Norway’s Telenor ASA is considering selling its controlling stake in Easypaisa Bank, a move that could mark the company’s complete exit from Pakistan after more than two decades in the country, according to a Bloomberg report. The development comes shortly after Telenor wrapped up its departure from Pakistan’s telecommunications sector, making the potential Easypaisa Bank disposal the final piece in what would amount to a full corporate withdrawal from one of South Asia’s largest and most complex mobile markets.
The company is working with Citigroup on a potential sale of its 55 percent stake in the digital bank, with the holding estimated to be valued at several hundred million dollars, though discussions remain at an early stage and no final decision has been made. Telenor plans to seek initial bids from potential buyers in the coming months as it evaluates strategic options for the business, with deliberations described as private and not necessarily certain to result in a completed transaction. China’s Ant Group holds the remaining stake in Easypaisa Bank, and any sale of Telenor’s controlling interest would require alignment with Ant Group on the future ownership structure of the institution.
Easypaisa, formerly known as Telenor Microfinance Bank, has grown into one of Pakistan’s most widely used digital financial platforms and is a leading provider of money transfer and mobile financial services. The platform has tens of millions of registered users and serves as a core component of Pakistan’s digital payments infrastructure, particularly for unbanked and underbanked populations who rely on mobile-based financial services for day-to-day transactions. The potential sale follows the recent completion of Telenor’s exit from Pakistan’s telecommunications sector after securing final regulatory approval for the sale of its local telecom operations in a transaction valued at approximately $490 million.
If completed, the disposal would end Telenor’s presence in Pakistan entirely, adding the company to a growing list of multinational firms that have reduced or ended operations in the country in recent years, while investors are likely to view the move positively as part of Telenor’s broader effort to simplify and streamline its Asian portfolio. For Pakistan’s digital banking sector, the identity of any incoming buyer for the Easypaisa Bank stake will be closely watched, given the platform’s scale, its role in the national payments ecosystem, and the regulatory expectations that come with ownership of one of the country’s most prominent microfinance banking licences.
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