Telenor’s board reiterated its faith in President and CEO Sigve Brekke to continue leading the company, it confirmed in a statement.

The public backing follows media attention on Telenor’s reported problems with its operations in Asia during Brekke’s stint as head of the region. The board confirmed any issues had “previously been handled and concluded”.

In the statement, the company said it had defined a solid strategy through to 2020 and would further strengthen its systems to detect and solve any business ethics issues that arise. It added Brekke was the “right person to lead the implementation of the new strategy.”

“During the past year, Telenor has had a specific focus on improving governance and follow-up and review in our different markets,” the statement read. “Telenor operates in many challenging markets and will also in the future have to handle compliance and business ethics risks. The Board and management will therefore further strengthen the mitigation work and the development of good systems to detect and solve issues that arise.”

Earlier this week the company launched training programmes in Myanmar in an attempt to strengthen its anti-corruption efforts. It follows an April audit of its Asia operations that uncovered cases of internal guideline breaches.

The company confirmed all issues were being dealt with either internally or in co-operation with relevant local authorities.

During the early part of the year several executives and board members stepped down from the company amid criticism of its handling of alleged corruption by affiliate VimpelCom in Uzbekistan.