Analyst believes Telenor will drop India

Telenor headquarters, Bulgarian MPTelenor headquarters.Photo: Norway Today Media

Telenor’s turbulent India adventure could soon be over according to several analysts. One believes the company will sell out within the year.

The mobile phone giant has around 45 million customers in India, but does not have a network equipped to cope with customer demand for mobile data, reports Dagens Næringsliv.

Adding up the operating losses and investments, Telenor has reached nearly 25 billion kroner in investments in the world’s second most populous country. Within a few months the whole thing could be over.

At least one analyst, Fredrik Thoresen in SEB, says ‘We believe there’ll be an exit before Christmas.’ He is joined by Håvard Nilsson in Carnegie, who said ‘It seems likely that Telenor will benefit by selling out of India at the first opportunity’.

Thoresen believes Telenor can bring in around 8 billion kroner by selling Indian mobile licenses to competing companies.

Analysts believe that the company can get more bang for the buck by investing in other countries in Asia, who have cheaper licenses, and customers have higher incomes.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today