VietNamNet Bridge - Foreign investors have shown strong desire to buy MobiFone’s stakes. The Vietnamese mobile network operator, after a lot of delays, will undergo equitization in 2016.

At least three foreign investors have shown their willingness to acquire the pieces of the MobiFone cake.  They are Telenor from Norway, Comvik from Sweden and Telstra from Australia. Of these, Telstra is the noteworthy name.

Telstra is quite familiar name to Vietnamese. The Australian telecom group set foot in Vietnam in late 1980s. In 1988, Telstra signed a business cooperation contract (BCC) with VNPT, becoming the first foreign company in the Vietnamese telecom sector. 

Within the framework of the BCC, Telstra spent tens of millions to build satellite base transceiver stations and switchboards. 

Foreign investors have shown strong desire to buy MobiFone’s stakes. The Vietnamese mobile network operator, after a lot of delays, will undergo equitization in 2016.

In 1990, Telstra once again signed a contract with VNPT, and raised its investment capital to $67 million to upgrade the satellite transceiver stations.

It is estimated that Telstra spent nearly $240 million on BCC and helped lay the foundation and create momentum for VNPT and the Vietnam’s telecom industry.

In 2003, when the BCC terminated, Telstra decided to leave Vietnam.

However, the name of Telstra has once again resounded in Vietnam. One year ago, when the plan to equitize MobiFone, one of the three largest mobile network operators, was announced, Telstra immediately voiced its interest in MobiFone. 

It had a meeting with the then Minister of Information and Communication Nguyen Bac Son, where it confirmed the willingness to return to Vietnam.

Most recently, on May 24, 2016, Telstra’s managers, together with the Australian Ambassador to Vietnam, meeting the newly appointed Minister of Information and Communication Truong Minh Tuan, once again affirmed Telstra’s wish to become MobiFone’s strategic investor.

A senior executive of MobiFone said that of the foreign investors who have sent words intimating that they want to buy MobiFone’s stakes, Telstra has more investment promotion activities than the others. However, he declined to reveal the details of Telstra’s proposals. 

Comvik, the partner of MobiFone in the 1995-2005, has also shown its willingness to become a strategic partner of MobiFone. 

A representative of Comvik said that with the special interest in MobiFone and the long cooperation in the past, Comvik has bigger opportunities and capability to succeed with MobiFone.

Investors are concerned about how much of a stake they can hold in MobiFone.

It is still unclear how many stakes MobiFone would sell to strategic shareholders and the investors outside.

However, former Deputy Minister of Information and Communication Le Nam Thang has said that under WTO commitments and other free trade agreements, foreign investors can hold up to 49 percent of shares of state-owned enterprises.


TBKTVN