"As of Aug. 29 at the second quarter 2019 press conference held at the Axiata headquarters, we were still confident the merger was on track," she told Reuters.

"However, after major meetings and calls between the parties, the situation ... changed, leading to the decision today from both parties to mutually end discussions."

The companies ended talks on Friday to create a telecoms joint venture with nearly 300 million subscribers across South Asia and South East Asia.

(Reporting by Krishna N. Das in Kuala Lumpur, writing by Gwladys Fouche in Oslo, editing by Victoria Klesty in Oslo)