Kazakhtelecom disbands Khan Tengri Holding

Kazakhtelecom has disbanded its subsidiary Khan Tengri Holding through which it owned Kazakhstani mobile operators Tele2 and Altel, according to KASE.

The company is no longer the owner of Khan Tengri Holding B.V. The decision to voluntarily liquidate the subsidiary was made in October 2022.

Khan Tengri Holding was established in 2016 in the Netherlands as a joint venture with Swedish Tele2 Group. Initially, Kazakhstelecom owned just 51% of the company’s shares. However, in May 2019 the operator acquired the remaining 49% of the stock from Tele2 Group.

After the deal, Kuanyshbek Yessekeev, CEO of Kazakhtelecom, described the consolidation of Khan Tengri Holding as a positive move for the entire telecommunication industry in Kazakhstan. The company was going to rely on the combined technical capabilities of its mobile operators.

Kazakhtelecom still owns Tele2 and Altel through its Kazakhstani subsidiary Mobile Telecom Service (MTS). The two mobile operators work separately from each other. Also, Kazakhtelecom owns a 51% share of Kcell, a mobile operator which runs two separate brands Kcell and Activ.

Currently, Kazakhtelecom is the sole and direct owner of Mobile Telecom Service with no intermediaries like the Netherlands holding.

In December, MTS and Kcell took part in the first auction for 5G frequencies (3,600 – 3,700 MHz and 3,700 – 3,800 MHz). The consortium of these companies has won in both lots. It is expected that this auction will facilitate competition in the telecommunication market of Kazakhstan and increase the quality of mobile services.