Norwegian telecom giant Telenor on Monday announced that it would write down $682 million to remove accounting exposure to India due to uncertain business environment in the sector. The company is not satisfied with the recommendations by the telecom regulatory authority of India (TRAI) on the auction of 2G spectrum.
“If the recommendation from TRAI in its current form should be approved by the department of telecommunications (DoT), it will be almost impossible to participate in the auction for Telenor. Telenor is working actively towards Indian authorities to bring forward an acceptable framework for continued operations,” said the company in a statement on Monday.
On February 2, the Supreme Court cancelled 122 licences.
“This is nothing but a pressure tactics on the government to get favourable terms for auction,” said a DoT official. “This will not have any impact on our decisions.”
“As a precautionary measure, Telenor ASA has decided to write down the remaining fixed and intangible assets in India amounting to NOK 3.9 billion (NOK 2.6 billion after non- controlling interests),” the company informed Oslo Stock Exchange.