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TELENOR

Anti-corruption unit grills Telenor on Uzbek deal

Telenor, Norway’s majority state-owned phone company, has been pulled into the corruption case surrounding Russian phone company Vimpelcom in Uzbekistan, with Norwegian investigators visiting its offices this week.

Published: 13 March 2014 16:10 CET
Anti-corruption unit grills Telenor on Uzbek deal
Marianne Djupestad, the Økokrim prosecutor coordinating with Telenor on the case. Photo: Økokrim
Norway’s white-collar crime unit Økokrim this week served Telenor with a warrant demanding information surrounding its investment in Vimpelcom,  at the same time as the Amsterdam offices of Vimpelcom itself were raided by Dutch police. 
 
"I can confirm that Økokrim is assisting The Netherlands and Switzerland in an investigation which is ongoing in these jurisdictions," Økokrim prosecutor Marianne Djupesland told The Local. "Telenor is not a suspect in these investigations." 
 
She said that the agency had served Telenor with a "production order" asking for relevant information, probably pertaining to the company's controversial investment in Uzbekistan. 
 
Telenor spokesman Glen Mandelid stressed that Telenor was only a minority shareholder in Vimpelcom, but said that he nonetheless believed that “all transactions were checked out against American anti-corruption guidelines.”

 
Vimpelcom is 56.2% owned by Fridman's Altimo investment vehicle, and 33% owned by Telenor, with the rest controlled by minority shareholders.
 
The company has close links to Telenor. Vimpelcom's chief executive Jo Lunder was previously chief operating officer of Telenor Mobile and another former Telenor executive, Jan Edvard Thygesen, serves as VimpelCom’s deputy chief executive and chief operating officer.
 
Vimpelcom bought its Uzbekistan license from a Gibraltar-registered firm called Takilant, which has been linked to Gulnara Karimova, the Uzbek president's controversial daughter, who was described as a "robber baron" and "the single most hated person" in Uzbekistan in US diplomatic cables published by Wikileaks.  
 
Karimova's businesses have recently come under attack in Uzbekistan, while in Europe she has been the subject of multiple corruption probes. 
 

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TELENOR

Norway’s Telenor sells out of India as tycoon weighs in

Indian telecom giant Bharti Airtel will buy the local operations of Norway's Telenor, it said Thursday, as the ultra-competitive mobile market is shaken up by the country's richest man.

Published: 23 February 2017 20:26 CET
Norway's Telenor sells out of India as tycoon weighs in
Former Telenor CEO launching the company's ill-fated India business in 2009. Photo: peerdahl/Wikimedia Commons
Tycoon Mukesh Ambani launched Reliance Jio's 4G network in September with an audacious free service for the rest of 2016, followed by vastly cheaper data plans and free voice calls for life.
 
The move forced rivals to slash their tariffs and scramble to match the deep pockets of Jio, which is backed by Ambani's vast energy-to-chemicals conglomerate Reliance Industries and picked up 100 million subscribers in its first six months
   
Bharti's acquisition is the latest movement towards consolidation in India's telecoms sector as major players try to position themselves to best face the tough new environment.
   
The move, which still needs to be approved by regulators, will enhance its coverage, the company said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), and see Telenor exit India.
   
“The proposed acquisition will include transfer of all of Telenor India's assets and customers, further augmenting Airtel's overall base and network,” the Indian firm said in the statement.
   
Last month British mobile phone behemoth Vodafone announced that it was in talks to merge its Indian unit with Mumbai-based Idea Cellular in its own move to counter Jio's rise.
   
That deal would create India's largest telecoms company. Global brokerage firm CLSA estimated that the pair would command a combined 43 percent share of market revenue, ahead of Airtel, which is currently the market leader, on 33 percent.
 
Reliance Communications — owned by Ambani's brother Anil Ambani — and Tata Teleservices, part of the sprawling salt-to-steel Tata conglomerate, are also reportedly in talks to join forces.
   
Reliance merged with telecom operator Aircel in September last year. Bharti Airtel's shares surged more than five percent in Mumbai morning trade following the Telenor deal announcement.
   
“The decision to exit India has not been taken lightly,” Sigve Brekke, Telenor Group CEO, said in the statement.
   
“After thorough consideration, it is our view that the significant investments needed to secure Telenor India's future business on a standalone basis will not give an acceptable level of return,” he added.
   
Telecoms analyst Baburajan Kizhakedath said Telenor was quitting India because the intense competition meant there was no scope for growth. “The Airtel-Telenor deal is probably the best exit route for Telenor,” he told AFP.