Myanmar firm poised to control Telenor unit

Myanmar's military has given the go-ahead for a local company to own most of Norwegian telco Telenor's operations in the country, under a deal to be finalised shortly, communications seen by Reuters show.

Civil rights groups said the deal could put the data of 18 million people within the junta's reach.

The new information reviewed by Reuters shows Shwe Byain Phyu will own 80 per cent of the unit under a handover expected to be concluded within days. Lebanese investment group M1 will own the rest.

Shwe Byain Phyu's chairman, Thein Win Zaw, has a history of business ties to the military, including, most recently, as an investor in Mytel, an army-owned telco, undated corporate records seen by Reuters show.