DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Norwegian telecommunications firm Telenor ASA (TEL.OS) Friday
said it is writing down NOK4.2 billion in relation to licenses and
goodwill in India.
The decision comes after India's Supreme Court on Thursday
ordered the cancellation of 122 telecom licenses, including 22 held
by Telenor's Indian joint venture, Unitech Wireless.
After the writedown, Telenor's accounting exposure to India is
NOK2.4 billion after tax, Telenor said.
The Indian court said the process that was followed to allocate
licenses and bandwidth in 2008 was an "arbitrary and
unconstitutional exercise," which facilitated corruption. The order
will become effective after four months.
Oslo-based Telenor ventured into India by acquiring a 67.3%
stake in Unitech Wireless for INR60.0 billion. Unitech Wireless,
which was founded by local real-estate company Unitech Ltd.
(507878.BY), had 36.30 million users at the end of December and
provides services under the Uninor brand.
At 1512 GMT, Telenor's shares were up 0.16% at NOK93.90.
-By Sven Grundberg, Dow Jones Newswires; +46-8-5451-3098;
sven.grundberg@dowjones.com