VietNamNet Bridge – Who will be able to acquire EVN Telecom? Experts believe that Viettel is the brightest candidate which can take over and use the current EVN Telecom’s infrastructure system most effectively.

EVN Telecom’s affair more complicated than expected
Viettel, MobiFone and VinaPhone are now the three mobile network operators holding the dominant position on the telecom market.

However, MobiFone and VinaPhone are believed not to have the opportunities to acquire EVN Telecom, because both of them are belonging to the state owned Vietnam Post and Telecommunication Group VNPT. Meanwhile, VNPT itself has to withdraw capital from one of the two companies, since a new law does not allow the group to hold the controlling stakes at both the enterprises.

Viettel, which is now holding more than 36 percent of the market share, proves to be the brightest candidate who can succeed in the affair. It is also believed to be able to use the current network infrastructure system of EVN Telecom and make profits to pay all EVN Telecom’s debts, according to Le Hong Ha, Secretary General of the Hanoi Informatics and Telecom Association.

Analysts also believe that merging EVN Telecom into Viettel would be a reasonable decision. Even EVN Telecom’s current clients have expressed their satisfaction on the information that EVN Telecom would belong to Viettel, because they believe in Viettel’s service quality.

Previously, EVN Telecom’s clients, who used EVN Telecom’s simcards, had to use the mobile phones provided by EVN Telecom as well. Therefore, they hope that after EVN Telecom becomes a part of Viettel, they will be able to use different kinds of mobile phones.

The owner of a simcard shop has also said that after hearing the information about the merger of EVN Telecom into Viettel, EVN Telecom’s simcards have become more attractive, while people have been rushing to hunt for EVN Telecom’s simcards which are believed to become “valuable and rare products” on the market.

However, new information has appeared that VTC and Hanoi Telecom have also expressed their willing to buy EVN Telecom. Especially, Hanoi Telecom proves to be a redoubtable rival, when it has threatened that if EVN Telecom falls into the hands of Viettel, this would lead to the violation of the regulations of the Competition Law.

Vietnamobile said that if all the resources are transferred to Viettel, including the 2G and 3G frequency, Viettel alone will possess over 50 percent of the total 3G national frequency fund. As such, the waveband transfer from EVN Telecom to Viettel will break the Competition Law, because this will create favorable conditions for Viettel to become the enterprise with monopoly position on the Vietnamese telecom market.

Commenting about the “accusation” of Hanoi Telecom, Dr Vu Dinh Anh, an expert of the Ministry of Finance said that Hanoi Telecom needs to think carefully before raising the argument about the market monopoly.

Viettel now, like MobiFone and VinaPhone in the past, do not enjoy the monopoly, but it only holds the dominant position on the market. In case the economic concentration is as high as 50-60 percent, and enterprises have to merge into each other due to the risks of taking losses, this would not violate the laws.

Hanoi Telecom has sent words that foreign investors may raise a lawsuit to the an international court to ask for the compensation which may be multi- billion dollars bigger than the sum of one billion dollars they invest in Hanoi Telecom.

However, Anh said that Hanoi Telecom needs to reconsider its way of approaching the issue, and that Hanoi Telecom should not create pressure by threatening to raise a lawsuit.

He said that in this case, the involved parties are all the state owned enterprises and that it is necessary to deal with the case in accordance with the Vietnamese laws on using the state’s capital in state owned enterprises.

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