4/4/22, 12:08 PM Telenor sale of Myanmar unit stalls as junta seeks local buyer participation -sources | Reuters Telenor flag flutters next to the company's headquarters in Fornebu, Norway, June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins/File Photo Nov 9 (Reuters) - Plans by Norway's Telenor to withdraw from Myanmar by selling its telecom operations there to a Lebanese firm have stalled after the junta indicated it favoured at least part-ownership by a local company, according to people familiar with the matter. Telenor, one of the biggest foreign investors in Myanmar, announced in July it was selling its local operations to M1 Group for $105 million, retreating from a country that has slid into chaos after a military coup. But its exit has been mired in difficulties after the junta piled pressure on telecom and internet firms to install surveillance technology and barred senior executives from leaving the country. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register M1, an investment firm owned by the family of Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, is in advanced talks about a partnership with at least one Myanmar company - Shwe Byain Phyu Group which has interests in petrol stations and gem mining, said three sources who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue. Other local firms are also interested, two of the sources said, though Reuters was unable to establish which companies. Telenor said in a statement to Reuters it was waiting for a formal response from Myanmar authorities to its request to sell its unit to M1 and declined further comment. A spokesperson for M1 declined to comment. A person who answered the phone at Shwe Byain Phyu declined to answer questions or pass on enquiries. A junta representative did not respond to requests for comment. Shwe Byain Phyu’s chairman, Thein Win Zaw, is a director of Mahar Yoma Public Company, part of a consortium that has a stake in Mytel, corporate records show. He did not respond to a request for comment by Reuters. THE JUNTA'S CRACKDOWN My View Following Saved https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/telenor-sale-myanmar-unit-stalls-junta-seeks-local-buyer-participation-sources-2021-11-09/ 2/12