Newly-appointed MobiFone general director To Manh Cuong speaks at a ceremony marking his appointment in Hanoi on November 27 – PHOTO: MOBIFONE

Cuong, who was born in 1967 in Hanoi, holds a bachelor’s degree in business management and a master’s degree in electronics and telecommunications. He has more than 30 years of experience in the telecommunications and information technology sector in Vietnam.

In 1989, he began working at VNPT Hanoi, and held various positions, such as IT engineer, deputy head of technical management, and deputy director.

Since 1999, he served as head of the telecommunications management department and deputy director at the Hanoi Post Office. It was not until May 2010 that he was named deputy general director of the State-run VNPT.

Speaking at a ceremony marking his new position, Cuong said customers have long regarded MobiFone as a quality mobile network, despite recent difficulties.

“I believe that with the ability and vitality of each MobiFone employee, the firm has sufficient potential to grow strongly in the future. MobiFone will focus its resources on the business segment to maintain its market share, while developing and ensuring the quality of network infrastructure to serve its customers.”

His appointment came after years of scandal at MobiFone, a business operating under the Ministry of Information and Communications.

In August, 2018, the ministry relieved Cao Duy Hai, 57, of his duty as a member of the board and general director of MobiFone due to serious violations in a now-aborted deal in which the mobile carrier had overpaid for a 95% stake in the loss-making private pay TV provider Audio Visual Global JSC (AVG) in 2015, leading to over VND6.59 trillion (US$283 million) in losses.

Two months later, the former MobiFone chief Hai and a female deputy general director of the telco giant were arrested for their involvement in the scandal. Hai was later found to have mismanaged public capital and have accepted a bribe of US$500,000 from then-AVG chairman Pham Nhat Vu, 46.

In 2018, MobiFone posted total revenues of more than VND38.8 trillion (US$1.6 billion) and a net profit of VND4.7 trillion (US$202.2 million). Its total assets were valued at more than VND31 trillion (US$1.3 billion), while its owner’s equity stood at VND19.8 trillion (US$854 million). SGT

Van Ly

Trial on MobiFone-AVG deal slated for December 16

The Hanoi People’s Court decided on November 19 to open a first instance trial on the case of the MobiFone’s purchase of 95 percent of shares of the Audio Visual Global JSC (AVG) on December 16.

Losses from MobiFone-AVG deal minimized

Law enforcement agencies have so far collected a whopping VND8.845 trillion (US$382 million) to recover losses from a murky share acquisition between State-run MobiFone Telecommunications Corporation and a private pay TV provider.