Norwegian telecoms firms Telenor has suffered another setback, after its mobile phone company DTAC in Thailand failed again at winning a 4G license last weekend. Telenor’s Thai unit hasn’t managed to secure any of the four licenses put up for auction this autumn.
Newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN) reported that DTAC’s stock plummeted in value and the loss can also hurt Telenor itself. DTAC’s shares fell 27 percent, with Telenor taking a hit as its largest owner.
DTAC has been Thailand’s next-largest mobile phone firm. Now it may lose market share to another company called True Move, which won two of the licensing auction rounds.
It’s the latest blow to Telenor, which is also caught up in a corruption investigation at another of the mobile phone firms in which it has a large stake, VimpelCom Ltd. That has led to management trauma at Telenor and the firing of its chairman, amidst allegations the company was run by a male-dominated culture in defiance of Norway’s gender equality policies. A woman was named as Telenor’s new chairman last week.
newsinenglish.no staff
