Telenor ASA, the largest phone company in the Nordic region, is in talks with the Malaysian government about raising its stake in DiGi.Com Bhd.
The interest comes about four years after it sold some shares to comply with a foreign ownership cap for the industry. It now owns 49 per cent of DiGi.
“In all the meetings with the government, we are asking: When will the telecommunications industry be liberalised or when will they take up the threshold for foreign ownership?” said Telenor Asia chief executive officer Sigve Brekke in a Business Times interview.
“We always urged the government to reconsider the ceiling for foreign ownership, and if that ever happens, we would then be considering if we should increase our stake,” he added.
Under the 2012 Budget, the government proposed that 17 services sub-sectors, including telecommunications, be liberalised in order to attract more foreign direct investments.
Telenor used to have 61 per cent of DiGi but sold a 10.2 per cent stake to Time dotCom Bhd (TdC) in 2007 to comply with the foreign shareholding rule. It sold the shares for RM1.61 billion.
Brekke, who is also the chairman of DiGi, said opening up foreign ownership of the telecommunications sector would ultimately benefit consumers.
“By opening up the sector, it will encourage more investments into the country, and also create better competition in the industry,and that means providing cheaper and better services to the people,” he said.
Telenor bought a minority stake in Digi.Com in 1999 and two years later raised it to a majority. The Norwegian government is the major owner of Telenor with a 54 per cent stake.
Digi closed down 22 sen to RM33.78 today
So, are you picking up any Digi when it goes ex-split on 23 November 2011?
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