State-owned Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) may have to offload shares in either VinaPhone or MobiFone, two wholly-owned mobile phone subsidiaries, according to local reports.
Under a new decree, effective from 1 June, a company that…
State-owned Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) may have to offload shares in either VinaPhone or MobiFone, two wholly-owned mobile phone subsidiaries, according to local reports.
Under a new decree, effective from 1 June, a company that already owns 20% or more of a telecom operator will not be allowed to hold more than 20% of another operator in the same market.
VNPT could therefore decide either to sell a stake in one of the two companies, or to merge them into a single entity.
A stake sale may help spark a wave of consolidation wave in the market, which is currently home to seven players.
In early April, media company Vietnam Television Corporation (VTC) was reported to be considering buying a 12% stake in state-run mobile operator EVN Telecom for VND800bn (US$38m), following technology company FPT’s withdrawal from the process.
In February, the government had approved FPT’s acquisition of a 49% stake in EVN. FPT’s new CEO, Truong Dinh Anh, is less keen on buying the stake than his predecessor because he thinks it is too risky for a technology company to move into the telecom sector, according to reports.
