Word: telenor
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Elsewhere, Telenor's prospects appear even brighter. Subscriber numbers at Grameenphone swelled by 53% last year to 16.5 million, giving the firm half the market. In Pakistan, Telenor's user numbers more than doubled. (Back in Norway, the customer base grew by just 5%.) Yet fewer than 50% of Pakistanis own a cell phone; in Bangladesh, the rate is even lower...
That leaves Telenor vast potential for expansion in South Asia. Meeting demand in Pakistan, where Telenor is the third largest operator with roughly a fifth of the country's market, requires adaptability. In rural Sindh province, for example, Telenor Pakistan sells cell-phone credits to women who pass them on to poor neighbors for two cents each; in urban centers, it sells youngsters sms messaging in prepay packages. Targeting a range of customers is bringing rewards. Sales in Pakistan almost tripled last year to $632 million; Tore Johnsen, the Norwegian in charge of Telenor Pakistan, expects that rapid growth...
...realizing potential in emerging markets doesn't come cheap. Picking up new subscribers in low-penetration markets like Pakistan means beefing up network capacity and extending coverage into new, often rural, areas. Groundwork like that established across Pakistan and Bangladesh has already cost Telenor some $3 billion in the last three years, according to Handelsbanken. So while "we invest, and grab as much revenue as possible," says Telenor Pakistan's Johnsen, "we can't imagine that we will recover our initial investment any time soon." Powerful companies like China Mobile have recently joined Telenor in Pakistan, and Egypt's Orascom...
...rough-and-tumble of emerging market politics can pose risks for firms like Telenor. Thailand, Pakistan and Bangladesh have all experienced political turmoil in recent years, but that has posed less trouble than unexpected tax increases. Operators were forced to subsidize a 2005 levy imposed on the sale of SIM cards in Bangladesh, for instance. And in Grameenphone's case, work with its local partner hasn't always been straightforward for Telenor. The Norwegian firm owns 62% of Grameenphone, with Grameen Telecom - part of the bank founded by Bangladeshi Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus - owning the rest. Yunus claims...
...Still, Telenor's reception in Asia has been generally free of controversy. "Norwegians are seen as friendly people," reckons Sigve Brekke, the Norwegian CEO of Telenor's Thai operator DTAC, "from a small country far away, which is not seen as a threat." That perception could ease Telenor's way into a fresh round of expansion in Asia. "We have a lot to offer in markets where Telenor is not present for the time being," says Baksaas, with Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines all on watch. Back at the firm's Oslo headquarters, meeting rooms could get even more eclectic...