OSLO – Norway’s Telenor, a major telecoms operator in Myanmar, today said it is weighing its future in the country after booking losses following a military coup and subsequent crackdown.
The company issued a statement following reports that it is considering the sale of its unit Telenor Myanmar.
Telenor was pushed into deep losses in the first quarter after it was forced to write down all of its assets in Myanmar, taking their value from €650 million (RM3.2 billion) to zero.
“Due to the continued situation, Telenor is in the process of evaluating various options with regard to its presence in the country,” said the group.
“The evaluations are ongoing, and Telenor will not make any further comments.”
The company has had a commercial presence in Myanmar since 2014. It employs a workforce of around 750 in the country.
Myanmar has been rocked by massive protests and a brutal military response since the February coup that ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her government.
More than 880 residents have been killed in a crackdown by the State Administration Council – what the junta calls itself – and almost 6,500 arrested, according to a local monitoring group.
Non-governmental organisations have urged foreign companies to review their presence in Myanmar.
The junta has vested interests in swathes of the country’s economy, from mining and banking to oil and tourism. – AFP, July 2, 2021
