Jan 14 Nordic telecom operator TeliaSonera said on Thursday it will book 7.2 billion Swedish crowns ($844 million) in non-cash impairment charges mainly related to Uzbekistan in the wake of its decision to gradually exit the Central Asian market.
TeliaSonera said in a statement it would take an impairment charge of 5.3 billion crowns in the fourth quarter related to its operations in Uzbekistan and that its business in the region, which it calls Eurasia, would be reported as discontinued operations.
The telecom operator announced in September it would gradually abandon its Central Asian markets, hit by years of investigations into alleged corruption linked to local partners and problems accessing cash in distant countries.
TeliaSonera also said it would book a non-cash impairment charge of 1.9 billion crowns related to its operations in Denmark after pulling out of a planned joint venture there.
"The write-down is a result of updated earnings projections following the previously announced decision to withdraw from the proposed joint venture with Telenor in Denmark," the company said in a statement.
($1 = 8.5295 Swedish crowns) (Reporting by Olof Swahnberg; editing by Niklas Pollard)