Telia Sonera buys into mobile phone groups in Nepal and Cambodia

Stockholm - Nordic telecommunications group Telia Sonera on Friday said it had bought "controlling interests" in two mobile operators in Nepal and Cambodia, respectively. The move, worth 3.2 billion kronor (484 million dollars), was part of Telia Sonera's "strategy to expand into new high-growth emerging markets," chief executive Lars Nyberg said in a statement. By gaining a majority in the holding company Telia Sonera Asia Holding, Telia Sonera will control Spice Nepal, the second largest mobile operator in Nepal, and 100 per cent of the shares and votes in Cambodian start-up mobile operator Applifone. Kazakhstan-based Visor Group that sold its stake was to remain owner of 49 per cent in Telia Sonera Asia Holding, the statement said. Spice Nepal has some 1.6 million subscribers in Nepal that has 28.4 million inhabitants. The year-old Applifone is the fourth largest mobile operator in Cambodia with about 3 per cent of the market. Northern Europe's largest telecommunications concern was formed through the December 2002 merger of Sweden's Telia and Finland's Sonera.