Dec 21 Swedish telecoms operator TeliaSonera AB on Monday said it has agreed to sell its 60.4 percent stake in Nepalese operator Ncell to Malaysian mobile operator Axiata for $1.03 billion, receiving a further $48 million in compensation for dissolving a Nepalese ownership.
TeliaSonera had said in September it would gradually abandon Central Asian markets, hit by years of investigations into alleged corruption linked to local partners and problems accessing cash in distant countries.
TeliaSonera on Monday repeated it aims to pay a dividend of at least 3 Swedish crowns ($0.35) per share for fiscal 2015.
"The expected divestment proceeds will primarily be used for debt reduction in line with TeliaSonera's ambition to keep a solid investment grade credit rating of A- to BBB+," TeliaSonera said in a statement.