Norway’s Telenor faces hurdles in selling Myanmar business
Norwegian telecom company Telenor is faced with a big backlash to its strategy of focusing on expanding in developing countries as Myanmar’s unrelenting junta makes it as difficult as possible for the Scandinavians to exit the nation which is lying in shatters after the February 1 coup.
According to reports by Reuters and the Financial Times published on November 9, plans by Telenor to withdraw from Myanmar by selling its telecom operations there to Lebanese company M1 Group have stalled after the junta indicated it favoured at least part-ownership by a local company.
Security forces have even stopped a top Telenor Myanmar foreign executive at the airport, preventing the manager from traveling abroad.
Surveillance technology causing issues
Telenor, one of the biggest foreign investors in Myanmar, announced in July that it will be selling its local operations to M1 Group for $105 million. But its exit has been mired in difficulties after the junta piled pressure on telecom and Internet firms to install surveillance technology.
M1 Group, an investment firm owned by the family of Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, is in advanced talks about a partnership with at least one Myanmar company, Shwe Byain Phyu Group, which has interests in oil and gem mining, the reports said. The latter firm is related to Mahar Yoma Public Company, which is part of a consortium that has a stake in Mytel, a joint venture between the Myanmar military and Viettel, which is owned by Vietnam’s Ministry of National Defense.
M1 Group under scrutiny
However, according to insiders, the sale was undergoing a screening process by the junta as they view M1 Group as a “relative newcomer” to Myanmar and were scrutinising whether the Lebanese company was “trustworthy.”
Telenor said in September it was pulling out of the country to avoid European Union sanctions after “continued pressure” from the junta to activate surveillance technology. The Myanmar military has imposed nationwide and regional shutdowns of mobile data, making it harder for pro-democracy activists to organise protests. It also issued a confidential order in July restricting senior foreign telecom executives from leaving the country without permission.
Norwegian telecom company Telenor is faced with a big backlash to its strategy of focusing on expanding in developing countries as Myanmar’s unrelenting junta makes it as difficult as possible for the Scandinavians to exit the nation which is lying in shatters after the February 1 coup. According to reports by Reuters and the Financial Times published on November 9, plans by Telenor to withdraw from Myanmar by selling its telecom operations there to Lebanese company M1 Group have stalled after the junta indicated it favoured at least part-ownership by a local company. Security forces have even stopped a top...
Norwegian telecom company Telenor is faced with a big backlash to its strategy of focusing on expanding in developing countries as Myanmar’s unrelenting junta makes it as difficult as possible for the Scandinavians to exit the nation which is lying in shatters after the February 1 coup.
According to reports by Reuters and the Financial Times published on November 9, plans by Telenor to withdraw from Myanmar by selling its telecom operations there to Lebanese company M1 Group have stalled after the junta indicated it favoured at least part-ownership by a local company.
Security forces have even stopped a top Telenor Myanmar foreign executive at the airport, preventing the manager from traveling abroad.
Surveillance technology causing issues
Telenor, one of the biggest foreign investors in Myanmar, announced in July that it will be selling its local operations to M1 Group for $105 million. But its exit has been mired in difficulties after the junta piled pressure on telecom and Internet firms to install surveillance technology.
M1 Group, an investment firm owned by the family of Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, is in advanced talks about a partnership with at least one Myanmar company, Shwe Byain Phyu Group, which has interests in oil and gem mining, the reports said. The latter firm is related to Mahar Yoma Public Company, which is part of a consortium that has a stake in Mytel, a joint venture between the Myanmar military and Viettel, which is owned by Vietnam’s Ministry of National Defense.
M1 Group under scrutiny
However, according to insiders, the sale was undergoing a screening process by the junta as they view M1 Group as a “relative newcomer” to Myanmar and were scrutinising whether the Lebanese company was “trustworthy.”
Telenor said in September it was pulling out of the country to avoid European Union sanctions after “continued pressure” from the junta to activate surveillance technology. The Myanmar military has imposed nationwide and regional shutdowns of mobile data, making it harder for pro-democracy activists to organise protests. It also issued a confidential order in July restricting senior foreign telecom executives from leaving the country without permission.
