Telenor says bruising Myanmar exit helped prompt rejig of Asia business

Telenor’s difficult exit from Myanmar after the military coup has hurt investors’ views of the rest of its Asian assets, according to the Norwegian telecoms company’s chief executive.

Sigve Brekke told the Financial Times that the state-controlled group had carved out its Asian assets — consisting of Bangladesh, Pakistan, Thailand and Malaysia — into a separate unit to allow it to pursue strategic options that could include a merger.

“Myanmar was quite a significant part of the value in Telenor’s market capitalisation. It affected investors’ views on our Asian assets. This is another reason why we are setting ourselves up differently in Asia. We are better able to handle risks going forward,” he said.

He added he “did not want to speculate” on whether Telenor would be present in Asia in five years’ time, except through joint ventures with local…