Omsk Court Will Resume Hearing Of Telenor (OSL:TEL) 's Appeal In Farimex Case On 25 December

Telenor (OSL:TEL) (Fornebu, Norway and Omsk, Russia - 19 December 2008) The Eighth Arbitrazh Appellate Court in Omsk in Siberia said it would resume at 2 PM on 25 December the hearing of Telenor's appeal of the USD 2.8 billion judgment issued against the Norwegian company last August in Khanty-Mansiysk.

The Court heard the presentation of Telenor's appeal today, but, due to a lack of time, was unable to complete the hearing.

"This case has no legal basis and should be dismissed," said Jan Edvard Thygesen, Executive Vice President and head of Telenor's Central and Eastern European operations.

The original case was filed by little-known British Virgin Islands-based Farimex Products, Inc., which claimed that VimpelCom suffered financial harm allegedly caused by Telenor due to delays in VimpelCom's acquisition of loss-making Ukrainian mobile operation, Ukrainian Radio Systems (URS). Farimex is a BVI shell company, which claims to hold a 0.002 per cent stake in VimpelCom and whose sole director is Dmitry Fridman.

" We strongly believe that the Omsk appellate court should terminate this unfounded case against Telenor, and that the individuals who are directing this matter on behalf of the obscure BVI company, Farimex, should be held accountable for undermining the efforts of the Russian Federation to advance the rule of law and the investment climate in our country at a time of global financial crisis. This case is not only against Telenor, it is against Russia's own national interests," said Dimitry Afanasiev, Chairman of Egorov, Puginsky, Afanasiev & Partners, one of the law firms representing Telenor in this case.

Contacts: Anna Ivanova-Galitsina, PR and Communcations Director, Telenor Russia Tel: (+7 495) 937 9588

Pål Kvalheim, Vice President Group Communications Telenor, Tel: (+47) 970 44 970

This announcement was originally distributed by Hugin. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Telenor

http://www.telenor.com

ISIN: NO0010063308

Stock Identifier: OSE.TEL

US: Nasdaq:TELN