The Vietnamese government’s plan to privatise Mobifone is underway again after it ruled that state-owned telco Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) could not merge its two mobile operators.
VNPT had wanted to reorganise its operations and…
The Vietnamese government’s plan to privatise Mobifone is underway again after it ruled that state-owned telco Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) could not merge its two mobile operators.
VNPT had wanted to reorganise its operations and bring Mobifone and Vinaphone – two of Vietnam’s three largest players – together, but in spring 2012 the country’s government ruled that the operators must remain separate entities.
Under the new privatisation plan VNPT will hold on to Vinaphone and float Mobifone. It will not hold more than 20% of Mobifone’s share capital to comply with a law designed to mitigate competition concerns, Vietnamnet reported.
However, financially independent companies affiliated with VNPT will not be restricted from amassing stakes, the local report said.
Under a decree effective from 1 June 2011, a company that owns 20% or more of a telecom operator is not allowed to hold more than 20% of another operator in the same market.
In Vietnam’s mobile market Mobifone and Vinaphone trail Viettel, owned by the country’s Ministry of Defence. Together the three operators have around 90% of the market sewn up.
