Telenor considering sale of Pakistan’s Easypaisa: report

Telenor, the Norwegian telecom giant, is exploring a sale of its controlling stake in Pakistan’s Easypaisa Bank, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

As per the report, the potential sale would mark the telecom’s complete exit from Pakistan.

Last year, Telenor finalised the sale of Telenor Pakistan to the PTCL Group for Rs108 billion, i.e. approximately $385 million. However, Easypaisa, the digital financial services arm, was not part of the telecom sale.

For the quarter ended March 31, 2026, Easypaisa reported a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs1.49 billion and earnings per share (EPS) of Rs2.47, while profit before tax (PBT) reached Rs3.66 billion, a 4.4x increase from Rs0.84 billion in the same quarter last year.

As per Bloomberg, the Norwegian company is working with Citigroup on the sale of its 55% stake in the Pakistani digital bank, which could be valued at several hundred million dollars, according to one of the people.

“Telenor plans to invite initial offers from prospective bidders within the next few months,” the people said. However, considerations are ongoing, and no final decisions have been made, stated the report.

The report informed that Ant Group Co. holds the remaining shares of Easypaisa.

“It would be well received by the financial community to see Telenor simplifying its Asian portfolio,” Christoffer Wang Bjørnsen, an analyst at DNB Carnegie, wrote, quoted Bloomberg.