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KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Tun, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, asked for more details on the proposed merger of the telecommunication activities in Asia of the Norwegian group Telenor ASA and the group Axiata Bhd 
concerns about potential job losses.
Telenor and Axiata announced this month their decision to create a company with 300 million customers in nine countries. This development results from the merger of its Asian assets – Digi – with Axiata.
A representative of Dr. Mahathir's office confirmed his concerns about job cuts after Bloomberg solicited his comments. The representative, who asked not to be quoted as responsible for the policy, did not provide further details.
The agreement, which would be the largest in the country since Dr Mahathir came to power a year ago, continues to progress as planned, despite interrogations, according to knowledgeable people, asking not to be identified because the information is confidential.
Telenor, which is preparing to hold 56.5% of the new company, said the potential "synergies" resulting from the transaction would rise to around 5 billion US dollars. A Telenor representative in Singapore was not immediately available to comment.
Even though Axiata will offer a voluntary redundancy program to its employees in Malaysia, there will be no layoffs, said Chief Executive Officer Jamaludin Ibrahim in an interview on Wednesday. The company currently employs approximately 12,000 people in the region.
The estimated "synergies" are based on the assumption that no staff member will accept the expenditure reduction plan, he said.
A final deal is expected for the third quarter, but the companies said it was not certain that the discussions resulted in an agreement. They would eventually aim to put the company on an international market and in Malaysia. – Bloomberg
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