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Finns fire Sonera board
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March 22, 2001: 6:53 a.m. ET
Finnish government fires six members from Sonera board, stock falls 10%
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LONDON (CNN) - The Finnish government voted to fire six board members from telecom operator Sonera after the company's stock plunged to a low.
Sonera stock dropped 10 percent to  9 ($8) on Thursday after shareholders decided to discharge the board, including chairman Markku Talonen. Tapio Hintikka, boss of consumer goods group Hackman, will take up the post.
The Finnish telecom company, which is 53 percent owned by the government, has seen its share price plunge from a peak of 97 euros last year, as it spent billions to buy third-generation mobile phone licenses.
"We want to get a new start in Sonera's management and also in Sonera's board, and for that reason we chose the strongest and most professional possible entity for the board," Communications Minister Olli-Pekka Heinonen told a news conference after the shareholder meeting.
Heinonen declined to comment on the position of Chief Executive Kaj-Erik Relander, saying that was a matter for the new board and not the government as a shareholder to decide.
The meeting on Wednesday also decided to abolish Sonera's supervisory board, a politically appointed forum common in Finnish state-owned firms, which means there will be no direct government contact with the company as none of the new board members represent the state.
Sonera, which has been the subject of takeover speculation, said in January its 2000 profit fell 35 percent due to big investments in its mobile Internet business.
Sonera has suffered most from an investors revolt against European telecom shares after their billion dollar bet on third-generation mobile phone services. European telecom stocks have fallen more than 60 percent since their peak in March last year.
Telecom companies have spent more than $100 billion on snapping up permits to offer new Internet, email and video services to mobile phones. But such services could take some years to come on-line, in the meantime leaving telecom companies with huge debts. 
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