 2011 Subscriber info from 2011 annual report http://www.kt.kg/ CAPEX for 2009-2011 are from the 2011 annual report - http://www.kt.kg/about_us/documents_and_tender/financial_statements/2011otchet.pdf Capex for 2012 not available from AR2012. Annual report for 2013 is not published yet (April 23, 2014)