Telenor Group disregarded speculation it was exploring a sale of its Myanmar operations, but indicated its future presence in the market depended on further developments in the wake of a shutdown on mobile data use imposed by authorities earlier this year.

Addressing a media report first published in investor news portal TMT Finance and later cited by Reuters, the operator laconically said its operations in the Asian nation continue, but the company was considering “various alternatives” and its future presence depends on developments in the country.

Telenor, however, refrained from confirming whether a sale of its business in Myanmar was among the mulled options.

Myanmar restricted access to mobile data on 15 March following political unrest, and as a result Telenor booked a loss of NOK6.5 billion ($750.2 million) in the country in Q1.

The company’s operations in Myanmar contributed NOK7.1 billion to the group’s revenue in 2020, representing 6 per cent of the total. In 2019, it accounted for 5 per cent of the total revenue, with nearly NOK5.8 billion.